Category Archives: Calder Valley

31st March picture of the day…

31 Thursday Mar 2022

Posted by in Calder Valley, Covid 19, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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Not a day that I was expecting at all – in more ways than one! My first surprise was on opening the bedroom blind this morning to find we’d had an inch of snow overnight which left the valley looking wonderful. There wasn’t a breath of wind so the snow had stayed on all the trees and bushes, adding to the winter wonderland effect. Flurries were still arriving but in between we had patches of blue sky which shed pools of glorious sunlight around the valley. This seemed like too good a chance to miss from a photographic perspective so I began packing the camera bag in order to head out and make the most of the opportunity for some snow shots before the scene changed and the snow melted in the sun.

Before I did I decided to err on the side of caution and take a lateral flow test as Norah, my Mother In Law had tested positive for Covid 19 at the beginning of the week and we’d seen them on Sunday. I’d taken a test on Monday which was negative so I really wasn’t expecting anything to change. Dawn had done a test yesterday which was also negative. Having done the test I went for a shave and thought no more about it until I returned to the bedroom and gave a cursory glance at the strip once more.

It was positive.

Oh, sh*t! Now I understood why I’d thought I was maybe coming down with a cold and felt achy and out of sorts. So, that was my plans for the foreseeable out of the window. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valour I cancelled my engagements and took myself off to bed whilst Dawn also re-arranged her calendar as the both of are confining ourselves to barracks until I get the all-clear. Hopefully Dawn will remain Covid-free.

Having mentioned my discovery on Twitter and Facebook I was amazed by the number of friends who’ve either only recently recovered or have also just tested positive for Covid. The pandemic hasn’t gone away in any way, shape or form – despite the fact the Government are doing their best to pretend it’s no longer an issue. It’s frustrating as the pair of us made it this far Covid free – as did Dawn’s mum and dad. The only saving grace it that I’ve presumably contracted the less damaging Omicron version and that my symptoms seem mild. Even so, I’m not going to push myself. Instead I’m going to sit this one out and give my body the chance to shake it off – and not put anyone else at risk of infection either.

If I feel up to it I may blog about a few things, but if not you’ll have to excuse my absence for a while.

As for the picture of the day, it’s the view from our bedroom window this morning when the world seemed rather a different place…

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20th February video of the day…

20 Sunday Feb 2022

Posted by in Calder Valley, Picture of the day, Travel, Weather, West Yorkshire

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Yep, a slight change from pictures as today’s been full of surprises due to the weather, which has been wet, wet, wet. The wind and rain have never stopped all day, kyboshing any hopes I had out getting out for a walk as I’d have ended up looking like a drowned rat despite my waterproofs. Plus, this is not the time to be bumbling through the woods surrounding the cottage as trees are starting to fall like ninepins.

However, this afternoon the pair of us headed out and over to the Colne valley to pick up Norah and John (Dawn’s parents) as today was Norah’s 81st birthday and we’d a meal booked at the Bulls Head pub in Linthwaite in the Colne valley to the West of Huddersfield. The weather has been filthy as we drove over with several roads flooded and others on the valley sides turning into streams. But, as we drove along Blackmoorfoot Rd we were hit by a cloudburst of the likes I’ve never experienced in the UK before. It swept in from across the valley and within seconds visibility dropped to zero because of the sheer amount of water dropping from the sky that was blowing in on a gale. Dee immediately stopped the car as it was unsafe to drive in those conditions. I’ve only ever seen rain bucket down like that in SE Asia, never in the UK. We were all a bit stunned but I managed to get my phone out and record some of it (but not the height) as it passed. Here’s what we saw.

Once it cleared we got to the pub without further incident and enjoyed some lovely food. I’d been recommend the lamb shank which proved to be delicious – and looked pretty good too…

Heading back we dropped Dee’s folks off and drove back home through yet more heavy rain. Now we’re tucked up in the warm (and dry) and won’t be venturing out again! The forecast isn’t great for next week either but I’m hoping that the Calder won’t be bursting its bank yet again. I’ll venture down to the river tomorrow to see, but hopefully this trend will continue.

28th November picture(s) of the day…

28 Sunday Nov 2021

Posted by in Calder Valley, Halifax, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Sowerby Bridge, Weather, West Yorkshire

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Winter’s arrived with a vengeance here in the Pennines although we’ve been very lucky where we live as our little patch of the valley side’s normally sheltered from the brunt of the weather – and this time was no exception. Storm Arwen hit on Friday evening but we’d no idea just how bad it was as we were protected from the height of the winds. Oh, we knew it was gusty but it was only when we woke up on Saturday morning and saw that the high ground around the valley was covered in a blanket of snow we started to realise what had really occurred. Then we started seeing comments from friends on social media and the news wires that made us appreciate just how fortunate we’d been. But, it was a close run thing. Norland, on the opposite side of the valley had the electricity knocked out with places not seeing it restored until this afternoon (Sunday). There but for the grace of God…

This morning the snow returned and stayed with us nearly all of the day, giving us several fresh dustings of varying severities, all of which clung as temperatures were so low and there was hardly a breath of wind. The trees looked magical and the valley below eerie as tendrils of cloud toyed with with the town, grasping at sections whilst leaving other areas unmolested. It was so attractive that the pair of us wrapped up warm and went for a walk through our local woods, along the promenade where we could admire the vista, then circumnavigated an almost deserted Savile Park before returning home to the warm, feeling like we’d earned our evening in together where we relaxed in front of the TV, but not until I’d rustled up a Chicken Vindail curry which added some spice to keep out the cold on a day when you really did need it.

Here’s a few shots from our perambulations…

The view from our bedroom window – looking down over Sowerby Bridge with Sowerby beyond partially hidden by low clouds which slowly drifted through the valley.
Looking across to Norland, which was still suffering from a power cut caused by the storm. It looks beautiful – as long as you don’t rely on electricity for heating! The top of the valley kept disappearing as low cloud kept overwhelming it. This is one of our regular walks because there’s the wonderful Moorcock Inn as a refuge at the end of the trek.
The edge of Norland and Sowerby Bridge just at the edge of the picture on the right hand side. The row of trees in the valley bottom disguise the railway between Halifax and Manchester.
Just a few minutes walk from the house our road has this avenue of trees which look superb in this weather.
Scarr Woods looked stunning after the latest snowfall without a breath of wind to blow the dust off the branches.

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22nd August picture of the day…

22 Sunday Aug 2021

Posted by in Calder Valley, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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Ah, lazy Sunday! Well, sort of – ish! After having a thoroughly enjoyable day and evening at a friends wedding yesterday we’d deliberately left today’s calendar blank. We may not have been up with the Larks but we still made the most of the day. Yesterday’s wedding threatened to be a washout due to the weather. Fortunately the showers held off for all the most important parts of the day. Having rendezvoused at the Ukrainian Club in Huddersfield where the post wedding celebrations were to take place we all boarded a vintage double-deck bus (a 1962 Daimler ex-Leeds for those who like to know such things) which took us to and from the Methodist church in nearby Denby Dale where the wedding ceremony took place. I have to admit to having a soft spot for old buses, but that’s us public transport geeks for you! Trains, trams or buses – I’m a fan of them all…

The evening do was great fun as Dawn and I caught up with so many people whom we’ve not seen for ages due to Covid. We also had chance to socialise with some of Dee’s colleagues whom we see more often, but not outside of work, so that was another bonus. All in all, it was great day and we’re really happy for Paul and Hazel that it all came together in such style.

That lousy weather I mentioned has hung around all day today, but neither of us minded. Dawn’s kept herself occupied packing for a trip to her brothers in Surrey in order to ‘mind the shop’ whilst he’s on holiday in Greece. Meanwhile, I’ve been busy with old pictures and paperwork for various jobs and clients. Admittedly, I couldn’t resist getting out for a walk and spending a some time watching the weather. I love the way the skies over the Calder Valley are constantly changing. I can see why the artist Ashley Jackson fell in love with Yorkshire.

One of my favorite perches is just down the road from where we live. The walk there is lovely, as it takes you through local woodland. It’s also a bit of a climb, so you feel you’ve done something positive to get there rather than just sitting on your arse back at home. So, today’s picture is one I took earlier from the promenade, gazing out across Sowerby Bridge and the Calder Valley as I waited for the next rain-storm to arrive…

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5th August picture of the day…

05 Thursday Aug 2021

Posted by in Calder Valley, Musings, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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And relax… It seems some of my recent blogs on the nonsense Byline Times and the Guardian have published about the HS2 rail project have ruffled a few feathers judging by the traffic on my blog and comments on social media! That’s what happens when you critique lazy journalism with facts and references, you upset both right and left as each have an axe to grind so the truth is always the first casualty.

So, tonight I’m avoiding any political comment or critique. I’m going to talk about other things instead – like the weather! Who’s nicked the sunshine? We’ve had another indifferent day in the Calder Valley where heavy skies and the constant threat of rain has always been in the background. To be honest, it’s not been much of a problem as I’ve been office based, trying to work my way through the haul of pictures I took earlier in the week. Well, that and juggling various household chores and still trying to keep up my exercise regime. Where do the hours go?

One ray of sunshine was being able to stroll into Sowerby Bridge, visit the local Lidl and find the ‘Red Cross supplies’ had arrived. After several days of almost empty shelves the beer and wine section had been restocked, allowing me to panic buy – sorry, restock on bottles of their nice Hatherwoods IPA which has been very absent of late. Admittedly, carrying a ‘last supper’ number of bottles back up the hill to home in a rucsac left me in need of refreshment (and a shower), but hey!…

I’ll now turn off for the evening and leave you with a picture of the day. I was going to have a last evening stroll to complete my step total for the day but after cooking supper the weather had other plans. Here’s how sunset was in the Calder valley the other evening, when the descending orb in the sky was fighting a losing battle with incoming rain clouds. We didn’t even get this far tonight

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20th June picture of the day…

20 Sunday Jun 2021

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It’s been a quiet weekend here at Bigland towers as the pair of us have been taking it easy at home – although our definition of easy may not accord with everyone else’s. What neither of us have been doing is travelling far. I spent much of Saturday playing catch-up with picture editing in order to ensure I don’t get overwhelmed as I’ve more time away next week. I’d planned to have a lie-in but I was fully awake by 06:30 so thought “sod it” and retreated into the office with a coffee to spend several hours cataloguing pictures before Dawn woke up. Whilst doing so I was kept amused by perusing the right-wing press who’re clearly having a bit of a melt-down over the Lib-Dems winning the safe Tory seat of Amersham and Chesham. They’ve gone into overdrive to try and blame the result on HS2 passing throught the constituency – anything to divert attention from the real reasons, which is that the citizenry are becoming heartily pissed-off with the kakistocracy of Boris Johnson and his chums. When even staunch Tories are saying ‘enough’s enough’ you know there’s trouble in store for the Government. It will be every interesting to see where this narrative goes if next time a safe Tory seat falls it’s nowhere near HS2!

The weather’s not been that hot and we’ve had some welcome rain, so I’ve not had to spend ages watering the garden which has saved me some time to divert to other things. Even so, neither of managed to find time to get out for a walk so we ended up driving to the Moorcock Inn in order to get some fresh air and have a drink in their beer garden. It was a lovely break, sitting and admiring the view across the valley whilst chatting with Aimee and some of her staff. Leaving all too soon we headed back down to Sowerby Bridge to brave the supermarket in order to pick up a load of shopping. It’s father’s day on Sunday so Dee’s going to be cooking a meal for the four of us over at her folk’s house in Huddersfield and we needed the ingredients for a chicken dinner with home-made (Gluten free) Apple Pie. I wasn’t on cooking duty on Saturday evening, instead Dee rustled up a cracking meal of Plaice fillets with mushy peas and red potato wedges which we scoffed before settling down to watch an escapist bit of nonsense on Amazon Prime. We chose the 2017 film “Wonder Woman” which was a bit of visual fun but hardly intellectually challenging although that’s not always a bad thing, some times you just want to be entertained. Such was our Saturday night in the Shire, not exactly the ‘rock and roll’ lifestyle but enjoyable all the same!

One of the reasons I was so keep to try and get my latest tranche of pictures edited and on display is that scanning old slides has had to take a backseat recently. I’ve several hundred already done that are just waiting to be edited. My latest picture of the day is a sample. I took this shot of fishing boats at sunset at Labuanbajo on the amazing Indonesian Island of Flores on the 5th September 1992. I was here for several days using it as a base to explore the famous Komodo Island – home of the dragons before catching a series of buses across the rugged island on appalling roads to get to the amazing volcanic coloured crater lakes of Kelimutu near Moni. Happy days – and amazing sights!

I’m still determined to get all these old slides scanned this year, although at this rate that could be a bit of a challenge. Time will tell…

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31st May picture of the day…

31 Monday May 2021

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Summer’s here! The past couple of days here in the Calder valley have been stunning with wall to wall sunshine, making up for some of the grey and grim days that have filled much of May. Even the fact it’s a bank holiday hasn’t put the mockers on the weather (for a change). Rather then joining the bank-holiday crowds heading for the coasts the pair of us have made the most of our time by staying at home and catching up on work on the house and garden which has been tiring to say the least but worth it just to be out in the sunshine and recharging the vitamin D levels. With my enforced stay in the ‘Septic Isle’ due to Covid and miserable weather I don’t think I’ve looked as pale as I did for years. Now we appear to be in for a run of good weather so my normal colour’s returning. Whilst I’ve been doing the heavy lifting on the garden terraces Dee’s been busy with sandpaper, filler and paintbrushes to restore the front door. Sitting high up on the valley side and facing South this row of cottages takes a battering from the weather, so keeping them up to scratch is a constant job.

That said, we’re having a day out tomorrow as we’re heading to somewhere I’ve never visited before. At Dawn’s suggestion we’re off to Flamborough Head near Bridlington, which sounds ideal, a rugged stetch of coastline with a lot of history, walking trails and wildlife. No doubt I’ll be blogging about it at some point but there’s going to be a a few more rolling blogs in the pipeline as from next Monday I’ll be spending several days based in Ipswich and travelling the East Anglian rail network for work. We’re having an early start in the morning so I’m cutting this blog short and leaving you with the picture of the day which I took this afternoon from our garden terrace looking over the cottages down towards Sowerby Bridge in the valley below. See what I mean about the sunshine?

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11th May picture of the day…

11 Tuesday May 2021

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Today’s been another day of mixed fortunes working from home. I can’t really complain as it’s been rather productive. I’ve no commercial writing to do this week so I can concentrate on pictures and rebooting scanning my old slides. A few weeks ago I managed to buy 4 packs of ‘Gepe’ glass slide mounts on eBay. I’ve been using the same 40 old mounts for nearly 15 years now and they’re showing their age. The plastic starts to split after hundreds of times of being remounted, so many of them are ‘cream crackered’ (Cockney rhyming slang for knackered = broken). Now with another 80 in the arsenal I can mount 60-80 slides at a time which speeds up the scanning process. OK, it’s still a tedious thing to have to do but there’s certainly light at the end of the tunnel now as I can see the physical pile of albums dwindle. Hallelujah!

Aside from scanning and answering emails Dawn and I did manage to get out for an afternoon constitutional – and avoid getting soaked. For the past couple of days we’ve experienced thunderstorms and some very moody skies. They’ve been wonderful to watch but you really don’t want to get caught outside when the heavens open. Thankfully, because we live high up on the valley side there’s normally plenty of warning as you can see the rain approaching which can make for some very dramatic sights. One of those sights is today’s picture of the day – just to give you all a break from exotic travel images (oh, and have I got some great ones in store)…

Here’s the view from our bedroom window earlier today as the latest in a line of thunderstorms darkened our door – and the valley…

One of the wonderful things about living here in the Pennines is the skies. They’re constantly changing to provide amazing backdrops to the green hills of the Calder Valley. I’ll never get bored of trying to capture their variety and moods…

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Thank you!

There’s snow place like home…

02 Tuesday Feb 2021

Posted by in Calder Valley, Photography, Railways, Travel

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After enjoying some glorious sunshine yesterday I was rather surprised when Dawn said to me yesterday evening ‘oh, there’s heavy snow forecast for tonight’. I poo-poohed the idea and thought we’d probably get a smattering that would disappear within a few hours. Ha – that’ll teach me! This was the sight that greeted me when I opened the bedroom blinds this morning!

I love fresh snow like like this – especially when there’s no wind so it clings to trees and telephone wires. We’ had a good 5-6 inches overnight so I changed my plans and decided to make the best of the weather whilst I could. Here’s a few images to illustrate conditions here in the Calder Valley.

The trees look beautiful, but beware! Walking down our road was very much like running the gauntlet as you never knew when a branch would release a snow-bomb and score a direct hit on you!
Looking across the Calder Valley. Norland is up there somewhere, lost in the low cloud that added to the freezing conditions. It was also excellent at muffling sound, so the world really felt rather eerie.
The wonderful snowy shapes to be found in Long Wood, a short walk from home.

What the snow wasn’t so good for was travelling. Many side roads and steep hills were impassable and the railways were suffering too. From early morning until early afternoon there were no train services through the Calder valley towards either Manchester or Burnley. I hiked through Halifax to Dryclough Junction in the hope of getting a few shots of trains in the snow and I was fortunate enough to get this unusual shot.

Class 195115 working ‘bang road’ (wrong line) as 1G71, the 10.10 from Sowerby Bridge to Leeds. The set should have been working through to Manchester but it was turned around at Sowerby Bridge due to the line being blocked by the snow. Most services from Leeds were being turned back at Halifax, although the hourly service to Huddersfield (which uses the lines to the right) was running most of the time. A later 195 did run as empty stock as far as Todmorden before returning, presumably to see if it was possible to get through to Manchester, Services didn’t restart until early afternoon, although many trains were still cancelled.

This evening the rain had set in and the pristine snow soon turned to slush so I was glad I got out when I did to grab some shots whilst the snow was at its best. Tomorrow the forecast is for the rain to continue so its looking like a good day for staying at home in the warm. I’ve had two very different days out with the camera, so I can’t really complain! You can find the full selection of today’s scenic snow shots in this gallery, and the railway related ones in this gallery.

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15th January picture of the day…

15 Friday Jan 2021

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The wonderful snow scenes we saw yesterday have hung around for an encore – only today there was the added bonus of blue skies as a backdrop. OK, that meant it was cold too but that was a small price to pay for such glorious vistas! I managed to juggle work with a long walk with the camera in order to get my daily exercise and capture some of the views. Fortunately, we hadn’t had much wind since the snow, so tree branches were laden with the stuff although it had started to melt in the sun, meaning wandering through the woods was a bit like running the gauntlet as you never knew when you’d feel a show-bomb down the back of your neck as a tree scored a direct hit!

Tomorrow’s forecast is for rain, so today’s probably been my final chance to get decent snow pictures. That means the picture of the day will be returned to vintage shots of somewhere warmer and more exotic than the Pennines and West Yorkshire – as you’ll find out tomorrow…

In the meantime, here’s one of my shots from today, taken on the promenade up above where we live. This is a wonderful place to sit and enjoy the views across the valley, or even a sunset (and a surreptitious beer!).

You’ll be able to find the full selection of snow shots taken over this past week in this gallery on my Zenfolio website from tomorrow.

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Thank you!