Over the Stable Door

A New Year

2012-01-16T23:48:00.004Z

Greetings to all my readers.

Due to changes in Google from March 1st 2012

I find it impossible to keep this blog running.

Thank you for your support.

Like Grains of Sand

2011-12-18T19:53:00.001Z

Recently I was made aware of what Climate Change is from some young folk in the 7 to 9 age group. Climate Change is when people who have a lot of money tell people who haven't a lot of money they must knit jumpers to keep warm. They tell people who haven't a lot of money how to save energy by switching off everything, but keep their mansions floodlit in case someome breaks in. They tell people who haven't a lot of money they have to think green, when we all know Nature is every colour not just GREEN. They tell people who haven't a lot of money that Polar Bears* are dying out but overlook all other of Nature's chidren who are/have become extinct in the last few years. One said we, that is humans, are like grains of sand on the vast beach of the universe and what Nature decides will be done. We have no control and never will have.

Polar Bears* are on the increase only some people don't know where to look for them.

Weather Predictions

2011-11-15T21:52:00.009Z

The Place to Look for Weather Predictions

That Really Do Get it Right

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The Grim Reaper Speaks

2011-11-06T23:22:00.000Z

At last we have a Voice in the Wilderness

When WARM really means COLD!

2011-11-03T15:19:00.000Z

I wonder how many folk have the same problem with their computers. For some reason every time I type in WARM the machine spells out COLD. Only by cunning misinformation am I able to hoodwink it into printing the right words. It seems to think it knows what's happening in the world outside better than I. Only this very morning I had an awful time typing in RISING as in rising sea levels. For some unknown reason it kept coming out as LOWERING and we all know that's not true or is it?

seeing is believing - believing is seeing

2011-03-04T14:56:00.004Z

If you could save a third of your fuel bills would spend a bit to do it?

Have a look at this and draw your own conclusions -

http://www.ecomagnets.com/thermoflow.htm

Fitted in Royal and not so Royal residences throughout UK and abroad.

Nothing to lose and everything to gain....

http://www.ecomagnets.com/

Riding In The Forest

2011-02-01T15:17:00.000Z

Don't lose our Forests to those who will not care.

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The Confused Apostles

2010-08-10T15:23:00.009+01:00

It would appear apostles are as confused today as they were thousands of years ago.

I noted this in a book about that song and Ilkley’s Moor. A Gazette article earlier this year highlighted an enigma which has long puzzled me. For the past twenty or so years I and friends have combed near every square inch of Ilkley Moor in search of Ilkley’s illusive Apostle Stones.

Media and historians are forever quoting their existence but finding them is quite another matter. Burley folk can count themselves lucky as their Apostle Stones are easy to find. In fact they are on the Ordnance Survey map but not Ilkley’s.

Would those who know where Ilkley’s Apostle Stones are please enlighten the rest of us so we can enjoy them as much as Burley enjoys theirs. We hope 2011/2 will, at last, lead to the discovery of Ilkley’s long lost Apostle Stones. They must be up there somewhere.

Skewkirk Bridge

2010-07-27T16:31:00.006+01:00

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Skewkirk Bridge
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Near Tocwith

holding page

2010-07-27T16:22:00.002+01:00

Lake District Music Festivals

2010-06-15T15:42:00.001+01:00

White Wells

2010-05-04T16:35:00.002+01:00

White Wells looking down towards Ilkley

That Place on the Moor

2010-05-04T16:08:00.003+01:00

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The History of White Wells

Three years of hard research has gone into this book.
Possibly the best researched volume on part of Ilkley's history
since Collyer and Turner wrote Ilkley - Ancient and Modern -
in the late 19th century.

'That Place on The Moor'
The History of White Wells
by
Mark Hunnebell

ISBN 978-0-9555126-2-9

*

Glass Slipper Time!

2010-04-06T15:34:00.002+01:00

The Drummer's Tale

2010-04-06T15:31:00.003+01:00

We all have a drummer, but follow different routes, often because we don't recognise people. While you are learning don't forget image counts for those trying to follow the same path as you.

Ilkley Spaw A Brief History

2010-03-02T17:22:00.002Z

Perhaps the Ilkley waters do reach parts that other waters cannot reach but it is certainly true that the water at White Wells contains no minerals with curative properties. But for the fashion of immersing the body in cold water as a cure for ill health, the springs on Ilkley Moor would still be flowing untapped.

In 1830 the physician, Thomas Shaw, wrote of the Ilkley spring water that "... for its purity, tenuity and coldness, the best qualified to be of utility for relaxed and sedentary habits of any water in this part of the country. It has frequently been analysed, but the decomposition always proved that it contains no medicinal property. In my opinion it is its purity and softness only which makes it more efficacious by passing to the utmost and finest limits of the circulation than any water known."

The hydropathic fashion in Ilkley developed from the simplicity of Ilkley Spaw to the grandeur of the Wells House Hydro, the Ben Rhydding Hydro and Craiglands. In the light of modern medical knowledge it is difficult to believe in the curative properties of cold water, but it is possible to agree with Capt. J. K. Lukis who, in The Common Sense of the Water Cure wrote "... the pure, clear and sparkling liquid that gushes from Ilkley hills is not less exhilarating, and is much more wholesome, than manufactured champagne and of such water it may be said with truth what is falsely said of such wine, that there is not a headache in a hogshead of it."

In an age of sedentary habits and over-indulgence, when the local industrial towns were heavily polluted, fresh air exercise and a simple healthy diet were naturally curative in themselves. A plentiful supply of unpolluted water both for drinking and washing together with a rigorous daily regime soon enabled the hydros to establish their reputations. Ilkley Spaw, however, originated before the Victorian period. There have been "wells" on Ilkley Moor from the earliest times; these were recognised either as reliable sources of pure water or as having mineral properties, such as the iron rich or "chalybeate" springs.

Contrary to popular belief there is no evidence that the Romans used or even discovered the Ilkley springs. Not only have no coins or pottery been found but common sense dictates that the Romans were more likely to have taken warm baths in the comfort of a bath-house in Roman Ilkley (or Olicana as the settlement was then called).

Much of the history of Ilkley Spaw is hearsay.

For instance, a certain ninety-year-old Master Ramsden, when asked in 1822 what he knew of the 'Wells', replied that "... they were just the see'a (same) when I were a lad". Its origins are suggested in a tale from the 18th century which has it that a shepherd had a wound in his leg which refused to heal until he bathed it daily in the clear spring water near Ilkley Spaw.

At that time a circular pool near the spring head was used for bathing and was free to all-comers. The parish register of 1783 records that Ann, aged 9, daughter of William Harper, butcher, drowned on August 15th whilst bathing "in the Spaw Well". Presumably the open pool.

The earliest positive reference to Ilkley Spaw - White Wells, is in a letter of 1709 which says "Ilkley now is a very mean place, and is equally dirty and insignificant, and chiefly famous for a cold well, which has done very remarkable cures in scrofulous cases by bathing and in drinking of it."

The present building developed over a period of 250 years in three phases, the earliest being the central two-storey section dating to about 1710, (at which date it was probably quite unassociated with the "Spaw Well" to the rear). In about 1756 this earliest building was converted into a bathing establishment by William Middleton, the Lord of the Manor, by the addition of two bathing areas to which water was channelled from the open pool. Visitors could have a short douche, a quick plunge or a shower on payment of a fee.

A visitor in 1841 described "... two baths, one for male, the other for female patients" which were surrounded by a wall of stone six to eight feet high and open to the sky. Above "... a centre room placed between the two baths, there is a dressing room but all this arrangement is quite in the rough and the whole arrangement looks like those stone-built shelters one meets on the Alps."

The job of attendant at Ilkley Spaw was given to Mr. William Butterfield in 1820 and his family held it until 1918. It was about this time that it was claimed that fairies had been seen at Ilkley Spaw. One tale of these tiny green-clad people was that they had been seen frolicking by the water but when surprised they leapt over the wall and disappeared into the bracken.

In 1829 Mr. Middleton erected another bath to the west of Ilkley Spaw for the free use of the people of Ilkley forever, in contrast to Ilkley Spaw itself where charges were levied. In 1856 the lease of Ilkley Spaw was taken over by the Wells House Hydropathic Company. It was this company that invested in the roofing of the bathing areas and a small extension above a stable which was added to the eastern end of the building in the third and final building stage.

Having improved the property the company discouraged the use of the free baths, no doubt with a view to increasing their profits at Ilkley Spaw. The free baths fell into disrepair and were eventually converted into public toilets. Another relic of the Wells House Hydro is the underground stone built water tank, discovered at the back of White Wells in 1929, which was part of the water supply to the hotel and used for its own hydropathic treatments.

The Local Board acquired the property in 1872 and although it adopted the drinking fountain as the motif for its seal, the Board soon proposed its demolition and replacement with more modern tea-rooms. This idea was rejected in a storm of protest and, instead, refreshment rooms were erected to the southwest.

However, although public opinion saved White Wells from demolition, the building became increasingly dilapidated. Eventually, in 1972, the lease was transferred to a local man, Mr. Eric Busby, who with the help of a grant from the Ilkley Urban District Council, renovated the building to provide living accommodation and an information/exhibition centre. In 1979 it was offered to the City of Bradford Metropolitan Council and became part of the Arts and Museums Division.

We should not forget it was the poor who initially brought Ilkley’s water to the Public’s eye. The rich followed later with their large houses and villas. But for the poor we would not have the fine architecture which graces our town. One could say a shining example of “Where there’s muck, there’s brass.”

Early days of Spences Gardens Ilkley

2010-02-09T12:31:00.000Z

Bridleways UK

2010-02-01T13:08:00.000Z

http://www.bridleways.co.uk/

Where to ride in the Countryside

2010-02-01T13:07:00.003Z

http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/enjoying/countrysidecode/countrysidedirectory/horseriding.aspx

Re-Think the Horse Tax

2010-02-01T12:57:00.001Z

http://www.rethinkthehorsetax.org/

The Spillway at Burley Dam Stones

2010-02-01T12:46:00.001Z

Hidden History on Wharfe's Banks

Wheel House at Burley Dam Stones

2010-02-01T12:44:00.001Z

Burley's Industrial Heritage

Burley Dam Stones 2009

2010-01-30T14:48:00.001Z

The changing face of The Wharfe at Burley in Wharfedale. Unless you've seen it in full fury you wouldn't realise the power of this river.

Flood levels at Burley Dam Stones 2002

2010-01-30T14:44:00.001Z

It is worth pointing out that the 2002 flood was not as high as earlier floods – where we use the stone stoop at the right of the ramp as a benchmark for levels reached.

The Dam Stones at Burley in Wharfedale

2010-01-29T14:18:00.002Z

Do you really want a bridge over the Wharfe at Burley in Wharfedale? This is the river at the Dam Stones in full fury. No right minded rider or walker for that matter would risk life and limb near this. Think about what you could be letting folk in for if something went wrong.

.

Rights of Way & A Bridge at Burley in Wharfedale

2010-01-22T17:14:00.001Z

1) The reason for proposing this site for the bridge, is that this is the only place in Burley where there are existing right of ways leading to the river banks from both sides. So legally the most obvious place although it is perhaps not the most practical.

2) The existing rights of way are both bridleways linked by a ford below the site.

( I don't know if the stepping stones actually have a definitive legal status but this question may have been answered by someone else. The route is not shown on the 1985 Definitive Map but is now shown on the Bradford GIS map of ROWs. Oddly it is named Bridleway no 39 but coloured purple as a FP. http://gis.bradford.gov.uk/row/framepage.cfm

3) In order to build a bridge for walkers in this position which will withstand the highest foreseeable flood levels, the bridge will have to be raised a considerable height above the normal river level. Which in turn means that the bridge will have to be longer than the actual span of the river to gain the right gradient for the approach routes on either side.

5) The additional length needed for the bridge, will mean that the approaches will encroach on the existing bridleways. Particularly on the Burley side where there is little room for manoeuvre and the bridge approach will block the entrance to the ford. This will in effect completely stop horse riders using the ford.

6) The solution: build a bridge for everyone, walkers, horse riders and cyclists, which can be used throughout the year.

7) The main drawback: the specification for the bridge will have to be much Higher (and more costly) to accommodate all users.

.

Burley - The Dam Stones and looking across The Ford

2010-01-21T14:49:00.002Z

Disaters Emergency Committee

2010-01-18T12:41:00.004Z

Disaters Emergency Committee

Haiti Appeal

http://www.dec.org.uk/donate_now/

Calm before the storms - Burley Weir on The Wharfe

2010-01-16T13:44:00.000Z

Burley Weir in Flood - 1908

2010-01-16T13:42:00.000Z

The Mill Dam in Flood - Burley in Wharfedale

2010-01-16T13:39:00.001Z

The Green, Smithy and School at Woodhead in Wharfedale

2010-01-16T13:23:00.001Z

Bridge over Troubled Waters

2010-01-14T14:01:00.012Z

The great bridge debate at Burley in Wharfedale, West Yorkshire.

From the Horse riders point of view:

Whilst they do not want to stand in the way of the creation of a safe all year round crossing for walkers and cyclists and they acknowledge that it may benefit them, there is still concern about the bridge proposals, with good reason.

If the ford is to be stopped up to accommodate a bridge for walkers, they need to be 100% sure that it will work for horses.

This is an extremely important route for them. People who don’t ride are probably not aware of this but this is the only bridleway route in the Wharfe Valley between Otley, Menston, Burley, Ilkley and the very west of Addingham.

To see the extent of the problem visit

http://www.gis.bradford.gov.uk/row/framepage.cfm

Bridleways are shown in the paler green colour.

If you have problems with the link try this one -

http://www.peakandnorthern.org.uk/useful-links/highway-authorities.htm#WestYorkshire

Horse riders were initially incorporated into this plan without their knowledge.

The Ramblers first approached the BHS access representative for NYCC (now retired), who gave agreement without consulting any local riders.

In the recent 'open consultation' which gave local horse riders their first opportunity to express their concerns, they made the following points:

· Most find the design for the bridge inappropriate for the location and are doubtful that it will be safe.

· They do not wish to loose their ford. The highway authorities have a duty to maintain it but it has been long neglected and the route is unclear.

· The path up to Askwith will subjected to increased use in all weather,
whereas now it is only used in dry conditions and stays in good repair.

Comments on bridge design.

Some of the design features rely on the perception of how horses behave rather than on knowledge. The design incorporates national guidelines which are more applicable to motorway bridges than river crossings.

1) The height specified for the eastern parapet: should not be necessary if horses are provided with a secure crossing they feel confident travelling over. For example they happily use the Old Bridge in Ilkley where the parapets are low.

2) Horses don’t mind seeing water below them, again, examples are the Old Bridge the Toll Bridge and even Otley Bridge, well any old bridge come to think of it.

3) The division of the bridge into two sections, a crossing section and seating or viewing area: could present problems. If people stop on the bridge and linger, the rustling of pick nick bags or rowdy behaviour is far more likely to scare horses than the water running beneath them.

4) The drawings for the scheme show people leading horses across the bridge rather than riding them. Anyone who rides a horse knows that they have much more control over the animal when they are riding it rather than leading it but people who are unfamiliar with horses often believe the opposite is the case.

Dismounting in order to cross the bridge must not be a condition using it, that would be extremely dangerous.

Lastly, riders always bear in mind that people on foot sometimes feel vulnerable around horses in confined spaces. But since it is difficult to point to an actual incident where any harm has come to a walker in a similar situation, we would not want to be held responsible for a bonkers bridge design.

Natural England Search Engine

2010-01-07T09:59:00.002Z

Type your search into the box on -

http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/search/default.aspx

White Wells on Ilkley Moor & The Sand Walk

2010-01-06T14:33:00.001Z

To Shoot or Not to Shoot - That is the Question.

2009-12-30T12:00:00.003Z

When Grouse shooting was banned from Ilkley Moor.

The recent cloud of hot air wafting over Wharfedale, caused by those for and against Grouse shooting, must leave a majority of sane folk wondering why? Why should grown men and women want to stand in oft freezing conditions, waiting to blow some defenceless bird out of the sky with shot guns? It’s hardly sporting, is it?

Our ancestors would have done much the same, on Ilkley Moor, without the help of high explosive charges. But they did it for a reason. They were hungry and had to hunt for their food out of necessity. Today, it is Hooray Henrys, Henriettas or Lottery winners strutting their stuffed hides across the Countryside. Many would be safer as beaters than shooters, considering the way some act where the Public are concerned.

Country folk rely on the land for their living. In the main, they respect it and put back much of what they take out. Shooting syndicates and the like, on the other hand, take what they want. Not what they need! There is a great difference. Irrespective of how many thousands they may be paying a Land Agent.

But Ilkley Moor is out on a limb. Mid-way between serious Grouse Moors and Urban Television Land. It is what the majority see in Emmerdale, Heartbeat, All Creatures Great and Small and other chocolate box ‘pseudo countryside’ programmes. It is all very well District Councillors dancing around with their arms in the air, but impersonating Morris Men will get them nowhere.

Now is the time for all parties to get together in one place. Preferably the Kings Hall or Winter Gardens and put on a display covering everyone’s part in Grouse Shooting, Moorland Management, Game Keeping etc.

Give the Public the chance to see what you are doing. What you are going to do. What you are not going to do. What will happen if you don’t do what you normally do and finally, how this will affect both the Flora and Fauna on the high ground above both Wharfedale and Airedale.

To put it in a nut shell, keep the Public informed of everything you are going to do and, most importantly, where the money is coming from to do it with. Always remember, of the few men who walked this land with honourable intentions, one was a Yorkshireman. Guy Fawkes. There’s no smoke without fire. Even the humble Red Grouse understands that painful fact. Hopefully common sense can be made to prevail in the right quarters.

(Written before the Big Burn )

Manor Garth - Addingham

2009-12-30T11:56:00.002Z

For some time, I have been reading letters about the wish to save Manor Garth from development. It reminds me of another not too dis-similar situation. A small Town in Canada were faced with development near thirty odd years ago. Manor Garth compared to the area they saved is very small, but I see no reason why the people of Addingham could not adopt the Canadian’s approach.

Which was as follows;

Surveyors were employed to measure the area. It being divided (on paper), into the same number of ‘plots’ equal to the number of townsfolk. This done, the price of the land was divided by the number of plots. Each ‘plot’ being offered to a member of the Town, on condition no one person or family could buy two adjoining plots. They could however, buy upto twenty widely spaced plots.

They formed a Trust to hold the ‘land’ unchanged for 999 years. One could say in a similar way to Mill Ghyll and Darwin Gardens Millennium Green in Ilkley. If someone moved from the area their ‘plot’ was either offered to the new resident or another resident. The above ploy worked very successfully and the Town have kept their land free of any developers.

In the Canadian’s case we are talking in the region of over two hundred acres. Surely, there must be enough interest in Addingham to save Manor Garth in the same way? What is needed in cases like this is lateral thinking. Or, as I pointed out to a group in Guiseley wishing to save another plot of land, ‘play’ the Developers at their own game only better!

As I don’t have contact with the Addingham Parish Council or Civic Society perhaps I could prevail upon you to pass the above onto one of their members. The people of your village must think UDP! UNITED DEFENCE POLICY. Good Luck in your endeavours and I hope Manor Garth remains open to the sky and villagers for many years to come.

Travelling Folk

2009-12-30T11:50:00.001Z

Those brought up in the country, learned to accept Romanies as part of life. “They were just different, but not a problem.” The problem was people not ‘country’, thinking themselves better because they owned their own houses. Failing to recognise a Romanies vardo is just as much his own home and in many respects, far cleaner than an urban semi.

Prior to farm mechanisation, Romanies moved around the countryside on a seasonal basis (some called it the Gypsy Switch) picking fruit, hops, and other crops and making themselves a useful part of the community. As in a previous letter, not all were angels. But neither is urban man. Mention was made of rubbish on the river bank. I shot a video of such rubbish taken when there was not, nor had been a Gypsy within six miles of Ilkley. The rubbish is still there! Over eight years after being tipped.

Little is said (my letters apart), about garden rubbish and debris tipped around town.

Not by Romanies but Ilkley’s so up-standing residents. shame on you. As to noise, those complaining should try living near Little Lane industrial estate, or supermarkets. Residents have to put up with refrigeration units twenty four hours a day. On Queens Road, noise levels become high from traffic noise, refrigeration systems, Tennis Club, Pubs and all night parties, but do we complain? No. We have to accept it twelve months of the year. Not a few weeks.

Also, claims by the Fishing Association are far outweighed by conditions found at East Homes Fields after they put in their ‘groin’. I change not my feelings about complaining residents, fishermen or by-laws. In a perfect world we would have no noise, but perfection is not earthly.

The Gypsy Switch, I believe starts at Arbor Low in Derbyshire. A centuries old route, taken by Romanies around the land, following the seasons as they worked in the countryside. They were looked on as valuable members of the labour force on our farms, orchards and hop fields. So, why not now? Thankfully, they still have many people like myself and I would guess others in Wharfedale and throughout Yorkshire, who appreciate the company of this colourful race.

Just remember, a young Addingham lad may not be alive today, were it not for the quick thinking of those our councillors are so quick to blame, for other people's dirty habits. Politics, like No Wage Travellers, stinks if not mucked out frequently.

It is horrifying to realise, those nincompoops in Westminster have passed laws, which lump Romanies with No Wage Travellers. What an insult. What crass disregard for their history and language. I bet councillors never thought about that when stirring the pot in Ilkley. They are talking about fellow Yorkshiremen and women. One Romany family who befriended me said five known generations had lodged temporarily on Denton Road.

Five generations and only the last had to put up with complaining residents.

DRIVE CAREFULLY

2009-12-30T11:48:00.002Z

I wish to thank the inconsiderate driver of a silver 4x4 crew cab pickup who drove at speed through flood water on Wells Road last Friday morning. Your carefully aimed spray totally drenched myself and a local resident walking his dogs. Is there any wonder conscientious 4x4 drivers are being penalised by idiots like this. It could have been an eldery person or a child, but Mr Crewcab was too busy on his mobile to notice. Next time, if there is one, we will make sure your number is taken and reported to the rightful Department. A little thought, common sense and careful driving goes a long way.

Recycle or be damned

2009-12-30T11:44:00.001Z

Like other front-line workers, the lads at Ilkley’s Household Waste Recycling Centre are doing a brilliant job, while putting up with irate customers. A District Councillor stated Bradford Council aims to increase recycling. Can we expect a decrease in beaurocratic buffoonery to accompany it? If not we are looking at more departmental paper chasing.

Please support your local sub-post offices.

A gentleman not of this area, while clearing a family abode, was left speechless when a perfectly good table was refused. Refused by a local furniture charity. Why? It had a tiny chip and would not be suitable for today’s recipients. Not be suitable! I don’t mind admitting most of my abode is furnished with very suitable hand-me-downs.

The gentleman took his unsuitable table to Golden Butts only to be told it wasn’t suitable there either. A perfectly good table was sawn up, just to appease beaurocratic buffoonery, then dumped into various skips. A table which could have graced someone’s abode is now lost to landfill. Bradford Council say they are promoting recycling.

Who’s fooling who? I suggest every Head of Department and Council Office has a copy of The Wastemakers by Vance Packard. I also suggest school curricular nation-wide includes the same book. Packard forecast the problems we face today nearly half a century ago. He proposed some very interesting ways of overcoming it too.

Dear Editor

2009-12-30T11:40:00.000Z

My dictionary clearly states ‘near’ as to or at a short distance in space and time. This being so why in addresses of two letters (Thursday June 8th 2006) do we find Burley in Wharfedale and Huby to be near Leeds. Ilkley Moor has a habit of wandering off in all directions without two villages following suit. Does the Yorkshire Post know something we in Wharfedale ought? Has Leeds taken over parts of Bradford Metropolitan District Council? The same could be said for the poor folk in Huby. Have they been asked about the change? When will folk pay more attention to maps and boundaries? We have enough to worry about without wild assertions from a distant conurbation.

Men argue, Nature acts

2009-12-30T11:37:00.000Z

How many feeling the Moor to be the property of Ilkley, realise it is covered with National Monuments, the property of all. While discussions continue as to who manages Ilkley Moor bracken grows apace. Are we looking in the wrong direction for it’s control?

Certain Parish Councillors may remember my suggestion to hold scything competitions/festivals on the Moor. Much like ploughing matches on lowland areas.

Marie Hartley and Joan Ingleby in their book Life and Traditions in the Yorkshire Dales (plates 104/5), show bracken being cut and harvested with scythe and fell pony.

In 1940 bracken was used for bedding and manuring. Bratford are forever telling us to compost, so what’s stopping us composting bracken today? The end product to be used on Ilkley’s parks and gardens. Could this be a way of controlling the weed while saving a dying rural art - upland or hill scything?

Also bringing revenue from competitors, visitors and the media. Last time it was brought up various excuses against were given. Insurance or Health & Safety for instance. I do believe there is something called a disclaimer. Cost was another. How many quibbled at the cost of Parties in the Park, various festivals and the like. Lets have some lateral thinking for a change.

I can think of a few other harebrained ideas which changed the Dales landscape and not often for the better. velocipede, horseless carriages, heavier than air machines, to name three. Which would you prefer?

The drumming of helicopter blades & weedkiller, or the gentle swish of scythe blades preserving a rural art, tradition and ideal. I believe it was Voltaire who quoted, “Men argue, Nature acts.”

Myddleton's Bluebell Beds - Wharfedale.

2009-12-14T14:49:00.000Z

FAQ - Are your roads Really Safe?

2009-12-14T14:40:00.003Z

FAQ is an abbreviation found throughout the InterNet and one Bradford Council are very aware of. Frequently Asked Questions. Over the past years FAQ’s have passed between them over t’ill and myself. Often for the safety of Ilkley residents and visitors and many via Ilkley Parish Council. Perhaps others would ask some FAQ’s too. For example why,

Trees and hedges along Denton Road verges have not been cut back.

In the case of trees for over TWELVE years.

Roadsigns on Leeds Road toward Manor Park overhung by vegetation.

As above roadsigns on Denton Road.

Similarly roadsigns on Cow Pasture Road and cattle grid gate inoperative. Trees overhang street lamps and road signs on Upper Wells Road, Railway Road and top of Golden Butts Road.

All bar the last reported to various councillors and council departments. The above will hardly be noticed by the majority who travel by car.

But what is the point in spending money on carriageway developments, when roadside vegetation block a driver’s view? Surely some of you must have noticed this lack of vital management. Little things grow into big things and big things cost money. Sometimes lives.

Your lives.

Leeds City Region - It should be West Riding of Yorkshire.

2009-11-28T12:07:00.005Z

But no them as think they know better south of Sheffield decree it be Leeds City Region. Now a lad born in the City with a Town Hall is very sceptical about owt that lot darn sarth come up with. Especially when describing his Mother Land.

Are we to suppose, rightly, this be another of them thar Quango things which, like black holes, swallows all yer hard earned brass and that's the last you see of it?

Arve alus said Leeds were t'Capital of West Riding an it's abaht time folk got that stuck under their flat caps or what ivver they wear these days.

What prey is a sustainable city region?

Do they not realise two thirds of Bradford are Rural? Also they are saying that the City Region includes North Yorkshire, but that's part of the North Riding. Don't they teach proper geography and history anymore?

How many £K did that website cost for a start and all it's various links?

Egg Cups

2009-11-05T17:30:00.002Z

Close your eyes and imagine Ilkley Moor five thousand years ago. Then as now rain poured down and wind howled. Breakfast, such as it was, may have been the odd egg or two from some native bird and maybe their equivalent of our toast soldiers. With one exception, hard boiled eggs have a tendency to roll off wind blown rocks. Fed up with the latter some enterprising individual began carving a hollow in a nearby rock and when fellow tribes folk saw how useful they were, did the same. Thus the first purpose built egg cups came into being. Depending on how large the family unit dictated the number of hollows. Alternatively those rocks with a great number of ‘cups’ could have been their equivalent of our B&B or communal table. All well and good you say but what about the rings? Simple. Where do you think they put the toast?

Parvo Virus

2009-11-05T17:23:00.003Z

THE TURDS OF ILKLEY

This is a tale of simple folk who believe the earth is flat especially where their ‘Super-Pooch’ squats and craps.

For many hundred years leather workers used fallout from the canine species to soften leather. Some products worn by Royalty and the nobility started life at the bottom of a bucket. At least parts did. Kid gloves prized by aristocratic ladies owed their softness and colour to dog Turds. It is fair to assume the majority of Victorian ladies knew nothing of the intricacies which went into producing their kid gloves. Nor what tanners used to make leather soft and supple. It is also a fair bet, if they did find out, sales of smelling salts would skyrocket.

In days of yore, men and boys were employed to collect that which Wharfedale has in ever increasing amounts. Dog shh it, to put it bluntly! Victorian tanneries put it to good use in softening leather, some of which became kid gloves worn by Victorian ladies in great number. Strange how, in an era of organic farming and recycling, no one has found another use for the mountains of leather softener which threatens to engulf parts of Britain.

Those who can’t remember the past should have taken more interest in their history lessons. Possibly the problems we have today would not be in evidence to such extremes. Alternatively, owners not wishing to soil their hands or reputations could always resort to using large corks. For their animals, that is! Considering this Government’s wish to help rural communities, the plight of the above town is ripe for exploitation, on a grand scale.

Dogs - Annual Charges - 1823

For every Greyhound kept by any person, whether his property or not, £1. For every other species of dog, where more than one is kept, 14 shillings. And any person who shall inhabit any dwelling-house, assessed to any of the duties on inhabited houses, or on windows or lights, and shall keep one dog and no more, not being of the above description, 8 shillings for such dog. But this duty is not to extend to dogs not six months old: the proof of which lies with the owner, on appeal to the commissioners. Persons compounding for their hounds, to be charged £36.

Given the charges are over 180 years ago present day owners are getting off very lightly. Maybe if owners paid modern equivalents to the above rates, we wouldn’t have the problems in our parks, open spaces and footpaths. But not many can remember 1823.

While I cannot condone the recent siege of East Holmes Field by lawless itinerants, one has to remember they were not the only visitors to the area these past weeks. Recent hot weather brought hundreds of grockles to the town and, no doubt, some came with their dogs. They as much as the former could have brought Parvo Virus to Ilkley. Also quoted in Ilkley Gazette, ‘...the virus can exist in large quantities of canine fæces, and is capable of surviving in the soil for months, through extreme hot or cold weather.....’

We only have to think back to when Foot and Mouth was prevalent and where dog walkers took their animals instead of the moors. Was it coincidence the virus struck when East Holmes Field was besieged or was it home grown? It’s all too easy to find scapegoats irrespective of who they are.

If a gramme of fæces contains enough Parvo Virus to contaminate 1 million dogs, think what could be lying around on Ilkley Moor.

All thanks to irresponsible dog owners.

Scapegoats

2009-11-05T17:13:00.003Z

Might I suggest before folk start the annual slagging off of visitors to these parts, you take yourselves down the south bank of the Wharfe, between Ben Rhydding stepping stones and Beanlands Island. For as many years as there have been houses backing onto the river residents thereabouts have tipped their garden rubbish onto the river banks. Strange is it not the Council amongst others have found it very difficult to admit this happens. Preferring to find visiting scapegoats across the river.

At the other end of town another group of residents tip garden rubbish amongst other things on the river bank beside Water Lane. Water Lane being the Ilkley end of the Dales Way. While admitting they tipped rubbish one had the effrontery to suggest the wooden bench, known to generations as Lover’s Seat, should be moved to the other side of the river. Why? Because someone may sit on it and spoil her view. Oh dear, what a shame. Perhaps a visit from the enforcement officers might make her and her neighbours think again.

There are piles of x Cupressocyparis leylandii cut some ten years ago and left in woodland near the path from Curly Hill to Stubham and Coppy Woods. No doubt the perpetrator of this offence thought it would rot down and no-one would notice. Everyone walking that footpath can’t fail to notice. Where ever urban man resides in Ilkley a pile of refuse is not far away. If carless pensioners can find ways of moving their garden waist to Golden Butts I’m damn sure those in overpriced egg boxes can do the same. Perhaps if certain residents set a good example by taking their rubbish to the council tip, visitors to these parts could be encouraged to do the same. But while ever the opposite is the case we cannot expect them to do otherwise.

Caution in the Dales and Vales

2009-11-05T17:07:00.001Z

Following a number of near fatal road accidents authorities have issued the following statement. All motorists visiting the Yorkshire Dales are warned to be on the look out for Erinaceus europaeus giganteum.

The animal lurks on the edges of secluded woodland, beside roads and has been observed in farm gateways and the occasional lay-by in narrow lanes. It is difficult to distinguish from heaps of garden rubbish left by locals and visitors.

Erinaceus sits in wait then rushes out to squash innocent, unsuspecting motor cars.

DO NOT APPROACH THIS ANIMAL

Save Our Stones

2009-08-27T15:45:00.002+01:00

For too long stones across the River Wharfe at Burley in Wharfedale, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, have been termed stepping stones. They are NOT stepping stones and never have been. That they provide a means of crossing the river at low water does not make them stepping stones.

The same could be said for other lumps of rock which find themselves across rivers. I have provided a link to the Save Our Stones website. Please read it and support their cause to stop a beautiful part of our valley beinf ruioned by a few for the majority.

Brilliant News

2009-08-22T15:47:00.002+01:00

An ammendmant has made our lives much easier when visiting the coast.
Click on the the title of this blog for more information.

Speaking in Circles!

2009-05-16T15:12:00.001+01:00

See Gwithian Beach Landowners.

These include:

English Nature (G.O.) - has a statutory responsibility to look after the S.S.S.I.

Cornwall County Council (G.O.) - looks after the rights of way and control of mineral development.

Penwith District Council (G.O.) – local planning and some of the parking.

The National Trust (N.G.O.) – owns land and manages the northern, Godrevy Towans, area of the dunes.

Cornwall Wild life Trust (N.G.O.) – manages part of the area as a nature reserve.

We have found that it is hoped that in the future the dunes will be recognised as a HERITAGE COAST, this would enable this stretch of coastline to have some sort of overall management plan and coordination. At the present time it has not got this status because all the tourist and recreational developments, as well as the sand extraction facilities.

DANGEROUS VERGES - Denton Road, Ilkley

2009-04-08T15:02:00.002+01:00

Copy of letter to Ilkley Parish Council

22 June 2003

Dear Councillor

DANGEROUS VERGES

Some ten years ago, while out riding, my mount was spooked by a car passing too close. Fortunately in those days roadside verges were clear of overhanging tree branches. Had it been today the outcome could have been horrific, given it being impossible to ride said verges to their full extent. I understand local riders have tried to have trees cut back but to no avail. While much hot air is generated about the annual visit of travellers, little thought is apparently given to your resident’s welfare twelve months of the year.

I had occasion to walk Denton Road recently and was appalled at the state of the above grass verges. Lack of maintenance has made them impossible for use in parts by members of the Public, especially those with equestrian interests. This can only lead to an extremely dangerous situation waiting to happen. It is a wonder an accident has not already happened, given the speed of motorists along the straight sections. No doubt one of the excuses for not cutting back branches would be travellers would camp on them.

I took the opportunity to put this to some of them while down there. Unfortunately Rom is not a language I am fluent in. Suffice to say the idea of parking-up on a narrow verge, by comparison to further down, a stupid and dangerous idea. Perhaps another excuse would be lack of brass! If memory serves me right, I do believe it is the duty of the local council to clear these roadside verges. I also believe it to be a fineable offence not to. Much the same as not removing Ragwort from similar verges.

While ‘book environmentalists’ think it ideal to view country lanes/roads in this way, in reality bad management harbours more than the odd bin bag or passing rat. I question the lack of maintenance to these areas and suggest clearance is long overdue. Finally to save postage, the above letter plus photographs will eventually be placed on this Blog for all to note the dangers on Denton Road. Knowing how Bradford value good publicity I wonder which will come first. The World Wide Web or long overdue roadside management.

Men argue, Nature acts. Voltaire

2009-04-08T14:54:00.001+01:00

A fact often overlooked by ‘book environmentalists’ is Nature works within a balanced regime. Upset it and all suffer the consequences. Take for instance woodland; it makes no difference whether this be a half hectare in Central London or Amazon Rain Forest, the effect is the same.

In the mid 90’s I and another resident took members of Ilkley Parish Council for an explorative walk around Lower Stubham, Hudson and Nail Bank Woods. They examined badly silted drainage ditches, footpath erosion, none removal of felled timber and more.

Later I voiced my opinion on the subject to the Finance and General Purposes Committee and was put down by a number of people. Obviously my Professional experience was not on their agenda, especially that of the Chair of a none elected civic group. If only people would listen!

We now have departmental ping-pong with no one able or willing to take the blame. Your Bluebell woods were a tip in the mid 90’s and nearly a decade later nought has changed. I say nought, in many places it’s worse, ably assisted by Bratford Council though they won’t admit it.

The problem Councillors, for I address this to those of you who read these pages, falls to a ‘book environmentalist’ who somehow ingratiated himself on Bradford Metropolitan District Council as their Environmental Consultant. This individual tried to convince another countryman and I the reason for felling a very small stand Rhododendron ponticum in Nail Bank Wood was due to the Gulf Stream.

Although we advised him said ponticum had hardly made any growth in the past century he continued to pursue his Gulf Stream theory. Only when it was pointed out the Gulf Stream ran up the West not East Coast did he desist from his stupid theories.

These theories, Councillors, have lost to residents of Bradford Metropolitan District many fine stands of Rhododendron species. St Ives Estate, Bingley, had one of the finest Rhododendron walks in the area. Decimated! To a smaller extent similar happened in Mill Ghyll and Saint Margaret's Park. I digress.

The infrastructure of any woodland is such that it is able to keep pace with dead matter that drops from above. When a branch or tree naturally falls decomposition is relative to weather conditions and native species present. However if the balance of the wood is upset and more timber than usual felled, then left, there is not the infrastructure to deal with it. On paper, perhaps, but not in the wild.

Tree trunks block footpaths, streams and ditches, or piled onto a protected species – Bluebells - making the whole shabby and a disgrace. Our ‘book-ist’ appears to forget Ilkley’s woodlands are used by the Public whose safety is paramount. While freestanding dead trees may become home to various species, they also present a danger to unsuspecting visitors. Hard hats are a rare sight in Ilkley’s woodland.

Once again I find myself quoting, "I told you so."

Typical examples of the above are the lower woodlands between Curly Hill and Denton Road and on the Galley Pages.

Nell Bank is a misquote/spelling of the original name Nail Bank.

How Green was Your Valley

2009-02-14T15:13:00.008Z

Perhaps Concerned of Ilkley and those who see the felling of trees on Ilkley Moor as scandalous should think about conditions in Australia. There is strong opinion bush fires would not have been as bad if environmentalists had allowed clearance of dead wood, bracken, etc.Phil Cheney, a bushfire researcher, said he was ‘totally frustrated’ by his Government’s failure to reduce forest density.

A resident of Strathewen, ravaged by bush fires, said the Greenies issued a statement that nought had to be touched. That is none removal of dead wood because a little mouse might be living under it. Now both people and the mouse are dead.

Travelling the Yorkshire Dales and other rural areas it soon becomes evident our Countryside is being ruined by misinformed factions who can’t see the wood for trees. Hedges were planted in the main to keep stock in and/or people out. A well laid hedge also provides much needed cover for nesting birds, insects and smaller animals. Leaving a hedge to grow open and as book environmentalists are apt to say, natural, defeats the object of a hedge.It is also open to pest, disease and rampaging peasants. There are many examples close at hand where the book environmentalists have held sway.

The woods over by Middleton are arboreal scrap yards. I warned Ilkley Parish Council and Bradford Metropolitan District Council what would happen if they didn’t clear felled timber. Fifteen years ago I warned them.However they took the book environmentalists attitude and what have we now. Erosion like you’ve never seen before in the bluebell beds. Erosion which should never have happened, if those supposedly in power had listened to people trained in woodcraft and the like. Sometimes folk interpret what they see as a hedge, when in fact it is not, which leads to all kinds of misinformation.

The same goes for the Victorian Landscape Garden some are apt to call the lower reaches of Ilkley Moor. When Man disturbs Nature all hell breaks loose unless a degree of careful management takes place. Look at The Tarn for instance. Look closely. Look at it’s banks, look at the carriageways, look at the footpaths which lead to it. What are natural about those? One could say what indeed is natural.

There’s been talk of late about putting fences on common land. Why did no-one oppose the fence Leeds Diocese put up in front of the four hundred year old way marker at the junction of Langbar Road, Slates Lane and Hardings Lane, beside Bridlepath 1. What about those trees planted along the edge of the moor by the former Darwin Gardens Trust.They are as much out of place as those spreading across The Moor and will, eventually, block any view of White Wells from below, or the Millennium Green from White Wells.

In the year celebrating Charles Darwin’s birth and publishing of his monumental book one does wonder what he, a botanist and scientist, would think of Ilkley Moor and neighbouring countryside today. Equally the attitude to the environment by those so-called experts, the book environmentalists.

Environment Friendly Turf Management System

2009-01-13T16:11:00.001Z

The modern scientific age often neglects ancient methods. The Environment Friendly Turf Management System is practically noiseless, running costs negligible, complements the surroundings and most importantly, has a relatively long working life. Provides a near constant supply of liquid and semi-soluble fertilizer which no keen gardener or council department can overlook. Unfortunately some find this source of fertilization disagreeable and go to great lengths to rid it from the countryside. Traffic islands, waste ground and grass verges in town and city are ideal situations for use of the EFTM System. Equally areas in rural districts similar to the above would also benefit. Costs can be kept to a minimum as the system is self propelled, while operators have mobile living accommodation. For more information contact your local Gypsy Liaison Officer.