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| The River Wharfe in Appletreewick |
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| The River Calder in Wakefield |
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| Near How Stean Gorge in Nidderdale |
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| The River Wharfe in Kettlewell |
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| The River Aire in Saltaire |
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| The Leeds Canal in Rodley |
I've lived in Yorkshire for fourteen years now and, while I didn't grow up here, I regularly count my blessings that I'm lucky enough to live in this beautiful place. I'm afraid Yorkshire residents do constantly bang on about how special their county is, and that's because it's true, it is special. We have a seriously stunning coastline. We have the Dales, an area I love to visit as often as I can. We have hills, rivers, moors, beaches and any number of beautiful places to visit. We have a rich heritage, an interesting history and an awful lot of sheep.
So when a few weeks ago Yorkshire Water got in touch to ask if I'd like to support their campaign Blueprint For Yorkshire, I was very keen to get involved. It is dedicated to improving water quality, the environment, creating cleaner rivers and beaches, and just generally making Yorkshire better for residents and visitors. It's a long term plan with big aims for a big county.
I thought about driving over to the coast. Or up into the Dales, maybe to our beloved Bolton Abbey and the River Wharfe. But those destinations all involve at least an hour long drive, planning, picnics, and a full day out. I wanted to remind myself of what we had closer to home and so we spent Sunday morning walking along a short stretch of the Leeds to Liverpool Canal. It's years since we came here and I'd forgotten how peaceful it is, how slow the pace.
I love to visit these pockets of calm within the city of Leeds. Those spaces where you can't hear the hum of traffic anymore (well, barely), where you can see open spaces and greenery. The canal is hugely popular with walkers, runners and cyclists as it's wide, flat and there is no traffic.
It's also very popular with five year old boys and their scooters.
It was such a mild, hazy September morning and so still, not a breath of wind. The only thing to disturb the water was the odd passing canal boat.
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Beautiful photos Gillian. I live only a stones throw over the Yorkshire Border, in Lancashire, so I probably shouldn't be admitting that, indeed, yes, I do agree how beautiful Yorkshire is! Over the weekend I stayed with a friend in Addingham so we could visit Yarndale, and we went for a walk along the river, towards Bolton Abbey. We were both in awe of the beautiful countryside, how peaceful it was, and the wildlilfe we saw along the river. Your photographs show such peace and tranquility x
ReplyDeleteI love the Dales too, but I haven't explored nearly as much of them as I'd have liked! We are lucky to have some of Dave's family living not to far from Skipton as a reasonable base to explore the Dales from - were there earlier in September in fact and managed a walk in the Dales. The Blueprint for Yorkshire sounds good, I'm hoping it involves a good amount of conservation and wildlife helping too.
ReplyDeleteI'm just home from a holiday in the Dales which was very enjoyable. Yorkshire is special and we love going back as often as we can.
ReplyDeleteI love your photos - and how fab to live near a canal. If we did I might consider getting a bike as I don't 'do' hills on two wheels!
ReplyDeleteYorkshire is indeed beautiful. We're regular visitors ourselves, living just over the border.
And I do love the name Appletreewick :)
S x
I love to walk by water, I think I prefer rivers to the sea and I'm impressed to see that Yorkshire Water is trying hard to make this resource the best it can be for everyone x
ReplyDeleteI've lived in Yorkshire for four years and there are many beautiful places in this county that I still haven't visited but those that I have--the coast, North York Moors, the Pennines,etc--I love and keep wanting to go back to. I feel lucky to live here too. x
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post. It's a good way to discover this land I don't know ! Have fun and a nice day !
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky to live in such a beautiful area... I never have visited Yorkshire (spent a lot of time in the south of England, near the New Forest, years ago, but never visited the north...), but looking at your photos makes me want to pack my bags & come over...
ReplyDeleteWonderful canal-side photos! Our nearest canal is at Tiverton, but not been there for some years now.
ReplyDeleteMargaret P
What a beautiful area you live in! Thanks for sharing, your photos are just lovely.
ReplyDeleteMarianne x
Beautiful pictures, just as always! It's magical to live somewhere around the water, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteWhat a brilliant project!! I would adore to wander those routes, my other half spent most of his childhood summer holidays exploring Yorkshire - I need to begin doing the same, I feel I'm missing out! I would love to live by the water, nothing more relaxing than listening to it gently moving past....
ReplyDeleteKatie x
Utterly beautiful, it looks so tranquil. Yorkshire is indeed a stunning place, good to know people are intent on protecting it. CJ xx
ReplyDeleteI love seeing posts which showcase bloggers local areas and getting to see what is special about them from their unique perspective.
ReplyDeleteYou pics were lovely and calming. I also love the rugged parts of Yorkshire. The scars and moors the windswept hills. Sometimes cumbria is a little too pretty! I was born in Haworth and you don't get much more windy and rugged! Xxx
ReplyDeleteI always find walking by water calming and relaxing. You have captured some lovely scenes in your photos.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photos. I love walking by water of any kind - sea, canals, rivers etc. As a true Lancashire lass, I'll admit grudgingly that there are some lovely places in Yorkshire! x
ReplyDeleteLovely photos. My friend had a narrow boat and took us from Whitwood along the canal to Outwood near Rothwell and you see a whole different side of places that you know well. We went under the busy M62 in the calmest fashion!
ReplyDeleteYour comment about people from Yorkshire banging on about Yorkshire made me laugh. My husband was born and bred in Yorkshire and since the Scottish independence vote there is talk in our house of the time when we will live in the People's Republic of Yorkshire.......
I just love the British names - Appletreewick?! Really? What a quaint name. It all looks lovely. I find the canals so interesting, since we do not have those here.
ReplyDeleteYour photos stunningly display the beauty of your country and the area you live in. I have always had an intense desire to visit Yorkshire ever since I was a young child watching All Creatures Great and Small with my grandparents. Since I haven't been blessed with the opportunity to visit yet, I can "visit" through your photos. Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYorkshire was already high on my Places I Most Want to Visit list, but it's just moved up a few notches. xxx
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful post about Yorkshire! Last weekend my husband and I have been to the Dales (unfortunately just for 4 days) and we loved, loved, loved it! It is such an outstanding and gorgeous place in the world. We enjoyed every minute we spent there and I will write a post about our trip next weekend. Have a nice evening, Viola
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful photos, especially the first one. They were so soothing to look at.
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely photos. Yorkshire is such a special part of the country, with so many beautiful spots to visit and enjoy. xx
ReplyDeleteLovely photos Gillian and we are going for a short walk along said canal after doing our washing today.
ReplyDeleteYesterday we did a short walk near Halifax on a section of the Calder & Hebble. (I think). Not much time left to enjoy this wonderful county as we head back to Oz on Tuesday. Hope you have a great weekend, as we are, meeting a couple of blogging pals at Temple Newsam in the morning on Sunday and family in the pm. Take care.
Beautiful photos Gillian! Yorkshire looks like a lovely place to live. Bee xx
ReplyDeleteLovely place you live in. I especially like your photos of the canal. Dreaming of visiting that corner of the world one day. I might be dreaming for a long time but that's okay ;)
ReplyDelete