-
Recent Posts
Pages
Categories
Tags
black sheep burley burley in wharfedale burley moor coast coastal walk County Durham Walks cow and calf cow and calf hotel cow and calf rocks flora flowers high force holwick ilkley ilkley moore ilkley walks isle of skye Kirkstall kirkstall abbey Leeds leeds walks moor walks nature nature walk northern ireland reflections river rspb scotland scotland walk sea sheep Skye skye walk walk walking west yorkshire west yorkshire walks wharfedale wildlife wildlife walk yorkshire Yorkshire dales yorkshire walkWalking Photographer Instagrams
Cool Walking Areas
My Web Stuff
walkers
Wildlife Venues
Archives
Tag Archives: burley in wharfedale
Wharfedale Wildlife Weekly (20th May 2013)
Last week’s weather played out like a typical English Summer’s day… Rain being the predominant feature, with just enough sunshine to keep the optimistic hopeful!
As I had to go London for a few days last week, I didn’t have as much time to discover Burley’s wildlife but I still managed to squeeze some wildlife, slash walks, slash photography in…
Swifts have arrived, I see them daily now from my home studio skylight, they’re brilliant!
Much to my amusement (only because it was a sociable hour) I watched a greater spotted woodpecker hammering away at the metal top of a telegraph pole in the village, it made a brilliant noise.
I’ve also noticed now two black bunnies, one on Burley Moor near the entrance by Coldstone Beck and one by Stead Hall Wood. Apparently they are more common in Yorkshire than other UK areas. There seems to be a debate on whether a lot of black bunnies are melanistic or just the result of a domestic pet embracing freedom! Having done a little inter-web research, it appears that black rabbits have been hopping about the UK for over 100 years, who’d of thunk it!
As I said, I didn’t get much time to get out in Burley with the camera last week but the interchangeable weather made for some cool landscapes and one evening I just couldn’t resist heading out. As well as the landscape at the top of this post I took the following two… too!
In this last photo, you can see a tuft of grass in the foreground. I walked right by it only to discover a Skylark, who quickly chirped up, beautifully requesting that I vacated his ‘patch’! To have such a close and serendipitous encounter was a real thrill!
That’s it for now, I hope to catch some new plant life with me lens next week, so watch this space!
Posted in wharfedale-wildlife-weekly
Tagged burley in wharfedale, burley moor, landscape photography
2 Comments
Perils of Coffee
If you’re anything like me, you’ll know just how dangerous ‘popping out’ for a coffee is. My most recent coffee excursion led to a browse around Waterstone’s (or Waterstones as I believe they are re-branding themselves). Anyway this ‘browse’ led to the purchase of £30 worth of OS maps and a rather cool book on Yorkshire Dales walks. No wonder I got an espresso maker for my birthday!
The following morning I woke up like it was Christmas, all excited about doing a new walk in the Dales from our new book, using my new OS map. Caroline was more like the parent at Christmas, who would like just five more minutes in bed and wishes the kids would go and quietly entertain themselves with their new pressies. Anyway a quick wash, a round of toast that barely touches the sides and we were off! Or so we thought. It seemed the car didn’t share our enthusiasm for the Yorkshire Dales, so 10 minutes into our journey we had to turn back and book the car in for a check up.
Luckily due to my premature, or arguably immature, overexcitement it was still relatively early. Remembering that we had been given an AA Walks Around Leeds and West Yorkshire book for Christmas we started hunting through the walk cards looking for a walk that was relatively accessible on public transport. We found one that started and finished at Burley in Wharfedale train station.
The walk begins on Hag Farm Lane leading up to and through the farm, over some fields that offer the residing sheep lush panoramas and on through a variety of gates that remind you that you still haven’t burnt off as many of those festive calories as you would have liked.
The highlight of the walk is Burley Moor. This relatively busy heath provides some great views, even on a hazy winter’s day (is that a Simon and Garfunkel song?) with low thin cloud you could still take in the sights. We took a moment as we crossed the moor to take in the scenery. There were plenty of different paths that offered interesting diversions and investigations. Pretty soon the moor quietened down as people went off exploring their own routes. We came across a beautiful icy stream cutting its way through the hillside, which was particularly fascinating. The walk then took us back onto a B road and a country lane, and then over some pretty lowland fields that we’d previously been looking down on. We eventually ended back amongst some pretty impressive houses that surround Burley in Wharfedale station.
This was a very enjoyable walk, not too short and not too long with some lovely scenery and a good mix of terrain. Typically my keenness to photograph EVERYTHING meant we missed the hourly train by 5 or 10… But with every cloud… Rather with every missed train there is usually a good pub and Burley in Wharfedale is no exception, we headed into the village where we went to the friendly Red Lion Hotel for a pint of Midnight Bell from Leeds Brewery while resisting the mouth-watering specials on the board!
A wonderful end to a day that began rather ominously.
Posted in Leeds Walks, moor walks, West Yorkshire Walks
Tagged burley, burley in wharfedale, burley moor, Leeds, moor walks, walking, west yorkshire, wharfedale, yorkshire
1 Comment
