In the last post I described how Margaret and I visited her daughter and three sets of friends in East Anglia between June 26th and July 2nd. We left Framlingham in Sussex on the morning of the 2nd and drove to Leeds in Yorkshire.
We made good progress and I considered we had enough time to visit Fairburn Ings, an RSPB reserve to the east of the city near the A1. I started birding in 1977 and although I had to catch two buses and walk a couple of miles to get there, Fairburn Ings became my ‘local patch’ until I moved to Poole in March 1978. At that time the reserve consisted of a lake and a few pools sandwiched between the village of Fairburn ….
…. and the hill in the background which at the time was a slag heap. I saw most of first waterbird species here along with a selection of passerines.
…. but there weren’t these reed beds, woods or raised walkways ….
…. nor was there a visitor centre with book shop, cafe and bird feeders complete with flocks of Tree Sparrows (and the inevitable Collared Dove), I think the RSPB should be congratulated in turning this area of mining subsidence into a first class wildlife reserve.
We headed for Leeds and checked into our hotel just south of the river. In the early evening we headed to a 300 year old pub called Whitelocks on Briggate in oder to meet up with my old friend Nigel.
I first met Nigel in 1967 when he moved to our school in Duffield, Derbyshire to do his A levels. He was instrumental my musical education, converting me from being a fan of Motown and Soul to Jimi Hendrix, the Nice and above all The Incredible String Band. Nigel also went to University at Leeds in 1969 and we shared accommodation for much of the next seven years. Nigel remained in Leeds when the rest of the gang moved away and served as a councillor for many years and was given the title of Alderman for his services to the city.
Leeds is known for it wonderful shopping arcades, one of the best being Queen Victoria Street in the Victoria Quarter between Briggate and Vicar Lane. This was a street open to the sky when I lived there.
Nearby is the ornate County Arcade.
After a lovely meal and further drinks we headed back across the River Aire to our hotel.
Nigel was busy the following morning so we explored the riverside area. Back in the sixties and seventies this part of the city was very down-at-heels, full of old warehouses, shabby shops and the sort of pubs where if you go in for a pint you leave quickly with just a bag of crisps. Indeed I avoided this area in general especially at night. There has been a wonderful transformation, the riverside warehouses have been turned into fashionable dwellings ….
… many new buildings have been erected and the Leeds – Liverpool canal has been cleaned up and is now a place for a pleasant stroll.
Docks have been created along the canal as well as numerous high-rise buildings.
Oh no she’s not!
Near where the river and canal divide lies the Royal Armoury, a multi-million pound purpose-built museum that opened to the public in 1996. It was built to house a large part of the national collection of arms and armour, and displays over 8500 objects throughout its six themed galleries: War, Tournament, Oriental, Self-Defence, Hunting, and Peace.
Looking upwards into the Hall of Steel is quite awe-inspiring.
We visited the Royal Armoury on a previous visit but Margaret found the open glass staircase induced vertigo, so our visit was cut short. She has greatly overcome this fear recently (as our trip to the Alps proved) and had no problem climbing up to the third floor.
The view over the river and canal from here is quite impressive.
Of the many exhibits this ‘war elephant’ caught my eye.
…. and the cavalry section.
On our way to meet up with Nigel we passed Leeds Minster.
Our arrival coincided with the two-minute silence for the victims of the dreadful massacre in Tunisia and we were able to pay our respects in a most appropriate place.
As we made our way through the city centre we came across many covered shopping arcades. I remember from my time in the 70s that many of the minor roads between Briggate, Boar Lane and the Headrow were poorly lit and uninviting and in general places to avoid. Again there has been a huge transformation.
We met Nigel at the art gallery near Leeds Town Hall.
Nigel’s main interest these days is art and he showed us around the gallery. I liked the symbolism, if not the sentiment, of the large painting on the left depicting Britannia slaying a tiger, symbolic of the ruthless suppression by the British of the locals after the Indian Mutiny of 1857.
This hall houses the restaurant, incredibly this room was bricked up some time around the 60s and for years no-one could remember what was in there. Recently the room was opened up again and this gorgeous tiled interior was discovered. Wonderful that this gem still exists and wasn’t destroyed in the name of ‘progress’ but what a shame that generations of art lovers were denied the pleasure of seeing it.
The three of us then caught a train to Saltaire, a former Victorian mill town near Shipley and a World Heritage Site. Nigel particularly wanted to show us the art collection that is now housed in the old mill.
The town gets its name from a combination of the surname of its founder, mill owner Sir Titus Salt and the River Aire. The woolen mill was built adjacent to the river and the Leeds-Liverpool canal.
Titus Salt was an enlightened mill owner, building decent stone houses for his workforce with wash rooms and bath houses, a hospital and also (above) the Victoria Hall. Because of this combination of houses, employment and social services the original town is often seen as an important development in the history of 19th century urban planning.
A whole floor of the mill is dedicated to the work of the Bradford-born artist David Hockney.
A modern painting of the mill in its heyday.
On the 4th we left Leeds and drove to Duffield in Derbyshire, a slow journey due to the almost continuous road works along the M1. We arrived at my brother’s house mid morning. In the afternoon we went for a walk along the nearby Ecclesbourne valley. L-R my niece Jennifer, my sister-in-law Viv, Margaret and my brother Simon. My elder niece Miriam is away on a gap year before University.
Simon and I used to go to the nearby Ecclesbourne grammar school which used to have a school song that went ‘a school grows here in Duffield by Ecclesbourne’s fair banks’. According to my nieces who are (or have been) at the school recently they have dropped this hideous ditty.
The Lewis’s on parade.Viv, Jenny, Margaret and Simon.
Switched off between midnight and 0530 to save electricity and turned on during the day to waste it!
On the morning of the 5th we paid a visit to Viv’s parents, the always entertaining Dennis and Ida and called in at Carsington Reservoir. I usually visit around Christmas time when the reservoir holds many wintering wildfowl and is a good place to see Tree Sparrow and the increasingly scarce Willow Tit. Well the Tree Sparrows were in evidence but not much else, but it was a nice place to complete our journey.
So all that remained was to drive back to Dorset. A 1000 mile journey over 10 days, enjoying the company of family and old friends and seeing some interesting sights and wildlife on route.
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