Have you had your Five a Day?

Five photos taken on walks in the countryside around Hebden Bridge and the Upper Calder Valley, interspersed with views from Elmet Farmhouse in the village of Pecket Well. Yorkshire at its finest. Enjoy!                        (Lesley Jackson)

30 April 2016

View from Elmet Farmhouse

 

Stoodley Pike and Heptonstall on the horizon

 

Daffodils and hellebores in the garden at Elmet Farmhouse

 

Primroses flourishing in the cottage garden at Elmet Farmhouse

 

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

29 April 2016

Moody sky over Luddenden Dean

 

Early morning sun through the trees in Luddenden Dean 

 

Leaves coming out on the trees in the woods of Luddenden Dean

 

Fern-clad wall in Luddenden Dean

 

Fledgling chaffinch in the garden

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

26 April 2016

Jacob sheep in Luddenden Dean

 

Pigmy goats in Luddenden Dean

Catherine House Farm in Luddenden Dean

 

Luddenden Brook running through Luddenden Dean

 

The beautiful unspoilt valley of Luddenden Dean

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

27 April 2016

Castellated lodge gatehouse for the demolished mansion of Castle Carr in Luddenden Dean

 

The two gatehouses are connected by an impressive arched gateway

 

Luddenden Dean – with heather moorland above lush green meadows

 

Early morning sunshine on the fells above Luddenden Dean

 

Cottages in Luddenden Dean

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

26 April 2016

More lovely lambs!

 

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

25 April 2016

Five views of Luddenden Dean

 

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

24 April 2016

Roe deer in meadow above Hardcastle Crags

 

Roe deer are regularly spotted in wooded valleys such as Hardcastle Crags, usually in twos or threes

 

They come up from the woods to graze on the hilltop meadows

 

Catkins at Hardcastle Crags, with Gibson Mill in the background

 

Bluebells massing in Hardcastle Crags

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

23 April 2016

Swaledale sheep and lamb at Pecket Well

 

New-born Swaledale lamb at Pecket Well

 

Pecket Well War Memorial – also known as ‘mini Stoodley’

 

The wooded valley of Hardcastle Crags below Pecket Well

 

The hilltop village of Pecket Well, with Hardcastle Crags in the valley below and Heptonstall and Stoodley Pike on the horizon

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

22 April 2016

Stoodley Pike from Wadsworth Moor

 

Heather in hibernation on Wadsworth Moor

 

Meadow pipit in the heather on Wadsworth Moor

 

Goose on the lookout in the heather on Wadsworth Moor 

 

Shaft to underground water tunnel – a landmark on the heather moorland above Pecket Well

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

21 April 2016

View from Elmet Farmhouse at Pecket Well, with Heptonstall and Stoodley Pike on the horizon

 

A host of daffodils flowering in the cottage garden at Elmet Farmhouse

 

View from the cottage garden at Elmet Farmhouse

 

Looking down on the cottage garden at Elmet Farmhouse, with daffodils, primroses, hellebores and pulmonaria all in bloom

 

Snakes head fritillary in the garden

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

20 April 2016

Northern Wheatear in Crimsworth Dean

 

View over the bracken along Crimsworth Dean

 

View towards Stoodley Pike along Crimsworth Dean

 

Ewes and lambs at Grain Farm in Crimsworth Dean

 

A copse of Scots Pines in Crimsworth Dean

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

19 April 2016

Bucoli scene in Crimsworth Dean

 

Mother and child reunion in Crimsworth Dean

 

Early morning sunshine highlighting the folds of Crimsworth Dean

 

Homages to William Blake: sheep and new-born lambs sheltering under a tree in Crimsworth Dean

Gentle slopes give way to steep valley sides at the head of Crimsworth Dean

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

18 April 2016

Crimsworth Dean on a beautiful spring morning

 

Mother and child posing in Crimsworth Dean

 

Tucking in for milkshake at the Crimsworth canteen

 

Crimsworth Dean – not a bad place to be born

 

Cute Crimsworth lamb, caught in mid bleat

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

17 April 2016

Pinky and Perky in Crimsworth Dean

 

Looking a bit sheepish

 

Top end of Crimsworth Dean

The Crimsworth Three – plotting mischief

 

Jay in the garden at Elmet Farmhouse

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

16 April 2016

Another new arrival in the Crimsworth maternity ward

 

Stepping out!

 

It’s all happening in Crimsworth…

Crimsworth Dean – a new day, a new dawn

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

15 April 2016

‘The Lamb of God’ – born in Crimsworth Dean

 

 

Timid twins in the Crimsworth creche

 

The silken slopes of Crimsworth Dean

 

Come in number 25! Mother and child in Crimsworth Dean

 

A poppit of a pipit perching on a post in Crimsworth Dean

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

14 April 2016

Solitary mill chimney stranded in the woods at Colden Clough…

 

…Evocative relics of the once substantial Lumb Mills at Lumb Bank, near Heptonstall, dating from the early 19th century

 

Colden Water – the river tapped to power a string of textile mills during the 18th and 19th centuries

 

Jack Bridge crossing Colden Water in Colden Clough

 

The first bluebells coming into flower in Colden Clough, near Heptonstall

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

13 April 2016

River of mist blockading the end of Crimsworth Dean

 

Caught napping… Sleepy lambs having a lie-in in Crimsworth Dean

 

Number 11 nuzzling up to mum – a bit heavy on the graffiti!

 

It’s quite a gambol, this lambing lark

 

The sun-kissed slopes of Crimsworth…. again

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

12 April 2016

Lumb Falls in Crimsworth Dean – soon the spring foliage will obscure the view

 

Crimsworth Dean Beck from packhorse bridge above Lumb Falls

 

Bracken and woodland on the steep slopes of Crimsworth Dean

 

Crimsworth Dean Beck as it flows through the woods lower down the valley

 

Watercourses channelling water from Crimsworth Dean Beck to the former dyeworks at Midgehole, near Hardcastle Crags

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

 

11 April 2016

View from Elmet Farmhouse  – not quite as spectacular as the River of Mist yesterday but still pretty exceptional!

 

Hazy April sunshine on Stoodley Pike and Heptonstall

 

And this is where the photos were taken from – Elmet Farmhouse on the right

 

The daffs are now in full bloom in the garden at Elmet Farmhouse and the hellebores are still going strong

 

Crimsworth Dean – a tranquil unspoilt valley a short walk from Elmet Farmhouse with more lovely vistas

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

10 April 2016

The magical River of Mist from Elmet Farmhouse at Pecket Well  at 8.24am

 

The unexpected snow on the hills late last night gives a new twist to the River of Mist 

 

Frost on the meadow in front of Elmet Farmhouse with Stoodley Pike and Heptonstall Church poking out through the River of Mist

 

River of Mist 20 minutes earlier at 8.05am

 

Stoodley Pike on snow-sifted ridge hovering above the River of Mist

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

9 April 2016

Crimsworth Dean – a chorus of curlews ricocheting around the valley, a flash of yellow as a green woodpecker takes flight

 

Crème de Crimsworth – soft early morning sunshine spilling across the fields

 

Meadow pipit in Crimsworth Dean – flitting from one fence post to the next 

 

Pied wagtail dipping and diving through Crimsworth Dean

 

Sheep on a moss-covered boulder near Lumb Falls in Crimsworth Dean

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

8 April 2016

The sun-kissed slopes of Crimsworth Dean at 8am

 

Bouncy lambs on the nursery slopes at Grain Farm in Crimsworth Dean

 

Mother and toddler looking a bit quizzical

 

Sun rising over Crimsworth Dean at 8.28am

 

 

Sun on ‘the tops’ – Old Town skyline from Crimsworth Dean

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

7 April 2016

‘Hello mum!’ New arrival in the Crimsworth creche

 

Into position – tucking in for breakfast at the Crimsworth Deanery

 

Like mother, like daughter (or is it a son?) – Contented duo at Grain Farm in Crimsworth Dean

 

Crimsworth curlew – finally photographed two months after the first curlews returned 

 

Grey wagtail at Lumb Falls in Crimsworth Dean

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

6 April 2016

Is it the Lake District fells? No, it’s the precipitous slopes of Crimsworth Dean

 

Fields above Lumb Falls in Crimsworth Dean

 

How green is our valley? Well, the answer is ‘very’!… View along Crimsworth Dean, with Stoodley Pike in the distance

 

Looking up to the former Methodist Chapel in Crimsworth Dean

 

Blue sky, cotton wool clouds and purplish woods in Crimsworth Dean

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

5 April 2016

Crimsworth Dean from near Grain Water Bridge

 

Crimsworth Dean Beck…

 

… meandering through Crimsworth Dean towards Lumb Falls

 

Looking back along Crimsworth Dean towards Grain Water Bridge

 

Looking south from mid way along Crimsworth Dean

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

4 April 2016

Slack Heptonstall and Stoodley Pike on the horizon with Hardcastle Crags below

 

Two new-born lambs nestling against their mother up on ‘the tops’ 

 

The maternity ward up on Walshaw Moor above Hardcastle Crags – with soothing musical accompaniment of curlews

 

Another one on the way perhaps? Or maybe she just wants a good old scratch

 

Luminous green meadow up on ‘the tops’ above Hardcastle Crags, looking towards Slack Heptonstall with Stoodley Pike on the far hilltop

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

3 April 2016

Lambs on the high meadows near Walshaw above Hardcastle Crags

Not a bad place to enter the world… 

 

Tucking in for afternoon tea

 

A picture of innocence – see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

 

The Walshaw creche – triplets number 1 and triplets number 2

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

2 April 2016

Well it had to happen eventually… The first of lambs of the year at Grain Farm in Crimsworth Dean

 

They’re still a bit unsteady on their feet, and note the pipe cleaner legs

 

This little chap is still a bit wrinkly, presumably a recent arrival, possibly even today

 

Whereas this dynamic duo are well into their stride

 

And then there were three… Lots more on the way no doubt (watch this space)

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson

 

1 April 2016

 

Baaaa Humbug!

 

A new light on Luddenden

 

Bleached grass and colour-coordinated Swaledale sheep looking imperious on Wadsworth Moor

 

Luddenden Dean – over the hill but not so far away from Elmet Farmhouse

 

A harmonious palette – bracken, bilberries and silver birch on the upper slopes of Luddenden Dean

 

© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson