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 June 2016
View towards Hardcastle Crags from Walshaw Moor above Crimsworth Dean
Crimsworth Dean, near Pecket Well
Walking in the footsteps of Ted Hughes…
#
… who roamed this valley as a child
Foxgloves by the beck at Crimsworth Dean, curlews and lapwings overhead
© Photos copyright Lesley Jackson
29 June 2016
Photos from last saturday’s circuit around the Crimsworth Walshaw Loop
Inspiring views across Hardcastle Crags with Stoodley Pike peeping out on far horizon
Late afternoon sunshine turning the hilltop meadows luminous green
Above Hardcastle Crags near Walshaw
Moorland meadow with reeds bursting through the grass above Crimsworth Dean – accompanied by a chorus of curlews
© Photos copyright Lesley Jackson
28 June 2016
Goldfinch feeding on a thistle in Crimsworth Dean
There seem to be a growing number of goldfinches in Crimsworth Dean – spotted regularly but difficult to photograph because they are usually flitting about at speed
Hay meadows at Pecket Well earlier this month
Elmet Farmhouse hay meadow in the foreground, Pecket Well War Memorial in the centre amongst the trees
Sorrel, buttercups and grasses in hay meadow at Elmet Farmhouse
© Photos copyright Lesley Jackson
27 June 2016
Elmet Farmhouse high cholesterol hay meadows full of butter(cups)
These photos were taken from our top field on 5 June when the fields when the wild flowers were at their peak
The mixture of red sorrel and yellow buttercups creates a dichroic effect
Later this summer the meadow will be cut for hay to be used as winter feed for the cattle at Horse Hey Farm in Crimsworth Dean just along the road.
Useful and beautiful – William Morris would approve.
© Photos copyright Elmet Farmhouse
26 June 2016
Views from Elmet Farmhouse at 9.30pm last night…
River of mist in the Calder Valley after a heavy shower
The swathes of mist are constantly shifting…
…as the trail of mist flows into Hebden Dale and Hardcastle Crags
It looks like smoke but it’s water vapour trapped in the steep-sided valleys
© Photos copyright Lesley Jackson
25 June 2016
Highlights from the Crimsworth Walshaw loop – my favourite walk
Hardcastle Crags in the foreground, Stoodley Pike in the distance
Late afternoon sunshine over Hardcastle Crags…
… very different to early morning light
Roller coaster view across Harcastle Crags, with Slack Heptonstall on the brow and Stoodley Pike on the horizon
© Photos copyright Lesley Jackson
24 June 2016
Elmet Farmhouse with its cottage garden in full bloom
Just look at that amazing peony!
How many holiday cottages have such a pretty garden to sit out in?
And beyond the garden wall is our beautiful hay meadow…
… which is at its peak of perfection in June
© Photos copyright Lesley Jackson
23 June 2016
Elmet Farmhouse – perched on the brow of the hill…
… surrounded by hay meadows
Why not beat a path to our door?
Lilac and laburnum trees on either side of the gate
Elmet Farmhouse with its beautifully preserved 18th century stone mullion windows. The adjacent barn, dated 1861, is also Grade II Listed.
© Photos copyright Lesley Jackson
22 June 2016
Views from Elmet Farmhouse with hay meadow in the foreground and Heptonstall and Stoodley Pike on the horizon
Pecket Well War Memorial viewed from Elmet Farmhouse, with meadows full of buttercups and the steep wooded valley of Hardcastle Crags beyond
© Photos copyright Lesley Jackson
21 June 2016
The steep wooded valley of Hardcastle Crags snaking through the Pennines…
… with hay meadows and lush pasture on the shoulders of the hills
Higher up on the hills, the pasture turns to moorland…
… and the terrain becomes much more wild and rugged…
Tussocky grass and fluffy bog cotton up on Walshaw Moor
© Photos copyright Lesley Jackson
20 June 2016
Midsummer at Walshaw Dean.. Has it been snowing?!
Thankfully not – this dusting of white is bog cotton up on the moor
The conditions must have been particularly good this spring as the bog cotton is looking spectacular
It almost looks as though it could be harvested
Later in the summer the moors will turn purple as the heather comes into flower
© Photos copyright Lesley Jackson
19 June 2016
Sandpiper at Walshaw Dean reservoir
The famous rhododendrons at Walshaw Dean…
… Late flowering because of the high altitude up on Walshaw Moor
An unexpected surprise in this landscape…
…And a tad surreal
© Photos copyright Lesley Jackson
18 June 2016
Lapwing at Walshaw Dean showing its impressive crest
Beak open – emitting comical noises like a kazoo
Lapwing enclave near the lower reservoir at Walshaw Dean
June is the best time to see lapwings as they are rearing their chicks on the moors
© Photos copyright Ian Fishwick and Lesley Jackson
17 June 2016
Crimsworth Dean – vibrant spring colours
Path through the bracken towards Lumb Falls in Crimsworth Dean
Towering bracken in Crimsworth Dean
Crimsworth Dean with Stoodley Pike in the distance
A sea of bracken in Crimsworth Dean
© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson
16 June 2016
Goldfinch in Pecket Well
Fledgling treecreeper chirruping in the woods in Crimsworth Dean..
Clinging on to the bark and climbing up the tree
Meadow pipit in Crimsworth Dean
Pair of thrushes in Crimsworth Dean
© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson
15 June 2016
Golden plovers among the bog cotton up on Wadsworth Moor above Pecket Well, a short walk from Elmet Farmhouse
Here’s one little chick captured mid-peep
They’re not called Golden Plovers for nothing…
…their plumage is iridescent greenish gold
Catch them while you can – once they’ve finished rearing their chicks, they’ll up sticks and be gone
© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson
14 June 2016
In praise of golden plovers…
Peeping among the bilberries…
And the tufts of bog cotton
In the early morning sunshine…
Up on Wadsworth Moor
© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson
13 June 2016
Finally managed to capture one of numerous curlews in Crimsworth Dean
Although they’re all-pervasive, they’re also elusive
But this one was in a prime position on the horizon with blue sky behind
The early morning light was perfect for capturing the detail
Admire the curvature of that amazing beak – and the beauty of those canoodling cries
© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson
12 June 2016
Lumbutts on a hazy spring morning
Steep-roofed chapel in the foreground, curious tower in the background that once housed five waterwheels
Lumbutts on the left and Mankinholes on right, separated by strips of fields
The ancient village of Mankinholes, perched on the hill above Todmorden, nestling below Stoodley Pike
© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson
11 June 2016
Climbing up to Stoodley Pike from Hebden Bridge
An impressive row of narrow strip fields enclosed by dry stone walls
Bog cotton thrives up on the moors
Looking down towards Mankinholes and Lumbutts from near Stoodley Pike
Hay meadow brimming with buttercups, flanked by rough moorland and grazed fields
© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson
10 June 2016
Abel Cross – a pair of imposing coffin stones above Crimsworth Dean
As featured in a photograph by Fay Godwin and a poem by Ted Hughes in Remains of Elmet
Crimsworth Dean on a sunny spring afternoon
Bemused sheep encircled by a trio of fledglings
Fields dotted with grazing at Grain Farm in Crimsworth Dean
© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson
9 June 2016
All change in Crimsworth…
In May the woods were carpeted with blue…
Now the hills are showered with gold
And curlews circle watchfully overhead
Study in green and gold
© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson
8 June 2016
Akroyd Farm in Pecket Well, an ancient dwelling encircled by buttercup meadows
Fieldscape at Pecket Well with scattered handloom weavers’ cottages and farms
View across Hardcastle Crags towards Stoodley Pike from Walshaw
Swerving off into Crimsworth Dean from Hardcastle Crags
Crimsworth Dean – the ‘secret valley’ as we call it, or ‘happy valley’ as it was known by Ted Hughes
© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson
7 June 2016
Fields fringed with lacy white cow parsley
Vivid green grass on the hilltop meadows…
…provides the perfect backdrop
An avenue of cow parsley near Walshaw above Hardcastle Crags
Contented ewes and lambs grazing on the high meadows above Hardcastle Crags, with Slack Top on the opposite hilltop and Stoodley Pike beyond
© All photos copyright Lesley Jackson
6 June 2016
Pastoral idyll on ‘the tops’ above Hardcastle Crags
Sheep grazing on the shoulders of the hills…
…above the steep wooded valley of Hardcastle Crags
Hilltop meadows tinged with yellow as the buttercups erupt
The omnipresent Stoodley Pike thrusting up above the high meadows beyond Hardcastle Crags
© Photos copyright Lesley Jackson
5 June 2016
Golden hay meadows in Crimsworth Dean brimming with buttercups
Sheep grazing on the high meadows above Crimsworth Dean, with Stoodley Pike in the distance
A chunky sheep, a rugged wall, pale tussocky moorland grass
The lush woodlands of Hardcastle Crags in all their spring finery
Walshaw Lodge overlooking Hardcastle Crags
© Photos copyright Lesley Jackson
4 June 2016
Stoodley Pike cresting the hill above Mankinholes
Buttercup-rich wild flower meadows on the tops near Lumbutts
Yorkshire alpine meadow
Fields of gold above Todmorden
© Photos copyright Lesley Jackson
3 June 2016
Views from Elmet Farmhouse at Pecket Well near Hebden Bridge on a perfect spring morning with the meadow in full bloom
© Photos copyright Lesley Jackson
2 June 2016
Doe, a deer…
… a female deer
Circling her new-born kid in the field next to Elmet Farmhouse (see 1 June entry below )
Protecting her offspring from predators…
… and besotted nosey parkers, such as us!
© Photos copyright Lesley Jackson and Ian Fishwick
1 June 2016
Springwatch at Elmet! This beautiful roe deer…
… gave birth to this tiny little kid in our field last week
Mother and child doing well – here’s the kid having a feed
And this is where it all happened – in the long grass of our hay meadow – with the backdrop of Heptonstall and Stoodley Pike. You can see just see the hind in the field on the lower right….
And here she is leaping through the buttercups and sorrel, circling round protectively while her kid is curled up in the grass
© Photos copyright Lesley Jackson and Ian Fishwick
