earthdreamery

By earthdreamer

Cowper's Cross

I had to be in the office today, which is not how I'd ideally choose to spend my Saturday, but it wasn't so bad. First, there was no rush so I was able to sleep in and, for once, my blip senses weren't stimulated by any early morning sun or dramatic cloudscapes. I didn't stir until after 9 o'clock and I really needed that catch-up. I've not had more than six hours sleep all month. I then treated myself to a read in bed for an hour. What a delight that was. I could see myself getting quite used to this kind of lifestyle!

Second, I was really only going in to work to offer moral support for the team doing a big update on our new Travel Health System. I designed and wrote the original prototype, but it's now been taken over by my young colleagues to bring into production. It would actually be hard for me to get involved even if I wanted to now. I don't understand how it all works any more. And that is just great!

I took the train in but had the mountain bike sitting in the office, so when a dull start to the day turned into a bright evening, I decided to take a leisurely ride back along the canal and over the moor. The clouds cleared to leave almost clear skies by the time I got home, but, despite wearing a good few layers, I got really chilled on the trail past the trig point over to the twelve apostles and the Cow and Calf. I don't think it was really that cold, but after a week of summer weather it felt bitter. It took a good hour for my hands to come back to life once in the house.

This blip is of Cowper's Cross, quite a famous landmark on the moor, standing near the top of the old Keighley Gate Road. I've taken quite a few shots of this over the last year, but never in quite such dramatic light. These are not all the original stones because it's suffered a bit of damage over the years, and it seems likely that it's become Christianised relatively recently from a very much older boundary stone. The precise history may be vague, but what is certainly clear is that it marks a route across the moor which had been used for many centuries. This is a spot which has had a presence in the minds of local people for possibly a thousand years or more. I feel that when I run or cycle past here, which I must have done hundreds of times by now. Its blipping is somewhat overdue as it's a rather special place for me.

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