Cotton

In search of some late season football in Oxenhope, I plotted out a walk across from Ogden Water. First, two trains to Keighley, from where the Halifax bus took me (past the assembled Brontë Gathering), up through Cullingworth and Denholme  to Ogden. 

I apparently haven’t visited Ogden Water since the kids were very little, certainly it was in pre-blip years. Perhaps the fact that it took me two hours to get somewhere about eight miles away explains that. I started with a coffee at the volunteer run visitor centre, and then walked half way round the reservoir (water low, extra), before heading up and out through the plantation, onto Ovenden Moor, hearing a Cuckoo and meeting a Roe Deer on the way - extra. Out on the moor, I headed north towards Oxenhope, encountering a few creatures along the way (Green Tiger beetle - extra, pair of Ravens and a few Green Hairstreak, Orange-tip, Green-veined White, Large White, Small White and Peacock butterflies.) 

The wind turbines dominate the top of the moor, and I’d wanted a closer look for quite a while as they are a landmark on the horizon from Baildon Moor (as shown in a previous blip). The bog cotton provided a nice foreground to appreciate them (main image).

After being buzzed by a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Spitfire (extra - 80 yr old clipped wing TE311) I was able to watch through my binoculars as it displayed for the Brontë Gathering and the Bingley VE Day events.

Reaching the brow of the hill, the view opened up to the rest of my walk, with Leeming Reservoir and Oxenhope below (extra). I’d last walked this stretch back in 2012 when I was doing the Bradford Millennium Way. I note that in my blip entry for the day I suggested that I would revisit in nicer weather. It’s taken me a while, but I finally made it.

Down into Oxenhope, I circuited the village scoping out bus stops and arrived at the football ground just in time for kick off. Unfortunately there was no activity, and I finally noticed a chalked message that the game was off. This is a hazard of late season games in amateur leagues, and had I not had such a nice walk I might have been a bit disenchanted. But at least it means when I get round to revisiting the ground, it will be another excuse to explore this part of the district. I briefly thought about extending my walk into Haworth, but a Keighley bus came along so I just called it a day and hopped on that.