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| "The Golden Cock" in Farnley Tyas |
The district of Kirklees in West Yorkshire is only thirty miles north of our house but it is an area I don't know very well at all. As yesterday's weather forecast was filled with promise, I set off before ten o'clock intending to park in a village I had never even heard of - Farnley Tyas which is three miles south of Huddersfield.
And what a lovely ramble I enjoyed in the blue sky weather. In
Farnley Tyas I snapped a pub with a great name - "The Golden Cock" which has nothing to do with Donald Trump or David Beckham! St Lucius's Church - which isn't very old - was given to the village by the Earl of Dartmouth in 1840. There must have been a much older church somewhere but I didn't have time to look as I was heading for Castle Hill which overlooks Huddersfield and has much ancient history - far older than The Victoria Tower which was erected up there in the eighteen nineties in celebration of Queen Victoria's long reign.
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| Victoria Tower on Castle Hill |
This fine tower dominates the local landscape and seemed to be forever present like beacon during my six mile hike. I descended Castle Hill to Hall Bower then on to Stirley Community Farm and down to Honley Station. Up Hall Ing Road then up on to Lud Hill - there wasn't much flat walking on this energetic scenic ramble. It was all up and down with the Yorkshire Pudding often puffing like a rickety old steam train. They say that when the going gets tough the tough get going but my solution is to plod a bit more slowly - pacing yourself so that you don''t need to keep stopping for a rest.
When I got home Shirley asked, "How was your walk?" and I said "Marvellous!" Before too long I will return to that area and maybe take in Brockhooles, Upper Thong and Netherthong. Great Yorkshire names round there.
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| View of Huddersfield from Castle Hill |
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| Roadside shrine near Honley High School |
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| Castle Hill viewed from Lud Hill |
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| Back to St Lucius's Church in Farnley Tyas |
I remember that tower. we used to visit it for miniature fell runs. It's a great area and as usual you have done it justice.
ReplyDeleteYou were a fell runner Adrian? Sounds like torture to me. You must have been built like a whippet.
DeleteOh, I am so pleased to see you're truly out and about again! I hope all those hills weren't too much on you, giving you a setback in terms of health.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures (as always). My favourite is the next-to-last one. It could be March on a Yorkshire calendar (in fact, maybe I'll nick it for my next one).
Mugged by a German librarian. Now I know another of your "secrets" - you are a photo robber! But I will be honoured if you include that picture in your calendar Ambassador.
DeleteApparently Victoria's Tower is open to the public at certain times. You'll have to go back and take pictures of the inside and the view from the top. Just take the stairs slowly, you'll be fine.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite photo, of course, is the panoramic view of the countryside & tower with the flock of interested onlookers. No fir trees in your landscape, I notice. What variety of tree are we seeing?
We are seeing deciduous trees Mistress Hilly - before springtime clothes them in leaves - ash and birch and elm and oak and chestnut and sycamore and beech. At the tower, I noticed the door was open so I went inside and found a council workman on a laptop. He was pleasant and told me that the tower would be open at Eastertime. I believe there are 165 steps to ascend.
DeleteWe have a lovely tower, as well. In Astoria Oregon, the Astoria Column is about 125' tall and from the top you can view the 4.1 mile Megler Bridge over the Columbia River. There are 164 winding steps to the top. That is one climb I am satisfied to have done once and don't care to do it again! Whew - makes for very wobbly legs by the time you reach the top!
ReplyDeleteWobbly legs? Lay off the hooch Hilly!
DeleteLooks like a place for a grand day out...
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by Mike. I didn't see Wallace and Gromit - but yes a grand day out in a secret corner of England.
DeleteBeautiful walk and magnificent pictures as usual, Mr. Pudding. So glad you took Beau and Peep with you. I spotted them in the picture sharing lunch with some of their distant cousins.
ReplyDeleteDoes the Victoria Tower serve some purpose besides a monument to the queen? Is it a structure or just a monument? Can people climb steps on the inside to view the surroundings from a window at the top?
There are 165 steps to the top but it wasn't open when I was there and it serves no other function than to commemorate Queen Victoria's long reign. A statement of civic pride by the burghers of Huddersfield which grew as an industrial town during Victoria's reign - from 50,000 at the start of her reign to 160,000 at the end. You were very observant to spot Beau and Peep. I had a hell of a time getting them back on their leashes Mama.
DeleteDespite my upbringing in Lancashire and my times in Cumberland and Westmorland with their plethora of weird and wonderful names I never cease to be amazed by the new ones I've never heard. Farnly Tyas has to be amongst the oddities.
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