Category: West Yorkshire
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Rudolph and the Power of the Fly Agaric
Apparently Reindeer are known to seek out the Fly Agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria), the red and white toadstool once used by Lapp shamans for its hallucinogenic effects. Midwinter rituals involved eating the fungus, falling into a deep sleep, and waking with unnaturally heightened strength and agility. The animals reacted in much the same way, fuelling…
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Quid Mirum!
The so-called Surprise View from Otley Chevin must have long since lost its element of surprise. Today was not my first visit to the Chevin but then I avoided this view. I have taken a somewhat unusual route: walking the winding path through Caley Deer Park, climbing up past the crags, spotting Almscliff Crag on…
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Living Heritage: From Cask Beer to Bloodsports
A short, uneventful stroll along the Public Rights of Way encircling Harewood House today, which remained tastefully out of sight for most of the way—probably for the best. I shall reserve for another time any reference to the minor detail that Harewood House owes its existence largely to money wrung from slavery and sugar plantations…
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A Walk on Ilkley Moor: Wind, Rock Art, and a Mild Sense of Betrayal
A walk “On Ilkla Moor”, though not “Baht ’at,” as I had the good sense to wear a buff. The wind was still rather sharp. Ilkley Moor, an eastern limb of the Pennines, sits between the Wharfe and Aire valleys. This expanse of rough moorland is littered with relics of prehistoric activity. Chief among them…
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Salts Mill: Industry, Philanthropy, and an Uncomfortable Truth
The River Aire spills over a weir past Salts Mill, a vast textile factory that was the sole reason for the existence of the so-called ‘model village’ of Saltaire. Both the mill and the village were the brainchild of Sir Titus Salt (1803–1876), a man famed for his paternalistic attitude towards his workforce. In what…
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The Chevin
A popular “Forest Park” overlooking the River Wharfe and the town of Otley. ‘Chevin’ is a Brittonic word probably meaning a ridge of high land which seems quite apt. The gritstone escarpment has been much exploited for building stone. The foundation of the Houses of Parliament are said to been hewn from blocks from The…