Report - Lobb Ghyll Viaduct - Yorkshire Dales - June 2015

[Deleted member 77079]

This is my fourth explore and my second post here. Still using a iPhone so the pictures aren't the best quality, and I am still a novice when it comes to photography. Hopefully that will all change this December when I hopefully get a DSLR!

Lobb Ghyll Viaduct is a breathtaking five arch bridge deep in Lobb wood that served on the Embassy and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway line connecting Skipton and Ilkley. The line was opened in 1888 and closed around 1965 and since then, the bridge has been unused. During that time, the bridge has collected a lot of greenery, however I think the bridge is still as beautiful as I imagine it was when it was constructed.

Due to the location of the bridge it is very hard to photograph, and because I went around summer when all the leaves were still on the trees, a lot of the bridge is covered. I did my best, but I seriously urge any of you who live around this area to check it out.

Parking near the bridge is out of the question, so the walk to the bridge consisted of many fields, walls and stiles.

And this pretty cool building. No idea what it was used for but it was tiny!

Onto the bridge, this shot was taken from the riverbed. Navigating down the slope was very hard, but the views from the bottom were definitely worth it.

Another shot from the same side. The construction of the bridge looked rock solid (pun intended), and although it has had little to no maintenance it is still in very good condition. However, the top of the bridge is full of trees, nettles and tall grass.

This was on the way back. Thought it was quite interesting to see a tree regrowing.

I welcome all critique, and if anyone has any recommendations on good beginner DSLR cameras at a budget of £300 please let me know! Thanks for checking out my post.

 

[Styru]

Good on you for getting out there - perhaps hunt out something less rural for the next expedition.

 

[Dan1701]

The small building there was a field barn, a relic of old agricultural practise. In the past, before machinery was common, farmers would move livestock from the lowland fields to higher pastures over the summer (that barn is a lowland one). The lowland grass would be left to grow up, then in late July would be cut for hay. It had to be done while the grass was almost but not quite seeding, and whilst there was enough sun to dry it out.

These days the farmers will bale said hay and store it indoors (or make haylage or silage). Back then, with no balers or machinery, they simply collected hay in carts and packed it into the upper floors of those field barns. The lower floor gave livestock somewhere to shelter in bad weather. The hay would be doled out to the stock in the fields around each barn over the course of the winter. Given how many field barns there are in the dales, one can imagine that the farmers spent the majority of their time in winter trekking from one barn to another, feeding livestock.

That barn is probably one of the last few surviving in that area. At peak, each field would have had a larger version of one of those, simply to store enough food to keep sheep going through the winter. As sheep normally lamb in February-March time (controlled by when the rams get let out into the flocks), and as about 90% of the growth of a lamb is in the last few weeks of pregnancy, being able to feed sheep and feed them fairly well in January was essential for getting a good crop of lambs for that year, hence those barns were absolutely vital.

 

[Deleted member 77079]

The small building there was a field barn, a relic of old agricultural practise. In the past, before machinery was common, farmers would move livestock from the lowland fields to higher pastures over the summer (that barn is a lowland one). The lowland grass would be left to grow up, then in late July would be cut for hay. It had to be done while the grass was almost but not quite seeding, and whilst there was enough sun to dry it out.

That's really interesting. Thanks for the info!