Wednesday 12 January 2022

A New Year's Walk

We're already well into January now but I'm taking you back to New Year's Day and a lovely walk we took. We'd spent New Year's Eve at Eleanor and Jacob's, Daniel and Jasmine were still staying with us, but Mick and I had come home after the celebrations at about 1am, whereas Daniel and Jasmine stayed until 3am. Consequently, all the younger members of the family had a good sleep in so Mick and I decided to head out for a walk with Archie.

When I was growing up, we lived a couple of miles away from the small town where I live now. A road at one end of our street took you directly there, but if you turned the other way out of our driveway, you were in farming country. We'd often walk down the back lane, which took us on a more scenic route to where I now live, past stables, farms and fields, and walk in a circular route, coming home via the road. Apart from the road, all you could see from the back of our house was farmland. It's all changed now, there's been so much development since the seventies and eighties. If you look out over the back of our old house now you can see a motorway, office buildings and a shopping centre. I find that so sad. That back lane no longer connects our old house to the small town where I now live as it's now a no-through road, owing to the buildings which have appeared.

We've lived in our small town now for over twenty eight years and have never walked that route that I used to take in reverse. I knew we wouldn't be able to reach my old house, but I wondered what it would be like from the other end as the new development hasn't reached that far down the lane. So that's the walk we decided to take on New Year's Day.

There's still stables at this end of the lane, though the horses weren't anywhere near the fences on this particular day, so no photos of them.

Walking down the lane brought back so many memories. I remember the walks we used to take when extended family visited, and the walks we took with the dogs that we had at the time.

Someone's left some treats for the birds.

It was a gorgeous day. I was wearing my coat but I really didn't need it. Apparently, it's been the warmest New Year on record. I can't believe how mild it's been.

Looking back you can see our small town. Like the surrounding villages, it prospered and grew as a result of the coal industry, and now the population is about 15,000. The town is about seven miles from Leeds.

Look across the fields and you can see a lake. You'd be completely unaware it was there unless viewing it from this point.

What a great little hiding place in the trunk of this tree. I can just imagine Winnie the Pooh characters in the Hundred Acre Wood living somewhere like this.

It's good to see that some farms have survived the redevelopment projects, though how long they remain here is anyone's guess. It seems that they're swallowed up by housing estates, roads or office blocks almost overnight.

This is more reminiscent of the view I saw on these walks as a child. It's good to see that some land remains untouched, and long may it be so.

We returned home to a lovely New Year's Day roast dinner, and Daniel and Jasmine went back to Essex the following day, however, while they were in Leeds they managed to find a flat to rent so they'll be coming back again at the end of the month, this time to stay.

17 comments:

  1. That looks the perfect way to spend New Year's Day, looking back to your past, enjoying the countryside now and looking forward to having all your children nearby.

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  2. Sounds just the ticket for a New year walk, its amazing when you return to old haunts just how much has changed. Love the idea of Winne the Pooh hiding in that tree. Such good news that Daniel and Jasmine have found a property, I bet you are counting down the days. xcx

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  3. It looks like a nice walk even if you couldn't do the full circular like you once did. It really annoys and upsets me that so much land and countryside is constantly being lost to provide housing developments and out-of-town retail parks and industrial estates, especially when there are brownfield alternatives. I love that hollow tree trunk, maybe Pooh and Piglet's cousins live there and they had just popped out to the shops :)

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  4. I feel sad too upon seeing the buildings that have "conquered" every piece of land, changing the aspect of landscape and roads.

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  5. It's good that some parts have avoided development. When I was growing up there were field close by where we used to play but this were covered with new housing when I was in my teens. Its sad ti see green spaces disappear.

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  6. Looks like a good way to start the New Year, Jo!

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  7. A lovely way to start the New Year. It is very sad to lose our green spaces to housing and industrial estates. I'm sure you can't wait for Daniel and Jasmine to move back and have all your family near to you.

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  8. How good for you that your children have moved close to you and so you don’t have to move,unlike us.We still are not settled and are even thinking of renting somewhere back where we came from.
    Barbarax

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  9. Yippee, about D&J finding a flat to rent. Although I grew up in Sydney, it was the outer suburbs most of the time and we quite often had farmland, market gardens or undisturbed bushland close by, but wouldn't anymore if there. Here a lot of the farmland is being swallowed up with new housing estates even though we are "regional Victoria", but close enough to Melbourne for people to commute on a daily basis. I find it sad too. Thanks for sharing, take care & hugs.

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  10. New year was ridiculously mild wasn't it. That was a lovely New Years Day walk, your photographs are so nice to see.

    How nice that Daniel and Jasmine will be moving back near you.
    We are very fortunate that four of our six children live within three miles of us.

    Enjoy the rest of your week and some more good walks.

    All the best Jan

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  11. A lovely walk. It did seem unusually mild on New Year's Day. X

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  12. A most enjoyable post, and good pictures. A New Year's Day walk like this is always welcome after Christmas. xx

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  13. How very nice of you to share this awesome weather. Today the sun is shining and the promise of air temps in the 20s-30s means I can get outside!!

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  14. Thank you for sharing your lovely walk, you have some lovely countryside on your doorstep.

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  15. Beautiful countryside and a good job it's not been taken over for house building. The weather has been a bit mad hasn't it, although I'm sure we will have some colder weather soon, I hope so, I do love a nice frosty walk much better than the damp weather we've been having. Good news that Daniel and Jasmine have found somewhere near you. Hope you have gotten over your cold now.

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  16. I'm a little late with commenting. I enjoyed your walk and the description of where you went, how it brings back memories of previous walks. Housing developments seem to encroach on farmland more and more. Our 'village' where we live now is a classed as a 'suburb'. Thank goodness some green spaces and woodland trails have been left for locals to enjoy. So glad to hear the news that Daniel and Jasmine will be moving to your area very soon.

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  17. I've lived here for over thirty years and it's astonishing how drastically the landscape has changed. That is a lovely walk, a great way to start the New Year. Wonderful news re Daniel and Jasmine moving back.xxx

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