A Dales High Way

Baildon Moor burial dated to Bronze Age

Bones found inside an ancient burial urn found over a century ago on Baildon Moor have just been radio-carbon dated to around 1700 BC - the early Bronze Age - over 3,500 years ago.

The decorated burial urn was found in 1904 by workers as they dug the seventh green on the moortop golf course at Pennythorne Hill, on a popular early alternative section for walkers of A Dales High Way.

Rumour had it that the workers wanted to dump what they found in their wheelbarrow and say nothing, but someone spotted what was afoot and alerted the council. In the hasty excavation which followed, the man’s cremated bones, crushed but not powdered, were discovered inside a complete decorated burial urn, along with a copper or bronze knife, a flint arrowhead, and a perforated bone tube.

Dr Keith Boughey, a retired science teacher and amateur archeologist who lives on the fringe of the moor, persuaded Bradford council to release samples to a radiocarbon dating laboratory.

The results, he said, “nailed down the period”, proving that the artefacts were from the very cusp of the new Bronze Age.

"This one is special for a few reasons" said Dr Boughey. "It contained metal. For a long time it was the stone age. Flint was the big one and they made really amazing things. Bronze is the first metal that was discovered."

The bones were those of a high-status man aged about 25.

Baildon Moor is one of several local moors which abound with prehistoric artifacts, including the nearby Dobruddon Stone which carries cup-and-ring markings from the Neolithic or New Stone Age - over 4000 years ago.

See the Yorkshire Archaeological Society here, the Yorkshire Post report here, and the Bradford T&A report here.

14 October 2019

Tornado at Ribblehead

Walkers along A Dales High Way were treated to a rare sight on Saturday, when the steam train Tornado crossed the Ribblehead Viaduct under strormy skies on its way from London to Carlisle.

The North Briton steam train was run by the  A1 Steam Locomotive Trust as part of its regular private steam train outings. The Tornado is a regular visitor to the Leeds-Settle-Carlisle line - in February 2017 it ran a daily mainline return service over 3 days, carrying 5,000 passengers, following repairs to the line which had seen it closed for a lengthy period.

The Leeds-Settle-Carlisle Line runs regular daily train services, using speedy diesel pacers. But commercial steam and diesel services are operated by railway comapanies regularly along the line, including services from The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, The Railway Touring Company, Statesman Rail, West Coast Railways and Saphos Trains.

Two more steam trains are expected this month: -

• Saturday 5th - Pennine Explorer (A1 Steam Locomotive Trust);   
• Saturday 12th - The Cumbrian Mountain Express (The Railway Touring Company);

Riding the train is a great way to see the beautiful Settle-Carlisle Line, probably the most beautiful railway journey in England. But watching the trains pass over the Ribblehead Viaduct from the route of A Dales High Way is a special pleasure.

See our previous posting here. See other steam train operators here.

1st October 2019

Saltaire Festival starts today

The annual Saltaire Festival starts today and runs throughout the next 10 days.

It offers a real treat for walkers arriving to set off on A Dales High Way.

Saltaire Brewery Beer Festival will help the district unwind over the first weekend, serving up beer and street food.

Live music will play around the village, including hotspots like Caroline Social Club, Flash Cassette and the Buskers Bandstand in the park. The festival will also bring a weekend-long vintage home and fashion fair to Victoria Hall.

Ros Garside, events co-ordinator for Saltaire Festival, explained this year's event will have a "nice, calm, family friendly, community feel".

She said: "The first one (weekend) is more about community and heritage and the second one is the big markets and music in the park.

"Our key event is an exhibition called Weaving The Future which is building on the fact this village was built on textiles. We are hoping to see lots of people in the village."

The full programme for Saltaire Festival, including free children's and young people's events, is available online.

See the Saltaire Festival website here

13 Sept 2019

Saltaire becomes film lot

Victoria Square in Saltaire, at the very start of A Dales High Way, was transformed into a Victorian Lancashire street scene earlier this month for the filming of a new TV series The English Game.

Saltaire has become one of the top film locations in the region, due mainly to its remarkably preserved Victorian streets and the iconic Salts Mill. It has, of course, enjoyed World Heritage status since 2001.

The new 6-part series tells the story of the invention of football and how it quickly rose to become the world's game by crossing class divides. Produced by Netflix and written by Julian Fellowes, the series is expected to be shown next year.

For several days shops were transformed in Saltaire, with one becoming Darwen Post Office and others becoming greengrocers, butchers and family homes. With a huge cast of extras the whole exercise was an entertaining and impressive feat of logistics.

Darwen, a town in Lancashire near Blackburn, was home to the first football club in the world to have paid professional players, and was an early pioneer of professional football in northern England.

Filming also took place in and around a house on the cobbled street of Saltaire's Albert Terrace, and in Bradford city centre where horse drawn carriages and more actors in Victorian clothing were seen filming outside City Hall.

See our previous posting here, and more about The English Game here.

31 Aug 2019