Gomersal lies at around 140 metres (450 ft) above sea level on a flank of the Spen Valley and has fine views over to the Pennine hills. Prominent is West Nab (500 metres) which lies above Marsden and, to the left of West Nab, Black Hill which at 582 metres is the highest point in Cheshire and the highest on the Pennine Way for some miles to come.Whilst admiring this view today a bird flew low in front of me – hang on a minute, that wasn’t my first swallow of the Spring was it? Indeed it was – what a start to the day.
Royds Park has one or two exotic trees, one of them what I had always taken to be Roble Beech but looking at the leaves emerging today I’m not sure, I’ll have to re-check when the leaves are fully out. What is sure, however, is that it is a Nothofagus – the Southern Beech, and the thing about Nothofagus is that they smell – pleasantly. I’ve noticed this at Thorp Perrow where there are a few planted together and at certain times these trees emit a distinct cinnamon/sandalwood-like aroma. Today the scent is slight but discernable.
The first thing noticed when walking up Primrose Lane is the amount of recent fly-tipping, in this case all neatly bagged; presumably a result of the closure of household waste tips. The lane crosses Spen Beck and it’s always worth pausing for a while in the hope of seeing a kingfisher or a dipper, both of which breed on the beck. Chiffchaffs chiff-chaffed all around and then another song joined the chorus, that of a willow warbler, another first for the year; the day was getting better.
The Greenway was being well used by walkers,joggers, cyclists and a horse rider, so much so that social distancing was at times impossible and the thought occurs that 2 metres apart doesn’t take into account any prevailing wind as a cyclist whizzes by and with a cough disappears into the distance. It seems that many of the people out and about are not enjoying themselves – head down, no eye contact – as though it might be dangerous to actually speak to anyone. They are certainly not enjoying, as I am, the wonders of nature that surround them; the next highlight being the sight and sound of a blackcap. These birds have been about for a few days but this is another first for me this year.
All around the trees are putting on a spectacular display with emerging leaves and flowers looking superb in the bright sunlight. Catkins of various willows, male and female, were in abundance and were supported by other catkins of hornbeam, black poplar and the birches, together with the flowers of wild, bird and ornamental cherry, Norway maple, rowan, ash, elm, and strangely a guelder rose with flowers just showing whilst the tree retained fruit from last year. The sycamores were just starting to stir but the oaks and limes were still enjoying their winter snooze. Butterflies were plentiful but I only saw peacock and small tortoiseshell, there were no commas or brimstones about although they had been recorded locally.
As the Greenway nears Cleckheaton it overlooks a recent addition to the landscape – the Jo Cox Memorial Wood - which has been created over the winter months by Spen Civic Society and looks impressive. Unfortunately the area is closed due to the virus regulations, but it will be interesting to explore once we get back to normal. Through Cleckheaton where customers at Tesco were being marshalled into queues the specified 2 metre distance apart and where a row of cars in the car park looked as though they had been deliberately parked to maintain the same prescribed distance. At Cleckheaton the path starts a shallow but noticeable climb towards Low Moor, crossing the M62 Motorway and Cleckheaton golf course where the greenkeepers were hard at work maintaining the course ready for the re-start of sport, whenever that might be.
Traffic on the Greenway thinned out somewhat as Cleckheaton was left further behind and the path-side vegetation is less so views over open fields can be appreciated whilst a sparrowhawk circles overhead and another blackcap sings his melodic song. We now pass the village of Oakenshaw, whose name indicates an Anglo-Saxon existence, past the spot where some 50 years ago, as I remember, when the track was still a working railway, the Royal train rested overnight. Some years before that yellowhammers were plentiful in this area and referred to as scribble larks by the locals. And so onwards to Low Moor where another new nature reserve has been created in recent years – and re-named in recent days - as Low Moor Banks. This is the site of a former council refuse tip at Dealburn Road which is developing as a reserve and which Bees have visited to see the bee orchids growing there. The path goes past the recently re-opened Low Moor station, where today the tannoy is reminding the non-existent passengers of the need for social distancing, before it peters out on the Euroway industrial estate. From here we have the opportunity of visiting two other local nature reserves, Railway Terrace – previously known as Raw Nook, the name of the hamlet where it lies, and Toad Holes Beck, both worth the visit on another day. . With eyes mostly directed skywards I have to admit to not paying due attention to flora other than the trees but I could not help noticing abundant patches of celandine, coltsfoot (which my mother referred to as cleats) and forget-me-not.
So a magnificent day; the emerging trees, often silhouetted against a clear blue sky, being a special delight with the added bonus of three first-of-the-year bird sightings in a total of 26 species.
See the photos here.
Stuart