Fish ladder

I mentioned in a post recently that they were planning to construct a fish ladder on the weir beside Salts Mill. It is one part of a larger scheme up and down the River Aire to take advantage of the improving water quality and to allow salmon to return to the upper reaches of the river. As I walked through Roberts Park I noticed diggers at work, and I guess they have started to construct it. It's a good time to be doing it as the water level is as low as I've seen it. We've had several weeks without significant rainfall and the river responds quite quickly to the changing conditions. It's odd that I noticed the sound of the river is different as it slaps down over the huge slabs that form the weir. Usually it sounds more like a rushing waterfall but at the moment it almost sounds like a machine, duller and heavier.

It all reminded me of that old joke that 'a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle'. Well, they may not need bicycles but they apparently need ladders. To paraphrase another joke, 'How many men does it take to build a fish ladder?' It looks like the answer is at least six: one to operate the digger and five to watch him.

Spot the difference

Here's that iconic view again, of the New Mill from Roberts Park, looking across the weir. You'd have to have a keen eye for detail to notice the difference in this shot from the last one I took in March (see the third photo IN THIS POST). What has changed? Well, someone has been along with a chainsaw and felled all the saplings and bushes that were encroaching on the bank beside the weir. It has opened up the view marvellously, and will be even more noticeable as the summer comes and the trees get their foliage. I'm not sure that the reason was simply to improve the view. I've read somewhere that they are intending to build some kind of fish ladder to help salmon to migrate from the sea further up the Aire, as the water quality steadily improves. They have not been seen in the upper reaches of the river for 200 years. See HERE for an article about it.

Meanwhile, in Roberts Park, the magnolia trees along the promenade are all in full bloom. I love them.

Two Weirs

It's been interesting to monitor the river levels during the very wet weather we've had for the past several weeks. There was that one weekend where there was considerable flooding locally, but since then it's been other parts of the country that have really suffered. The Aire and Calder rivers have been threatening but have, thankfully, just about managed to hold the volume of water, at least through the towns. There are two weirs on the Saltaire stretch of the Aire, one relating to the old Hirst Mill and the other beside Salts Mill. Both of them were roaring and tumultuous when I took these photos a few days ago and they were quite splendid to see. Hirst Weir has been broken up due to various storms over the years, and is now more of a rocky waterfall (above). The weir at Salts is neater, with a lovely contrast between the glassy smooth river above and the waves below the drop. 

I took another walk in the park again yesterday and the river level has dropped further, good news for those further down the Aire valley, who have been flooded.

Step back a little from the water and winter is fast turning to spring, with spring bulbs  - crocus and daffodils - in flower in the park. These mini daffodils on the grassy rise in the park always flower quite early; they catch the sun. The larger species of daffodil, like those in the churchyard, are still coming into bud.

Slowing down

Ahead of my holiday, I decided to buy an ND filter (10 stop) for my camera. I wanted to be able to take some long exposure shots at the coast. I'm reasonably competent at long exposures in general, if the conditions are right. It has, however, to be very dull or shady to use a slow shutter speed without a filter, whereas with a filter (basically just a piece of dark glass over the lens) you can slow the shutter even in bright light. I'm not the most technically minded of photographers, so I decided I needed to practise the technique before my holiday. (And it was complicated enough to work it all out on a sunny day in Saltaire, so I don't rate my chances on a windswept Scottish beach in the drizzle!)

I quite liked this one, of the weir beside Salts Mill. The slow shutter speed has blurred the water quite attractively, I think, but the breeze meant the trees are also a bit blurred in parts. On some of the shots I took, that effect isn't really very attractive. This one is just about acceptable. And, oh... can you see the heron in the mid distance? Haha, after standing very still for ages it suddenly decided to move - very slowly - so that you can see at least three heron ghosts. If it had moved more quickly it would hardly have showed up at all.

Dawdling on the Dalesway

Early summer must be the best time of year to attempt the Dalesway long-distance footpath. It runs from Ilkley to Bowness on Windermere in the Lake District, 80 miles of glorious Yorkshire Dales scenery. I walked just the first few miles with a friend recently. To be honest, we were too busy chatting to take in much of the scenery but when we did stop to look, the wildflower meadows and the River Wharfe beside the path were beautiful, even on an overcast day.

We tip-toed among the buttercups...

Little lambs are rapidly becoming big ones, though they were sleepy in the warm humidity.

The river, whilst not overfull, was showing the results of recent rain up in the hills.

The weir is related to the adjacent mill, Low Mill, which was built in 1788, harnessing the river's power to become the first successful wool worsted mill in the world. Before that, wool cloth had been produced by hand spinners and weavers. Mills initially were largely devoted to cotton production. The mill finally stopped production in 2002. Nowadays the site and the adjoining cottages and buildings have become an attractive little housing development on the edge of Addingham village.

Replenished

The last few weeks of dreary, wet weather have at least had a beneficial effect on the rivers. One would hope too that the reservoirs higher up in the Dales, which were severely depleted by the very dry summer, have been refreshed, though it will take quite a lot of rainfall to fully restore their water levels.

My own little barometer is the River Aire running through Roberts Park. On Saturday it had reached the very perimeter of its course, though had not broken its bank. The weir was tumbling with a magnificent roar.

Making waves

Not the sea but the roaring, tumbling waters of the River Aire rushing over the weir in Saltaire's Roberts Park. There is plenty of water in the river at present. It is keeping within the water course but the currents are tremendous and the weirs are exciting. I watched two mallards plunging right into the fray and couldn't tell whether they were doing it for fun and enjoying it or whether they'd made a mistake! The power of the water must be quite strong even for a duck. 

Such foaming waters made me want to take photos and I spent a happy few minutes watching the patterns the waves made. 

That view - with daffodils!

I take this shot - or one very much like it - every year at this time! A blue Spring sky is such a joy and a perfect companion to the yellow daffodils in Roberts Park, whilst the iconic view of Salts New Mill across the weir is a scene I never tire of.

The heron stands guard

It's a relief to see the river level as low as this at this time of year. (Such a contrast to Boxing Day last year! See here.)  The resident heron on the weir beside Roberts Park was barely getting his feet wet, a couple of days before Christmas.  Repairs are still ongoing at the riverside flats and offices in the New Mill. You can see the amount of wall that has had to be rebuilt where the river breached it on Boxing Day 2015.