Giants tooth race today, 21.04 which is faster than last time. Steve smithies said I sounded awful as he sailed past me on the last ramp up to the finish straight, and I'm not surprised after the effort I had to put in just to limit my place loss to 4 in the final half mile. The descent was a useful section, but all too soon it was over. The stone is not very impressive.
Indeed.Originally Posted by mr brightside
When I first ran this in 2000 I expected to be awed by a Yorkshire mini-Stonehenge but passed a mere modern excrescence.
"...as dry as the Atacama desert".
Worse than that, i came through the south of Bradford to get there. It's fallen a long way since the end of the wool trade; the many farms around Queensbury are all but derelict, and there are a lot of signs at the end of the tracks advertising pets for sale. The most interesting said, 'Pedigree Exotic Kittens for sale'. The fields, which should be full of sheep, are mainly occupied by the odd horse stood motionless staring at the floor. I've never seen so much rusting junk on a farm as i did on Monday; the evidence of terminal decline is everywhere and a bit sad to see.
Luke Appleyard (Wharfedale)- quick on the dissent
The dictionary was out on New Years Day.
Thank you Graham. Every day a school day!
Visibility good except in Hill Fog
In Victorian times Bradford was one of the most famous and richest cities in the world because of the wool trade and far, far more so than Leeds. Both Bradford and Leeds - which was a heavy engineering construction "smoke stack" town (steam locomotives, bridge building , printing presses, heavy foundry work) - needed to reinvent themselves when their base industries fell away.
Leeds did and Bradford didn't and now the die is cast. Although I have lived north of Leeds for 60 years I know Bradford well (Ilkley is part of Bradford!) and it saddens me to see how far Bradford has fallen because of the lack of vision shown by politicians over the years.
Bradford has two small railway stations which are both termini so every train into Bradford has to reverse. Leeds is a through station (the second busiest in Britain outside London) so you can travel anywhere and a train from, say, Birmingham to, say, Newcastle might stop in Leeds befere carrying onwards. No going backwards!
In Victorian times the two Bradford terminus stations were only a couple of hundred yards apart and common sense screamed that they should be connected to provide through services. It was talked about but not only did this not happen but the two Victorian stations were eventually rebuilt and both new stations were relocated even further apart. Mindboggling.
Last edited by Graham Breeze; 02-01-2024 at 04:08 PM.
"...as dry as the Atacama desert".
Would different track gauges have been one of the reasons Graham?
Visibility good except in Hill Fog
The first academic conference I ever went to was at Bradford University, in 1981. As is my habit, I went for a walk in some free time. I remember being appalled at some of the dereliction I saw: houses, solidly built of the local stone, but empty and waiting to be demolished.
In his lifetime he suffered from unreality, as do so many Englishmen.
Jorge Luis Borges
If you want an example of how wealthy some Victorians in Bradford were visit the fabulous Undercliffe Cemetery. We were given a tour by a friend who volunteers there. Amazingly opulent tombs - a fine necropolis.
The biggest and grandest house in Ilkley is Heathcote with grounds that run between Kings Road and Grove Road. It is huge, it is Grade 1 listed and was designed by Edwin Lutyens who designed most of New Delhi.
It was commissioned in 1906 by a Mr Hemingway. He was in the wool trade.
Last edited by Graham Breeze; 02-01-2024 at 09:14 PM.
"...as dry as the Atacama desert".
No the gauges were the same standard. Only the Great Western Railway (Brunel's railway) used a broader qauge and once he was dead from 1860 no more broad gauge was laid.
The blight on railway development until 1923 was that there were over 100 different private companies and they all hated each other and would only ever agree to anything if they felt they were getting the better part of any understanding. That attitude did not generally produce good outcomes.
The outstanding example is the Settle - Carlisle railway which should never have been built, was always a financial calamity and was only built because two railway companies could not reach a sensible agreement.
The S&C is now a national treasure but its construction was utter financial folly.
A Victorian HS2?
"...as dry as the Atacama desert".
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