Three hours in Otley.

Good morning. It's Monday. I'll get some of these pictures out now. I arrived in Otley about 2pm on Saturday. I hadn't intended to make a stop here on my way to Skipton, but after the drive from home I was ready for a break and something to eat. 

I have driven through here many times when I was on the chemical tankers for E & A West at Derby. The road from Wetherby is twisty and narrow in places. It was always a steady careful drive, taking care to stay on the left hand side of the roads and not get my mirror bashed on the overhanging hedges, or the right hand mirror not getting clipped by lorries coming the other way. Now doing it in a car is easy. 

I parked the car on the side of the road almost opposite Asda. It's wide there and no restrictions. It's a  short walk into town. I see it is Market day. A lot of towns have their markets on a Saturday. 

My first impression of Otley is that the architecture is very interesting. Some nice old buildings. I wanted to spend a penny but found the public toilets cost 50p and there was an attendant watching over the comings and goings. I decided that was too much, for reasons I don't need to explain. I found a free toilet in Waitrose. 

I walked around willynilly and came across this church. I think it is All Saints. I couldn't get into the church it was locked, but I found the graveyard a place of beauty and tranquility. I like the way they haven't bothered to remove the creeping ivy from these tombstones. Nature has thrown a blanket over the dead to keep them warm. It reminded me a bit of the churchyard at Haworth. 

I stood admiring this twisted tree. A man stopped to tell me all about it. Four pictures from different angles. It had to be done. 

You can visibly see the twists in the trunk. Here is some information about curly trees. 

I decided to have a look at the River Wharfe. Bridge Church is quite close to the erm  . . . . bridge, which goes over the river. There was some kind of activity going on.

Children were having fun running around the home made characters. It was some kind of charity event. I stepped forward for some snaps after the children had moved away. 

Lovely scene by the river. People strolling, pedal boats out on the water. I found a bench next to the bowling green and watched them while I ate my sandwiches. It must be lovely to live in a cottage just there. Step out of your front door and walk to town. 

I picked out a footpath on the map which would give me an hours walk. Part of it is the Six Dales Trail. It took me alongside Weston Park, into East Wood, and complete the circle back to the town. 

Almost back to the car, I spotted this rather neglected and run down building. Such a shame to see smashed windows and greenery growing out of the brickwork over the door. The Civic Hall in my opinion should be saved and brought back to life. There is scaffolding up at the side, so maybe they will do that. 

Here is some information about Otley. I like it there, nice town and great scenery. 

Time to move on. Too early to go straight to Skipton, I don't want to get there until about 9pm. So where to next? I'll see you in the next post. 

Toodle pip.   ilona