Snowy Sunday

I tend to take the local weather forecast with a grain of salt because generally the description is something like "rain in yorkshire". Last night the forecast was for "Snow in the North of England, changing to rain later in the morning". Much to my surprise today, we actually had snow.

Grange Lane at 8 AM

The snow didn't stop my walk, I just changed my plans after getting a latte to go at the village store.

Sports Field at Dacre

The sports field had an inch or so of accumulation on it, and the old saw mill was looking very cold and empty.

Snowy old mill

The christmas tree farm just outside of New York Mills (the big building behind the trees) was looking very wintery today as well.

Xmas tree farm with mill building in background

New York Mills is another of the old mill complexes in the valley. This one stayed in business up to the mid 60's making Flax, but has since been converted to light industry. The old mill office space and housing are all housing now. Like all the mills in the valley, if you know where to look, you will find the old waterway to power the mill

Old mill office building with clock (not working)

Just past the mill, the snow started to change to rain / sleet, so I modified my hiking plan. I did a shorter route up to Smelthouses instead of Glasshouses. Smelthouses used to have both a mill and a smelter, however they burned down/closed in the mid 1800's. There are some cool big old stone embankments but not much else left. Newer (1880's) homes are in the area now.

Trail from Low Laithe to Smelthouses. The stream on the right was used to power a mill in Smelthouses

The walk was just under 5 miles, giving me 13+ miles this weekend. I earned a nice roast dinner at the Royal Oak. I even got Dennis to join me at the pub this time!

My walk details