Bronte Dash…..off the rails

The chain of unfortunate events have  prevented me from attending to things that I would regard as recreational. My blog and my photography rank as the highest in the recreation ranks and I will never turn down an opportunity for a day out with the camera.  Last Monday, the 3rd of June a window of opportunity presented itself; an opportunity that with it brought sunshine, blue skies and time on my side. This begs the question….Where to go? I have to be careful with this one as I have visited and photographed many locations over and over again. You only need to see my photo stream on Flickr to see that Yeadon Tarn is a well-worn path for me; there are only so many images you can obtain from one location. Well, I don’t actually believe in my own words there as every visit presents new possibilities.

After deliberating for a short while and mentally compiling a list in my head of the top contenders I decided to sit down and have breakfast. I had missed the best of the morning light as photography between the hours of 11am and 3pm are normally forbidden. After all, the light is harsh, the sun is bright, the shadows are non existent and I can quite categorically state that any images that happen to reside on my memory cards from within those times are only resting before being filed in the trash. By the time breakfast had finished and all other tasks for Mrs W were accomplished it was heading nearer the hours of the suns high point and departure seemed pointless. I stalled and decided that afternoon and evening light was much better anyway, trying hard to convince myself I had made the right decision. But where to go?

Haworth……for those of you that don’t know is a small historic town in the City of Bradford metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is located in the Pennines, 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Keighley and 10 miles (16 km) west of Bradford. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhope. Nearby villages include Cross Roads, Stanbury and Lumbfoot. Haworth is also tourist destination known for its association with the Brontë sisters and its preserved heritage railway. Well, it would be rude not to wouldn’t it.

Haworth  village is built on the side of the Worth Valley and the Main Street is quite steep. As it was quiet I chose to use my car to obtain the various images, its much easier when having camera equipment with you. The image above shows the view down the Main Street. I thought monochrome really set the scene and gave a very good feeling of Haworth. Haworth is very “olde” and its a great atmosphere with small cafes and curious shops and a wealth of photographic opportunities. As you will already know, I don’t just shoot landscapes and scenery, I like to get in the heart of a town or village and shoot its’ inhabitants. People are the life of a place so what better way to give the impression of a location than to portray it with its residents.  The image below shows a small street cafe near the bottom of the Main Street. What better way to spend an hour on a warm late Spring day.

After making my way down the village and capturing the moods and scenes I arrived at the famous Haworth Railway Station home of the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. The KWVR is a standard gauge branch line which joins the national railway network at Keighley in the north-east of England and runs 5-miles up the Worth Valley to Oxenhope. Other stations on the Line are at Ingrow, Damems, Oakworth (location of the film ‘The Railway Children’) and Haworth (the former home of the Brontë family). The Railway is perhaps most famous for its role in the 1970 film version of Edith Nesbit’s story The Railway Children. The Railway has published a book which describes the making of the film and includes over 70 photographs along with the recollections of many volunteers who were involved. The decision to recreate the atmosphere of a 1950s branch line has been hugely popular, not least with film makers and TV producers. Over the years, the Railway has appeared in many TV and film productions including Yanks, Sherlock Holmes, Last of the Summer Wine, Treasure Hunt, Sons and Lovers, Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, Poirot, Born and Bred, The Royal, Where The Heart Is, A Touch Of Frost, Songs Of Praise, and Pink Floyd’s The Wall. …

I have spent many hours taking images at this location. There are a few vantage points for different types of photography. One accessible place is the goods yard at the front of the main building. There are lots to see here if you like images of railways and their surroundings. As I started looking round the goods yard I heard that familiar sound of an engine whistling. It was time to head to a better vantage point I thought. What a decision that was ! Probably the second best move I made all day. It was from the platform that I achieved the best image of the day. I have a tendency to use the camera as a tool for looking through, this way should I see something I like I can waste no time in grabbing a few frames. It’s surprising how much time you can waste just having to raise the camera to your eye and compose an image. Anyway, I watched the driver as he leant out of his cab chatting away to the guard on the platform. The driver was so typical in his attire…you know where I am coming from…flat drivers cap, oily hands, white hair, craggy face and a long smile. A real photogenic character. Anyway…. have a look at my image.

As I am sure you will agree, it really was worth the image. There is a whole series of these, every one with a different expression. In the end it really told a tale. The late afternoon rolled on and I soaked up the atmosphere and tried my best to portray it within my images. I could quite easily spend a whole day in Haworth but like I stated earlier, I really wanted to avoid the glare of the midday sun. Below is a link to the remaining images from my day, if you have time, please take a look.

As always, thanks for looking and your comments are always welcome.