welcome and local information

Welcome to the new look website, its aims and views remain the same
but the layout and content have been updated and improved with
more to come. Please have a look around and by all means comment
via the guestbook.
A new photo gallery program is being used, it should make the viewing
of the photo's a lot easier and also of better quality.
As we near the bird breeding season, the "live in the box" webcam will
be online so that we can see the comings and going of the parents as
they fetch and carry and feed their young.

I call our local weather panel above, Bronte Country, as this is the area in West Yorkshire
named after the Bronte family primarily Branwell and his 3 famous sisters Charlotte, Emily and
Anne.
From 1820 to 1861 the Brontë family lived at the Parsonage in the village of Haworth.
The Parsonage is now the Brontë Parsonage Museum, full of their personal possessions as well
as a fascinating exhibition about their lives and work which includes literary classics such as
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë), Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë), and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
(Anne Brontë) all written while living in the area.

Unlike the limestone valleys of the Yorkshire Dales which begin further to the north, the
geology in Bronte Country is predominantly of Millstone Grit, a dark sandstone which lends
the crags and scenery here an air of bleakness and desolation. Small wonder then, that this
landscape fuelled the imagination of the Bronte sisters in writing their classic novels.

On a more modern note we are also close to Ovenden Moor Wind Farm built in 1993, it is
440m above sea level and has 23 turbines set in a "V" formation to make best use of the
prevailing south westerly wind.
From tip to ground they are almost 49 metres in height and provide sufficient power for
approximately 5,000 households.

Close to the wind farm is Ogden Water, a reservoir owned by Yorkshire Water, it is open to the
public and has well maintained paths all around it, plus parking for a small fee.
Very popular with local residents for a stroll round the reservoir but also leads to more
strenuous walks. details available from the yorkshire water website.

Not to be forgotten is the Causeway Foot Inn situated at the turning off the A629 to Ogden
Water, a warm welcome to all including your dogs, plus an excellent choice of Real Ale and
good food cooked by the landlady.