Richard Bell’s Wild West Yorkshire nature diary Wednesday, 27th August 2008
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West Yorkshire lies in the centre of this view of the north of England, extending
south-
The woods of Coxley Valley; we live at the northern end.
TODAY I’M DRAWING a map for my walks booklet but, in the mean time, as that won’t
be in print until mid-
This section of the Calder Valley (above) means a lot to me because it was where I wandered with my friends as a schoolboy and, when I started at art college, after a 9 til 5 day in the studio in a tower block in the centre of Leeds, I’d come back home, have a bite to eat, and then set off into the valley with my sketchbook.
As you can see, there’s plenty of opportunity for the fledgling natural history illustrator; marsh, river, farmland and strips of woodland. In the early 1970s, an old colliery spoil heap (in the lower left) added to the diversity of habitats. Using the canal towpath and a riverside footpath I would make a circular tour in an hour or so, pausing to sketch anything that took my interest.
In the spring of 2004 a pair of storks attempted to nest on a power-
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