AddventureTrips

Nestled in beautiful wooded surroundings at Shipley Glen, close to the Salt family wool empire in Saltaire, the estate featured opulence on an unprecedented scale both inside and out, with an orangery, courtyard, conservatory, boating lake and perfect gardens within its extensive grounds. Well ahead of its time, the mansion included all mod cons: its own water supply, electricity and sewage system, water-cooled refrigeration rooms and a direct telephone line to the mill at Saltaire. Unsurprisingly given its eerie history, there are stories of a number of spectral former inhabitants, with characters ranging from Salt Jr himself to Eva Gates and Anne Hollins, the wives of the final two owners. The most interesting resident ghost is probably a figure known as “The Green Man of Milner Field”, who, it’s claimed, first appeared to a local schoolboy in the 1950s. Dressed all in green, it seems he roams the ruins playing on a flute.

A Second World War bombing decoy site at Thorner. It was built in 1941 as a 'Permanent Starfish' site to deflect enemy bombing from the city of Leeds. By 1942 a 'QL' decoy had been incorporated into the site as part of the 'C-series' of civil decoys to protect Neville Hill marshalling yard. The 'Starfish' decoy operated by lighting a series of controlled fires during an air raid to replicate an urban area targeted by bombs. The 'QL' decoy displayed lighting to simulate the railway marshalling yards lights and tram flashes associated with the yards. The site is referenced as being operational until 1943, but could have been in use until July 1944. A control building, which would have housed an operations room and provided the decoy crew with shelter, is still present at the site in good condition . Thorner was one of twelve 'Starfish' sites for Leeds, and one of nine civil bombing decoys.

In one corner of Gaddings Dam you'll find a small stretch of sand dubbed as 'Todmorden Beach' – 80 feet above sea level and 60 miles inland – making it the highest and perhaps most peculiar spot for a beach in the whole of England

Old Red Lion pub in Leeds loses licence Councillors stripped a Leeds pub of its alcohol licence after a spate of violent incidents linked to the pub left one constable "convinced" someone may be killed if the venue wasn't closed. PC Clifford claimed some customers at The Old Red Lion in York Road "appear to have a propensity to carry knives" and "the means and willingness to use them in open view of members of the public", in a report laid before Leeds City Council's licensing sub-committee On June 13 beer garden punters "stood and watched" as one man was stabbed across the road from the Old Red Lion after three men entered the pub "seemingly looking for each other," PC Clifford wrote in the report. The crime remains under investigation. CONTACT. email: NMCGpost@gmail.com

The G-class submarines were designed by the Admiralty in response to a rumour that the Germans were building double-hulled submarines for overseas duties. The submarines had a length of 187 feet 1 inch (57.0 m) overall, a beam of 22 feet 8 inches (6.9 m) and a mean draft of 13 feet 4 inches (4.1 m). They displaced 703 long tons (714 t) on the surface and 837 long tons (850 t) submerged. The G-class submarines had a crew of 30 officers and ratings. They had a partial double hull. For surface running, the boats were powered by two 800-brake-horsepower (597 kW) Vickers two-stroke diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 420-horsepower (313 kW) electric motor. They could reach 14.25 knots (26.39 km/h; 16.40 mph) on the surface and 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) underwater. On the surface, the G class had a range of 2,400 nautical miles (4,400 km; 2,800 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). The boats were intended to be armed with one 21-inch (53.3 cm) torpedo tube in the bow and two 18-inch (45 cm) torpedo tubes on the beam. This was revised, however, while they were under construction, the 21-inch tube was moved to the stern and two additional 18-inch tubes were added in the bow. They carried two 21-inch and eight 18-inch torpedoes. The G-class submarines were also armed with a single 3-inch (7.6 cm) deck gun. Like the rest of her class, G3's role was to patrol an area of the North Sea in search of German U-boats. In December 1921 G3, out of commission, was being towed north to be broken up for scrap when she broke her tether and came ashore at Scalby Mills, north of Scarborough. The submarine later broke free from the shore and drifted back out to sea. She then drifted south, finally running aground under Buckton cliffs in Filey Bay, bow first. A local man, John Webster bought the salvage rights to the vessel and the wreck was scrapped. Lumps of the hulk were lifted up the sheer cliffs using ropes and pulleys, the salvers using rope ladders for access. The remains of the wreck lie under the cliffs at Buckton including about 60 feet (18 m) of the base of the hull, two diesel engines and their drive gear.

Hidden Beach in Leeds On the south bank of the river, as it flows through Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve, is a tract of pebbles known locally as Armley Beach. It's been touted as 'secret', although if you grew up in Leeds it's not that much of a secret.

Lined in blue engineering brick but with stone portals, Gomersal's 819-yard tunnel was cut by the London & North Western Railway as part of its Leeds 'new line', opening on 1st October 1900. On the surface, above its centre, is the Shoulder of Mutton pub which was bought by the company during construction, in case it fell into the workings. Now, when draymen use the barrel drop, the noise echoes around the tunnel and vibrations are felt in the cottage next door. The section of route between Farnley Junction and Cleckheaton Spen was deemed surplus to requirements on 6th September 1965, but reopened in November to maintain a connection to Liversedge Spen. Closure finally claimed it on 11th January 1966 when a new spur was commissioned from the L&Y line at Heckmondwike. Gomersal Tunnel follows an S-shaped alignment and includes a single ventilation shaft - now capped - close to its centre. Water is allowed to drain into the tunnel at the west portal via a pipe in the south wall - this results in considerable volumes of standing water following periods of wet weather. The odd brick structure at the western end would have allowed access for inspections after the approach cutting was infilled. But, at the last moment, Railtrack and Kirklees Council dithered and, in 1997, decided to stop any further tipping on the site. CONTACT. email: NMCGpost@gmail.com

The monument includes the standing, buried and earthwork remains of a World War II Heavy Anti-aircraft (HAA) gunsite known as Station includes seven gun emplacements, including one for a Light Anti-aircraft (LAA) weapon, four gun pits and a command post. It is unclear exactly when Station H21 was established but it is known to have been unarmed in June 1942 when the site was mentioned in an Anti-aircraft Command letter. Guns were often moved from one site to another during the war and the fact that a site was unarmed at any particular time does not necessarily mean it had been totally abandoned. The site was probably connected with the defence of Leeds generally and Yeadon airfield in particular, the latter of which lies just under 2km to the south. The Anti-aircraft (AA) guns were used not only for destroying enemy aircraft but, more importantly, to keep all enemy aircraft at a high altitude and to deter them from flying on the straight and even course necessary for accurate bombing. Another important function of AA guns was to indicate the position of enemy aircraft to their own fighters. Often, when an enemy plane was out of range, the guns would fire one or two rounds to burst as near as possible, simply to draw the fighters attention to the enemy. The HAA gun emplacements, four gun pits and command post are all constructed out of concrete and breeze blocks and broadly follow standard designs. The four gun pits are arranged ina semi-circle around the north west side of the command post, with two unenclosed gun emplacements lying outside the semi-circular arrangement to the north west and south east. The gun pits incorporate characteristics of both the March 1938 pattern which were octagonal in plan and had twin axial entrances, and the DFW 55414 design, which was issued by the Directorate of Fortifications and Works (DFW) on 10th October 1942 and had a single entrance and external ammunition recesses and shelters. Both types were designed for 3.7inch guns, although some of the earlier examples were designed for 4.5inch guns. The gun emplacements are basically octagonal concrete pads set level with the ground surface, with a standard ring of holding down bolts for fixing the gun mounting. The gun pits surrounding four of the gun emplacements are octagonal, approximately 8m in diameter with 2m high concrete and breeze block walls. Each gun pit has twin axial entrances which align directly with the command post. The surrounding walls form three, roofed, compartments on each side of which the central one leads to a shelter at the rear. On one side the shelter was typically used as a relaxed duty shelter for the gun crew, the other for gun maintenance. The other recesses were used for stacking ammunition and fuses of different, preset lengths. The LAA gun emplacement, which lies approximately 1m north of the command post, is brick built and circular in plan, with a wooden beam standing vertically at its centre and an entrance to the north. The structure is about 2m in diameter with walls that stand 1.5m in height. This is a gun emplacement for a Light Anti-aircraft (LAA) weapon such as the Lewis gun. Such weapons were intended for local defence of closely defined targets, principally against aircraft operating at a height of less than 3000 feet. The command post is E shaped in plan, semi-sunken and is constructed of breeze block and concrete with some metal fittings and pipe work surviving. The bases of various instrument mountings survive in an area at the front of the building which is enclosed although open to the sky. In operation these mountings would have housed an identification telescope, the predictor (a mechanical computer), and height finder. These fed information to the plotting room, a long room in the covered part of the command post where the bearing, elevation and range were calculated and relayed to the guns. Other rooms in the command post acted as offices, stores and communication rooms. The building faces to the north west so that the Gun Position Officer (GPO), who was in charge of the command post, could control the firing of the guns, watch the effects of the fire and take responsibility for the identification of enemy aeroplanes. CONTACT. email: NMCGpost@gmail.com

The station was opened by the Leeds and Bradford Railway in 1846 (which was subsequently absorbed by the Midland Railway) which became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway following the Grouping Act of 1923. The station, which had a street-level booking hall, consisted of two island platforms which were separated by double track. Passenger services stopped between the platforms. The outside lines, which were fenced off from the island platforms, were used by through trains. A wooden footbridge connected the two island platforms to the street-level entrance way and booking hall. In 1948 the station passed on to the Eastern Region of British Railways following nationalisation. It was permanently closed by the British Railways Board as part of the Beeching Axe in March 1965. CONTACT. email: NMCGpost@gmail.com

Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than 1 mile (1.6 km) from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the Industrial Revolution and had several mills, one of which houses now the Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills. Armley is predominantly and historically a largely working class area of the city, still retains many smaller industrial businesses, and has many rows of back-to-back terraced houses.

Ravenscar tunnel At 279 yards, Ravenscar isn't the longest tunnel I've ever explored but it is one of the most colourful and it has a great history. In 1885, a 19 mile railway opened between Scarborough & Whitby which followed the dramatic coastline between the two towns. CONTACT. email: NMCGpost@gmail.com

The Malton and Driffield Junction Railway, later known as the Malton and Driffield branch was a railway line in Yorkshire that ran between the towns of Malton, North Yorkshire and Driffield in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The line opened on 13 April 1853. It became part of the North Eastern Railway (1854), then London and North Eastern Railway (1923), becoming part of British Railways in 1948. Passenger services on the line gained the nickname the Malton Dodger. Between the 1920s and 1950s the line saw use transporting chalk from the Burdale and Wharram quarries. Passenger services ended in 1950; the Burdale quarry closed in 1955, and the line closed in 1958. For details of the Yorkshire Wolds Railway project to reopen part of the line please visit https://www.yorkshirewoldsrailway.org ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ buy me a coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/petelofty9G ============================================================================================================== patreon https://patreon.com/user?

These works were started by Sir Bryan Cooke of Wheatley, near Doncaster, in 1615. The works changed hands many times during its lifetime. It finally closed in 1862 when the works were bought by William Hammond. At this point alum was selling for £8 per tonne and making a loss, so the works were shut.

Ravenscar brickworks This brickworks was setup in 1900 to provide bricks for the nearby Ravenscar development that never materialised, it is located inside an old Alum quarry. The remains of the single large Hoffman Kiln are still to be found on the site. Although heavily overgrown the outer doors can still be identified.

Westbound traffic on the Hull & Barnsley emerged from the 1,226-yard Barnsdale Tunnel (HBR3/132) into a sheer-sided cutting before arriving at Wrangbrook Junction, diverging point for the Wath and Denaby branches. The tunnel was driven through magnesian limestone to reach the lower beds of sandstone and clay. Its eastern portal is found at the end of a partly-infilled cutting adjacent to the northbound service area on the A1 at Barnsdale Bar. The brickwork design is characteristic of other H&B tunnels such as Brierley and Drewton. Inside the lining is fashioned in red brick except at the interface with the three shafts where blue brindles are used. Around 200 yards in, a 70-yard section was clearly built from an inferior batch of bricks; as a result, water ingress and freeze-thaw has caused their faces to spall. Repointing has taken place using waterproof cement, although the aesthetic quality of the work contrasts markedly with that of the tunnel's original navvies. Despite being generally dry, some substantial areas of calcite have built up on the walls. Clusters of weep pipes have been installed to relieve water pressure behind the lining whilst a spring emerges into the tunnel from the north wall close to the eastern end. Holes have been cut at the back of most refuges, presumably for investigation purposes. The tunnel has three shafts - all now capped - approximately 310, 630 and 930 yards from the western entrance. Opened on 20th July 1885, the line through the tunnel closed officially in April 1959, although there had been no regular traffic for several months prior to that. Until 1967, a set of bufferstops remained at the western entrance as part of a headshunt. During the 1990s, following advice from consultants Brown & Root, attempts were made to seal the tunnel with concrete beams. However this barrier was attacked with industrial tools and rammed by vehicles. Eventually it was deemed to pose more of a hazard than the tunnel beyond it, and was removed. In 2010, the tunnel's owners, British Railways Board (Residuary), erected pallisade fencing across both entrances but this too has been damaged. The tunnel remains in a fair condition, having benefitted from patch repairs and repointing. CONTACT. email: NMCGpost@gmail.com

Sandsend Tunnel is a tunnel on the former Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway that was opened in 1883 and closed in 1958. The rail line that ran through it was originally intended to travel along the top of the cliffs,] however some of the cliff fell into the sea whilst construction was suspended so the NER constructed two tunnels, the Sandsend Tunnel and the Kettleness Tunnel. The Sandsend Tunnel is the longer of two tunnels being 1,652 yards (0.94 miles) in length. It is predominantly straight but the north-western 300 yards incorporate a curve to the north. There are a total of five air shafts, two of which have nearby service galleries leading off horizontally to the cliffs which were used to dump spoil while carving out the tunnels, the air shafts were capped in 1958. The southern half of the tunnel is considerably damp with the tunnel being flooded to about 6 inches on the southern 300 yards. The southern portal of the Sandsend Tunnel is bricked up and it can only be accessed via the northern portal of the Kettleness Tunnel by walking through the Kettleness Tunnel and the area between the tunnels which is overgrown with grass and trees. The northern portal of the Sandsend Tunnel partially collapsed in 2008 after years of pressure from the cliff above.

The old North Eastern Railway’s ornate bridge at Garforth Station was built in 1900, but is scheduled for removal in order to accommodate new overhead wires as part of the electrification and upgrade of the Leeds to York line. https://www.change.org/p/stop-garforth-station-footbridge-leaving-yorkshire The Garforth footbridge is one of the fortunate ones – the Trust has awarded a £25,000 grant to the Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway in Kent which will cover the costs of transporting it to the narrow gauge hobby line.

CONTACT. email: NMCGpost@gmail.com

The Malton and Driffield Junction Railway, later known as the Malton and Driffield branch was a railway line in Yorkshire that ran between the towns of Malton, North Yorkshire and Driffield in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The line opened on 13 April 1853. It became part of the North Eastern Railway (1854), then London and North Eastern Railway (1923), becoming part of British Railways in 1948. Passenger services on the line gained the nickname the Malton Dodger. Between the 1920s and 1950s the line saw use transporting chalk from the Burdale and Wharram quarries. Passenger services ended in 1950; the Burdale quarry closed in 1955, and the line closed in 1958. For details of the Yorkshire Wolds Railway project to reopen part of the line please visit https://www.yorkshirewoldsrailway.org ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ buy me a coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/petelofty9G ============================================================================================================== patreon https://patreon.com/user?u=71353160&utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator