Simon English
England Revisited

On new fence post by farm track from Four Gates End. 4 miles north of Todmordon.

On what could be the same fence post on the same farm track as 1971. The drystone wall is still there but between the fence and the track the enclosure stores haylage bales, old kerbstones and road scrapings presumably stored to fill in the track potholes.

I learn here that in the past farmers could get wool waste to fill in track holes from the large number of mills all along the Calder Valley. All that industry has now gone.

In the black and white photograph I took in 1971 there were the ruined walls of a building in the adjacent field. This has gone possibly where a water reservoir pond is now. The wet weather we had travelling Yorkshire this summer hides the drought that this spring subjected the heather moor land to here. All around it must have burnt uncontrolled burning fence posts and even threatening the radio mast at nearby Pole Hill. Perhaps this did not matter as it has been replaced by the most curious sci fi structure further up the hill.

This spring drought and fire must have been very bad as checking on the church over looking Todmorden at Cross Stone that I photographed in 1971 I see that the large cemetery uphill has had an intense burn through the very invasive Japanese Knotweed there.
Points 26 & 31