A Yorkshire wander

From Greenfield Station 

It was a damp morning so I decided to go and have an explore. There's a bus that goes from Greenfield Station over the tops to Holmfirth every Tuesday and I thought I'd give it a go. 

Huddersfield Canal, Greenfield 

I had nearly an hour to kill at Greenfield (the bus leaves three minutes before the next train arrives) so I had a bit of a wander down the Huddersfield Canal. Robins sang in the trees, great spotted woodpeckers and wrens scolded as I went by, and long-tailed tits and a coal tit bounced through the canopy. A few house martins circled high above the trees. A few mallards, Canada geese and a mute swan mooched by the marina.

I walked back in the pouring rain and got the 357 bus, a friendly little North Country bus the sort of which Jake Thackeray used to sing. As we went up Holmfirth Road past the reservoirs the jackdaws and woodpigeons gave way to nothing very much at all.

I used to have the fond idea that you could travel across the hillsides and catch sight of numerous upland species. It doesn't work that way in real life. The bird life is dispersed and there's plenty of empty well away from the roads for them to hide in. Having said that, I've found twilight's usually the best time to get lucky.

Anyway, it was lunchtime and we were climbing into the clouds on a rainy day and I was there just to enjoy the ride and perhaps hope that a raptor may be sitting out the weather on a nearby fencepost. What happened was a carrion crow every couple of miles and a glorious vista of Upperthong and Holmfirth nestling in the hills as the clouds parted and we rolled down from the tops. We had a two minute stop halfway down where the driver handed round a bag of sweets and apologised for the ragged suspension on the bus.

River Holme, Holmfirth 

Arrival at Holmfirth and my onward journey to Huddersfield confirmed my prejudice that Yorkshire's a tad thin on common birds. A woodpigeon or jackdaw once every so often. Thongsbridge was the pick of the crop with woodpigeons and jackdaws and also collared doves, pigeons and a great tit. There wasn't a lot more variety on the journey from Huddersfield to Halifax but at least the birds were in twos and threes.

Rochdale Canal, Littleborough 

Going over the tops between Ripponden and Littleborough the sun came out and the scenery was magnificent. I got off at Littleborough for the train home. While I was waiting I said hello to the Canada geese, jackdaws, magpies, woodpigeons and goldfinches on the field by the canal.

I wanted to avoid the city centre so I stayed on the train to Swinton and got the 21 to the Trafford Centre. Just as the bus was pulling up twenty long-tailed tits bounced across the road and it was a miracle none of them collided with it.