May Blossom on Beverley Westwood

With the start of a new year here's what I think of as the best of last year's photos.
Happy New Year!

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The Black Mill, Beverley Westwood

On the turn

So to the Westwood where there was still plenty of greenery about but quite few trees giving up on the year and getting ready for an exceptionally early Autumn.

Of course I had to say Hi to that old chestnut that I always photograph whenever I come up here. There's still a bit of a problem with parked cars but not as bad as it was.

There were dozens of these Red Admirals, it's been a really good year for them from what I've seen. Also dozens of dragon flies which wouldn't sit still so could not be photographed.

And finally the mortal remains of that old lime tree which was hanging on to life by a thread last time I was here. I like the way it's been chopped up and left to rot away, no tidying up in these parts.

Under the Beech

So to Beverley Westwood in search of some Autumn colour. Surprisingly most trees were still mainly green and to make matters worse the sky was overcast and dull. So I had to make do with this massive beech.

Green shadows

 

It's been a really horrible day for the start of October so I thought a bit of Summerish sunshine on Beverley Westwood might cheer things up a little. 

In Memory of ...

Dotted around Beverley Westwood are a few seats with memorial tags on them. This one seems designed for people with very short legs. 

These were taken a few months back, I've not taken any photos recently so I'm using up old stuff.

Speed Limit

Speed limits are a custom more honour'd in the breach than the observance. There are reports that the maximum speed limit should be raised from 70 to 80 mph. It's said to be in the interest of  putting "Britain back in the fast lane of global economies". It's crazy, I know, but this government is reduced to trying anything.

This is the approach to Beverley from the Westwood. There's a tight little bend ahead so obeying the limit is advisable.

Black Mill

Here's the old Black Mill on Beverley Westwood again. 

Husband Creche

OK, this is the Woolpack on Westwood Road, Beverley. It's a quiet, safe street, your guy will be well looked after, and they guarantee he'll be here when, or if , you come back.

Fixing the drains

In June 2007 during a torrential rainstorm this area of Westwood was flooded and a great deal of damage was done to nearby houses. Since then the residents have campaigned for improved drainage and sewers until finally the local water company have agreed to put in better facilities. This explains the activity going on here and the newly laid and hopefully temporary tarmac road that has been laid across the common.

Decay

The good folks of City Daily Photo have chosen as today's theme the 'Beauty of Decay'. Easy I thought just point my camera just about anywhere in Hull and click. It's all around me this decay malarkey but then on second thoughts there's hardly any beauty in it and the shabbiness that could be mistaken for decay is really mindless economic neglect. No, real decay leads to something new, it's a transformation, a recycling; it has a purpose. So it's back to nature and besides it's prettier than any tatty building in Hull.

A few years ago this  large tree, I think it was a horse chestnut, was felled on Beverley Westwood. Instead of clearing it away in some fastidious manner it was simply left lying. Over the years fungi and insects will no doubt eat it away and I will no doubt take pictures of them doing so.

 

Bluebells

On the edge of Beverley Westwood lies an area called Burton Bushes, it's said to be the remains of a primeval forest. It's also a great place to find wild bluebells.

A welcoming face?

This splendidly cross-eyed face peers out over the entrance to the old Westwood workhouse and infirmary in Beverley, a place where the poor and destitute were housed and put to work. Over the years the workhouse was closed and the infirmary became a NHS hospital. Despite intense local opposition the hospital is due to close and be replaced by a new state of the art building which I bet will not have a sculpture like this welcoming patients.

"When gorse is out of bloom kissing's out of fashion"

Took myself off to Beverley Westwood and had the place practically to myself, just an occasional dog walker, an errant golf player or two, a few crows, oh and a couple of skylarks to lighten the spirits. There were banks of wood anemones and this large gorse bush blooming away which was just as well if that old saying has any truth to it.

Beverley

Here's Beverley Minster just visible through the trees of the Westwood.

St Mary's from the Westwood

Pasture Terrace, Beverley