I absolutely love the colours in the sky on a cold winters morning before sunrise. I saw the forecast on Thursday evening and decided that the following morning was going to be worth getting up for so I packed my camera equipment before bed and set my alarm!
Alarm goes off – it’s dark and cloudy – do I get out of bed? Well.. I’m not going back to sleep! But where to go.. Up into the hills above Holmfirth? Not this morning – I don’t have enough time before work! So.. Castle Hill.. I’ve been meaning to return to the spot to do it some justice since I did a family shoot there earlier in the year. It’s a spot I’m very familiar with – I’ve lived within sight of it almost my whole life!
For those that don’t know it, Castle Hill is THE local landmark in the Huddersfield area. The tower was built to commemorate Queen Victoria’s 60th year of reign (although the anniversary year was 1887, the tower didn’t open until 1899) although the site has been know as “Castle Hill” for much longer. There was a fort on the hill as far back as the iron ages and still had a castle until at least the 12th century. The site is also steeped in folklore (which I love!) including stories of dragons, Queen Cartimandua of the Brigantes, the Devil leaping from here to Netherton Scar (8 miles away where he is supposed to have left his footprint), underground tunnels and even links to Arthur’s Camelot! Maybe none of it is true but who knows 😉 It is certain that there are many archaeological remains on the hill.
As things stand, Kirklees council are about to decide if a new pub should be built on the site (one stood there until around 2001 when it was demolished and a complicated planning battle began).
As always, prints available! Perhaps an ideal Christmas present for someone with links to the Huddersfield area 🙂