Sheep SculpturesThirteen people were on the new year walk led by Peter. Usually we associated our new years' walks with icy conditions but it was relatively mild and the day started bright and sunny if a little bracing. Our starting point was Marsden - a historic mill town on the edge of Yorkshire where we parked close to the railway station. After making use of the facilities in the town we headed for the towpath of the Huddersfield narrow canal. En route we stopped at the burial ground opposite St Bartholomew's church where Peter talked about some of the history of this mill town. This burial ground was the site of the original church. Beyond the church we crossed Mellor's Bridge, a quaint little packhorse bridge over the River Colne. We picked up the towpath of the Huddersfield narrow which we followed to the Standedge tunnel, the longest canal tunnel in Britain. From here we headed uphill to Butterley reservoir and followed the grassy path alongside the stream where there was an abundance of hart's tongue ferns. The weather was turning damper and colder. Very fine rain turned to persistent drizzle and without the sun the temperature took a noticeable dip. We spotted a flock of long-tailed tits. We walked a short distance on the road beside the river where we had excellent views of a dipper. 
DipperWe left the road again to continue along the grassy streamside path. A hovering kestrel was sighted. Our lunch stop left us feeling very chilled and we eagerly headed back. The yaffle of a woodpecker was heard. On arriving back in Marsden we were given the option of either continuing to walk along the canal in the other direction or heading in to the village for a hot drink. It was not a difficult choice. We departed at about 3.15pm. The group seemed to be very impressed with the character of this town and many expressed an interest in returning to explore further. Many thanks to Peter for leading the walk and sharing some of the history of Marsden. Sue