Savile Headgear

Not the most aesthetic structure in Methley, but certainly the most visible, even more than St Oswalds Church or Methley Hall. One of the things it also had was probably the best overview of the village.
To stand on the headgear platform one tended to hold on to the rail, it always seemed breezy, with a large drop on the outside and an even larger drop on the inside.The westerly view following the line of the track to the explosives store (Powder Hole) was partially obstructed by the LMS railway embankment. At the store Ernie Micklefield could be seen checking incoming explosives and detonators with Harold Shillito and Norman Jackson.
Immediately behind the track lay a backcloth of the Hollings and the roofs of Bondfield Terrace leading to, on the left a distant view of Methley woods and Methley Hall to the right of Wheatleys farm visible as the land gently rises. Turning slightly, Shan House and farm buildings front Methley North railway station, Bond House and the United Kingdom pub.. The rooftops of Woodrow can be seen and in the far distance Melwood House Farm, Wood End and the adjacent Estate Office in front of the thick blanket of Bluebell Wood. The line of Oulton lane can be traced by the edge of the wood, leading to the distant Oulton Church and its magnificent flying buttresses.A few degrees to the north west offers a view of the receding LMS line to Leeds, a busy line with its more famous travellers - The Devonian and the Thames Clyde Express with their billowing and then dispersing clouds of black smoke.
Continuing to the right the mineral rail spur from Savile can be seen to join the main line at the Fleet Lane signal box and to the right a view of the disused staithes and damaged railway wagons. In the background can be seen Lemonroyd Locks and the canal running parallel with the railway and in the distance Fleet Bridge and the petrol storage containers also stand out. Immediately below at this point is the colliery wagon weigh house and tracks filled with Savile wagons full of shiny Beeston cobbles and trebles destined for the Leeds and North Yorkshire fireplace market.
Turning due north, the view overlooks the coal loading cut from the canal and the donkey bridge, immediately behind the canal is the original course of the river Aire before the large flood lake and island with Astley in the distance. Further out is arguably the best view from Methley, which is the two hills forming the Great Preston escarpment, the northern edge of the Aire valley.
From Savile the view NNE is dominated by, in the distance extensive mine waste tipping from Bowers Row and nearby the disused Astley coal staithe can be seen adjacent to the halfpenny bridge (Caroline Bridge). A similar view extends from the nearby Victoria House with the carpet of Savile tip leading out to the canal.Directly east the raised area of the Savile tip restricts vision of the area from Pit lane to Kippax locks, However the headgear and colliery buildings at Allerton Bywater are to be seen in the distance.
The view in the foreground from the start of Main Street is dominated by the mock Tudor Miners Welfare, the Methodist Chapel and to the right the bell tower roof of Mickletown School. The access road into the pit via the Landsdale weigh is mostly empty but the cyclist must be Alan (Mishy) Worth along with Robin Savory, Peter Bell and George Stanger making their way home. As the land falls to the confluence of the Aire and Calder, little can be seen of Methley Mires however the bushes and trees around the two oxbow lakes are clearly evident. Behind are the industrial features of Hicksons and also Laportes chemical works and behind them the elevated area of Airedale, Castleford.
Directly south east overlooking Smirthwaite House and its trees the eye passes across Savile road, by the end of Oaksfield and crosses Pinfold lane with Green lane and the outstanding Dunsford house sited before the hill at Three Lane Ends. Panning to the right across the flat Windmill Moor can be seen Methley Common and a further traverse brings Moorhouse farm and Methley Junction and its rows into view in the background. The A639 Barnsdale Turnpike is clearly discernible from Green Lane to the Pindergreen bridge.
The southwest quadrant view of the village across Church Lane is masked by the railway embankment with only the raised contours of Scholey Hill and its woodland hinterland on view in the distance and only the top of St Oswalds church tower and the trees around the Cedars visible in the foreground.The final turn of the compass just catches a glimpse of the trees along Park lane and the brown excavation mounds of the open cast mining in that area. We seem to have come back to where we started in more ways than one.Fortunately from this vantage point most of the surrounding land is river plain with the gently raised land to the west, all offering an almost complete view of the village. It was also noticeable how many trees complement these views with intermittent trees along hedgerows and lanes, plantation trees and of course the extensive and beautiful Methley woodlands. One day the pit and opencast workings will cease and village life will face different pressures as efforts will be made to develop the village in other ways.

Aerial View

1993 and unbeknown to me the kids had clubbed together to pay for a one hour flying lesson out of Leeds/Bradford airport for my birthday.  Well they did keep it a secret and come the day, when they told me the itinerary I have to admit to hiding a slight lack of enthusiasm.

After early navigational problems of finding the office I was given a concentrated induction/training lecture lasting about one hour, then it was out to the plane a two seater Cessna with wings over the cabin.  A further review of the controls and then taxi to the runway and wait for permission to take off and fly from the tower.   Headphones were donned to enable communications from instructor to learner and it was chocks away and a short run along runway one-zero at increasing speed and then lift off.
I had recovered my enthusiasm during the pre flight instruction when I realised I would be much better sight seeing than learning to fly.   Imagine the surprise of the instructor pilot when I requested a flight path clearance to Castleford and Methley when the usual request was the Yorkshire Dales or the city of York.

Back to the take-off, where the single engined Cessna along with my stomach was climbing and heading for a position at Eccup reservopir to the east of Leeds.   A confirmation with flight control as to our position, and we were off heading for that great horizon in the sky.

Navigation would you believe, was.find the A1, travel south, turn right at Ferrybridge power station (you cant miss it), then follow the river.   Its known as visual flight rules.
The view from 1500 feet made Castleford and Whitwood look neat and prosperous, the view of the arrowhead weir at Castleford was something unobtainable at river level, the part sunken wreck of the barge only serving to make the view more unusual.    My first view of Methley was of the two oxbow lakes of the river Calder with wooden angling jettys protruding from the banks, each bank surrounded with green protective bushes contrasting with the off yellow corn stubble.    Now flying at 1200 feet over the Green Lane plantation at the side of the sand and gravel stacks, all standing out from this elevated view against the flatness of the fields.    The pilot at this stage advises that we havn’t got long before flying back to base. (25 minutes out, 20 minutes to get back left us with only 15 minutes for sightseeing)   The Cessna had a cruising speed of 90knots/150mph but the westerly turn was into a 30mph headwind which slowed down the leg from Ferrybridge.    So I had to miss out on an aerial view of the Lawn pond and Methley Woods.   The restriction on time did not spoil the views to come.   The Embleton Estate looked like picture from ‘Yorkshire Life’, the view of the Old Rectory and the Cedars on the one side of the Church and then the cricket field and bowling green, both with games in progress made the pilot bank round for a triple take.   Waving to the figures on the ground had little effect - we were just a small plane in the sky.    Now flying over The Hollings we kept the A639 in view to take an easterly course over Swillington to Hook Moor.

My visibility was hampered during this latter part of the journey with the plane on even keel (apart from turbulence) as we looked for speed on our now north easterly course to intersect the A1.
I wished afterwards that I had missed out on the Castleford/Whitwood section and taken in fuller coverage over the village.    Take it from me it looks very different from the air, but it requires planning  - you cant just ask the pilot to slow here, turn left, go back again......it doesnt work like that.
I never did master control of the joystick, flaps and other aero controls - everytime I tried I had to make a compensating action but I can recommend sightseeing from a very different perspective.