More disruption on the trains today so I travelled on the bus to start my walk at Burn, just about three miles south of Selby. I had a quick look round the village then headed south east down the lane towards Carlton. After about a mile I reached my first footpath, at first going alongside the disused runway at the former Burn Airfield and then along farm tracks and across fields until I reached a level crossing. The railway line here used to be part of the busy East Coast Main Line running between London and Edinburgh but these days there's only a limited local service and a few Hull Trains services to London via Selby. When the Selby Coalfield was opened up in the 1970s the mainline was diverted a few miles to the west to stay clear of any potential mining subsidence.
There were good views of both Eggborough and Drax power stations from many locations today...in fact I couldn't find many open spots were I couldn't see at least one of them.
I needed to use a short section of metalled road on the Quosquo Estate, an unusual name which looks Latin to me but I can't find any translation or explanation online. There's a lovely line of trees leading up to the hall here.
As I approached Carlton I crossed another railway line, this time the branch that goes to Drax Power Station; it's one of the largest power stations in Europe and there are frequent deliveries of coal. Just after I'd crossed the tracks a man driving a large four wheel drive car towing a trailer stopped and asked me about the driving conditions ahead, where I'd just been. I told that it was dodgy, a rutted track across a field, not flooded or muddy...but quite difficult I would think. I think he wanted me to make the decision for him as to whether or not to continue; we both agreed he should get out of his vehicle and go and have a look for himself. A few minutes later I could hear the noise of his engine as he was approaching me from behind, he'd turned round and was going to try to deliver his load of pipes by using another route.
I had a specific reason for wanting to visit Carlton - a linguistic peculiarity that can be photographed.
That reason is 'The Odddfellows' pub...yes, that's correct: I've not added the extra letter 'D'.
See here:
In the 1980s when the pub was being refurbished the signwriter made a mistake; the brewery wanted to correct the mistake but the locals persuaded them to leave it as it is.
Of course there were other things in Carlton for me to photograph; the first place I visited was Carlton Towers, adding half a mile to my walk to get this image.
There are Anglican and Catholic churches in the village, a Methodist chapel and a delightful tiny chapel at the cemetery.
In several of the fields near Carlton the farmers are using a new crop growing technique, I've certainly not seen it before anyway. It looks like some sort of fine biodegradable mesh or netting that's been laid in rows.
I re-crossed the Drax railway line; even on footpaths draconian railway byelaws still apply.
I got lost a bit and should have crossed the railway about half a mile to the west. This mistake had its benefit though; it meant that I was able to get sight of the cooling towers close up without the pylons and the transmission cables interfering with the view or the composition of the photograph.
I had to walk down the road for a longer distance though; this wasn't too bad because there was a pavement and so I had no problems with the camber hurting my feet.
I didn't go into the main part of the village at Barlow, I only saw modern houses and a school there.
At Barlow I was abused for the second time today by some teenagers as they rode by me on their bikes; the usual stuff, loud animal noises and strange contorted actions. If I was a member of a visible minority group I'd receive the protection of the law, but because Asperger's syndrome is an invisible disability I've just got to swallow whatever poison is rammed down my throat...plus having to deal with other people's scepticism and hostility who think I'm not disabled at all but just idle, a waste of space or a parasite - members of my own family have called me all of these things.
By the way I'm not a 'special snowflake' - I believe that no-one has the right not be offended, ridiculed...or even bullied for that matter, but when someone calls me idle I demand a right of reply and to able to confront them face to face. I might not ever have had a job, something I received wages or a salary for doing but I did do ten years of full-time voluntary work on community development projects...and acting as a mentor and [hopefully] positive role model for young people. The unemployment rate for people like myself with a diagnoses of Asperger's syndrome and no other development or learning disability could be as high as 97%, far higher than for any other disabled or disadvantaged group. Over the years I have begged to be given a chance to work; on local radio, on stage in front of hundred of people, at conferences...whenever and wherever; God knows I can't remember them all.
I arrived at Brayton with plenty of time to photograph the church, although by this time it was quite cloudy.
This final photograph is the view from the bus stop.
My day ended well: as the bus passed through Askern a friend who I haven't seen for several years got on and we chatted until he got off just a few stops before the town centre.
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