The Twin Towers?

Thursday, 01 October 2009 11:27

Stoodley Pike and Castle Hill

Well, they are certainly not twins, but they like their hilltop monuments around here. On my journey from Todmorden to the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary (HRI) to see Fi (who is slowly progressing, I'm glad to say), two edifices stand out on the skyline:

In case you can't see them in these thumbnail pictures, I've highlighted them with little arrows (that will hit you once and hit you once again - who sung that? I know, but can you be the first to reply by comment?)

On the left is the view from Todmorden (pronounced Todmirden for southerners reading this); on the right is the view from Ward 8 in the HRI.

This is Stoodley Pike, seen through the Todmorden to Halifax train's window. It is a 121-foot beacon monument that stands on Stoodley Pike. It was designed by local architect James Green in 1854 and completed in 1856 when peace was declared at the end of the Crimean War.

Castle Hill sits across the valley, above Huddersfield, from the HRI. The scheduled ancient monument sits atop one of Yorkshire's most important early Iron Age hill forts. The quality of the picture reflects the quality of the HRI window cleaners - or at least the frequency of cleaning.

That's all for now - another "Visit" is in order!