Footpaths and Fairways

A bit of a delay in blogging this walk which I did about a month ago. It was a lovely crisp day and the snow was still lying albeit mostly in the more shaded areas. Ogden Water is good for walkers because of the many paths which will let you make your walk as long or as short as you want. I tend to wander down the valley at the head of the reservoir and then turn round and head off up into the wood.

It was a walk where I kept bumping in to dogs who had strayed from their owners. I think the first one was just being nosey and had come to have a sniff and say hello. The second was a small Jack Russell who, due to overexcitement, had become totally disorientated and lost its owner. This took quite a bit of doing as the owner was only about fifty yards away and still in sight. It bounded off in the opposite direction though and then reappeared after a couple of minutes looking very forlorn and confused. However it must have either picked up her scent or heard her voice because it scampered off towards her and was happily reunited. Drama over!

Due to the weather being so good, I decided to extend my walk by going up and onto the golf course which lies adjacent to the woods. It was certainly bracing up there and there was a thin dusting on snow on the greens and fairways. As expected all the holes were closed so there was no danger of me having to duck and dive from wayward tee shots. I was later informed by a friend that it "was a pussy cat of a course, but in bad weather..." I can see why!

Its good having somewhere like Ogden Water on my doorstep because I can be there in ten minutes. Sometimes I just cant be bothered with the drive to the Dales because of all the hassle of getting out of Bradford and through Keighley so its ideal.