Goit Stock Wood and Waterfall

This little gem is on my doorstep and I’m embarrassed to say that this was only the second time I had visited, the first time being about five years ago when Sal introduced me to the area. What has put me off in recent times is it’s sudden popularity, it seems to have grown enormously since lock-down was eased. However a rainy midweek, October morning was never going to be busy and I only saw a handful of people the entire time I was there.

The autumn colours were just beginning to appear but I reckon I was a week or two too early to see them at their best. However the water flow in Harden Beck and over the falls was just about perfect for photography so that more than compensated. The beck and surrounding woods are very enclosed which makes it easy to see why the locals have always know it as The Hidden Valley. It has also been designated an SEGI (Site of Ecological and Geological Importance) by Bradford Council.

During Bradford’s industrial past, there were six mills on Harden Beck; (from upstream down) Hewenden Mill, Bents Mill, Hallas Bridge Mill, Goit Stock Mill, Harden Bridge Mill and Beckfoot Mill. Hewenden, Bents and Beckfoot mills have all since been converted into private accommodation buildings. Hallas Bridge Mill was destroyed by fire. Goit Stock Mill was later utilised as a café and ballroom but it too burnt down (in 1927) with no reports of casualties. Its chimney and flue still exist, with the chimney being built on the northern ridge to aid the dispersal of smoke from the narrow valley. Harden Bridge Mill is still in private use as a printers. As you walk along the narrow wooded valley it is easy to imagine how the place must have been in those times.

With the falls being situated in the botton of an enclosed ravine, they tend to ice over during very cold spells, hopefully that will happen this coming winter. If they do, I'll be there to capture them!