CONFLUENCE - Loadpit Beck - River Aire - Shipley, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member dtrebilc
N 53° 50.509 W 001° 48.151
30U E 578789 N 5966587
At this point the short stream Loadpit Beck joins the much longer River Aire, just below a weir on the River Aire.
Waymark Code: WMQYRJ
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/16/2016
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member lumbricus
Views: 2

At this point the River Aire is flowing roughly west to east and the Loadpit Beck flows north to south and joins the River Aire on its northern bank.

There is woodland on both sides of the River Aire with public footpaths running through the woods. One of the footpaths runs alongside the bank of the River Aire so the confluence is easily accessible and a small footbridge crosses the Loadpit Beck just before the point it meets the Aire. It is also next to a road that leads to Bradford Amateur Rowing Club.

Parking is available on the roadside at Glenwood Avenue. Although there is a road that leads to Bradford Amateur Rowing Club parking is restricted to members only.

Loadpit Beck
The Beck lies in a narrow valley formed by retreating glaciers at the end of the ice age. It rises on Rombalds Moor, but is actually called Eldwick Beck at this point. It does not change its name to Loadpit Beck until it reaches the village of Eldwick and is named after the nearby small Late Bronze Age iron ore (or lode) workings or ‘bloomeries’ where axes to clear the land for agriculture were forged.

From here and before reaching the River Aire it passes through Shipley Glen. This has the UK's oldest, still working, cable tramway and at one time also had a small funfair.

The River Aire
"The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England, 71 miles (114 km) in length. Part of the river below Leeds is canalised, and is known as the Aire and Calder Navigation.

The Aire starts its journey at Malham Tarn a limestone area. It becomes a subterranean stream at 'Water Sinks' about 1 mile (1.6 km) before the top of Malham Cove, it then flows underground to Aire Head, just below Malham, in North Yorkshire, and then flows through Gargrave and Skipton. After Cononley, the river enters West Yorkshire where it passes through the former industrial areas of Keighley, Bingley, Saltaire and Shipley. It then passes through Leeds and on to the villages of Swillington and Woodlesford. At Castleford is the confluence of the Aire and Calder; just downstream of the confluence was the ford where the ancient British road, used by the Romans, crossed on its way north to York. The river re-enters North Yorkshire near Knottingley and in its lower reaches forms part of the boundary between North Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire.

The River Aire empties into the River Ouse at Airmyn, 'myn' being an old English word for 'river mouth'. The name possibly derived from Common Brittonic *Isara, meaning "strong river". The Aire could have been the winwœd or winwæd written about in Old English, from the Old English elements winnan or win ("strife", "fight") and wæd ("shallow water", "ford"), however others have proposed that it is actually the Went (also called the "wynt" in Old English) or the Cock Beck (see Battle of the Winwaed). Still others have claimed that it is actually the name of the battle and not the body of water itself." link

The weir near here was built for a fulling mill with a waterwheel across the other side of the river.
Parking Coordinates: Not listed

Trailhead Coordinates: Not listed

Relevant Web Site: Not listed

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