WFV, New Year’s Walk, Milner Field 6.1.26

In spite of it being a bitterly cold day, 11 hardy souls braved the elements and met on Coach Road in Saltaire for our first outing of 2026.  A leisurely walk was taken up the road heading towards the ruins of Milner Field, the former residence of Titus Salt Junior.  As we progressed some pristine looking fungi was spotted on a decaying log.  Initially this caused some uncertainty as to what it was, but John then realised that the log had been inverted and what we were actually looking at was turkey tail.  The avenue itself was planted either side with a mixture of deciduous and evergreen trees and Alice was particularly struck by the variety of hollies, some of which were only just starting to flower.  High in the canopy redwings were seen, as well as a great spotted woodpecker and all the members of the tit family.  Just before we turned off to see the ruins, we had an excellent view of a grey wagtail which Sue managed to capture on camera. 

Marje then led us in the right direction to locate what remained of, what must at one time, have been an imposing structure, which even played host to royalty over its lifetime.  The mosaic floor of the conservatory was still visible beneath the leaf litter and in its day must have been quite a sight.  At this point Marje and Alice left the group to retrace their steps, whilst the rest of us walked up the remainder of the avenue to emerge on Primrose Lane.  Walking down the road, we then turned off to our left on a footpath leading to the canal.  Here, in an adjacent field, we noted a large flock of Canada and greylag geese grazing.  

Arriving at the canal, a discussion took place regarding lunch, but facilities being required by some, the decision was taken to head to the Higher Ground cafe.  On our way we were treated to the sight of a goldcrest feeding off a section of newly planted hedging just off the towpath.  As we progressed we came across more feeding on trees beside the river and here we also saw a female goosander.  A jay was also spotted flying amongst the trees further along the path.  Refreshments were taken at the cafe, after which we all made our separate ways home.  

Sally Tetlow