Scene 1 Ilkley

This could be just about anywhere on the edge of town...

There is a recreation ground with a garage and Tesco just over the fence. It is just outside Ilkley, Yorkshire on the A65. You probably wouldn't give this a second look

Yet it can be seen in other ways..

Walking down the lane, you may ask why it would be called 'Wheatley lane'. 'Wheatley' means a 'clearing used for wheat' and its use here goes back to the 13th century. Just pause a moment. That means that over 800 years ago this land was considered good enough to grow the crop that made the staff of life - bread.

While that ground would probably have been growing cereals for over 600 years, from 1870 the area growing cereals in England and Wales dropped about a 1/3 from about 3,500kh to 2,500kh. Most of this loss is due to less oats, which would have been grown mainly for horses, but would now do wonders for reducing cholesterol levels. Wheat land dropped by half from 1870 to the start of WW2 (see Brinscall), as British Agriculture was pushed into recession due to increased food imports from all over the world. Area increased in the 1970's on to mid 80's, to the level of a century before where it has remained since. We can see on this journey new wheat planting as world prices rose in 2008 encouraging more planting in more marginal areas (see Hoghton).

Basically we have relied more and more on other people labouring to produce our food on their land. We now import nearly half the food we eat. This journey shows where and how we could produce a lot more food for ourselves.

Taken from the bottom of the lane with Ilkley Moor in the background, the familiar Tesco sign proudly advertises its ability to bring you any food you need, when you need it. What more can you want?

So why bother looking at the land? The land here can grow more than grass and dandelions. The recreation ground could be used to grow vegetables for the store, making the food miles travelled to zero. Local, fresh sustainable fruit and vegetables that are healthy for us and the local economy could be grown under our noses. You could also make it an educational exercise. There are lots we can learn about ourselves about the way we treat the land, but we need to know how to understand what we are seeing. This tour round the Pennines may be able to help...

Ilkley Council leaders back ban on burning famous heather moors, to protect against flooding.

The famous Yorkshire anthem Ilkley Moor Baht 'at "chides the lover for his lack of headwear – for in the cold winds of Ilkley Moor this will mean his death from exposure. This will in turn result in his burial, the eating of his corpse by worms, the eating of the worms by ducks and finally the eating of the ducks by the singers."

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse