When we first moved here, I found it hard to believe that Greenhow Hill could have its own microclimate. Today, we saw it at work. The valley below was showing the first signs of spring - green grass and sunshine, whilst Coldstones Cut, just two miles away was clothed in the glistening ice of winter exposure. Snow cover, ice crystals, black rock and white skies give this modern sculpture a neolithic feel.
Walking into the stone structure - which gives a view of a huge, working quarry on one side, and the pastoral calm of the countryside on the other - can feel like a slice of the town on a summers day. When the walls are covered with the sheen of frozen water, climbing the turret on either side recalls the age of castles and seiges. Walking past the frozen tufts of grass growing at your feet, you can imagine yourself in a gothic novel. You really start to appreciate the experience of this living piece of art.
The dark stone, part natural product and part result of industrial process, is a reminder of the complex history of Pateley Bridge and the surrounding area. Nowadays, it is walking and cycling country, filled with livestock farming and agricultural shows. In the past, it has been camping ground to the Romans and of Medieval armies. It has also been the site mining and smelting. In fact, getting to Coldstones Cut from the car park takes you past Toft Gate Lime Kiln, with its great furnace.
Overhead, you can see the swirling pattern of flocks of birds, a reminder that this is an area of outstanding natural beauty as well as part of an industrial and agricultural past. This fact is called out by the plaque at the top of the left hand tower of Coldstones, which depicts the bird and plantlife in the local area.
On the other tower, you can chart the way towards a myriad of cities the world over on a giant compass built into the wall. On a clear day, you can pick out York Cathedral with the right telescope, which is a fair distance. The other destinations marked - Salisbury, Accra, Timbuktu and the rest - will take more than a giant magnifying glass to find. However, having them called out like this encourages the mind to reach out into the distance.
The night skies are also something to behold from this vantage point. Photography from local star gazers show off our dark skies to etheiral perfection. This is the place enthusiasts come for the Northern Lights, and for comets and constellations. Not tonight, though, or last night if they have any sense. This is the season that the stone is battered by icy winds... and we are glad of our warm beds.
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