Whenever I’m around Huddersfield way and I have the time, I’ll nip up to the Victorian tower on Castle Hill and remind myself of the fantastic 360 degree view. Yesterday I noticed for the first time a wind farm on the south western horizon. The turbine blades ought to have been whirling round in demented fashion, as the wind on this exposed outcrop felt like gale force – alas, apparently you can have too much wind on a wind farm for a wind turbine to work. Could be a wind up of course. Certainly put the wind up me – nearly got blown over the edge.
I’ve yet to be convinced that wind farms are of much use to the majority of us; rather that they mainly benefit those involved in the manufacture of turbines and landowners looking to make a quick and easy profit. Enormous turbines are springing up all around the Yorkshire Dales National Park with little regard to those like me who treasure the views and care for wildlife and the rural way of life. Although I now live in the Dales my childhood was spent in the West Riding and I still travel regularly to Huddersfield to pay homage to Yorkshire’s greatest football team. One of my favourite places in the town, after the John Smith’s Stadium, is Castle Hill and the Jubilee Tower. The 360 degree view from the top of the tower, even with its industrial aspects, is one to behold. For hundreds of years Castle Hill has provided for ordinary folk an escape from the mills and the daily grind. To me and most residents, the surrounding moorland is just as precious and personal as that of the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors. The Pennines hills around Huddersfield offer beauty, solitude and drama which can’t be assessed in terms of pound coins. The number of wind farms appearing or planned for the region disturbs me greatly and I hope the local authority sees the deeper value in our countryside when considering wind farm applications. Pics: above a view from Jubilee Tower; below, one of a crop of 93m turbines towering above grazing cows near Harrogate.
