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Viewpoint from Rev Martin Upton 30/06/2023
 Rev Martin Upton
Assistant Minister, Bradwell Parish Church
We have just come back from a fortnight's holiday in North Yorkshire. It's quite a contrast with here!
For a start there are the geography and the geology. We had to teach the car what those steep hill signs mean - and there were a good number of them, it had plenty of practice. From our property we could see Penyghent, And just out of sight were Ingleborough and Whernside. How people run up all three of those in one day is beyond my understanding. The Three Peaks Challenge is not something I would consider (or actually ever would have)! In the other direction was Pendle Hill, famous both as a landmark and for the Lancashire Witches. In the other direction, we did visit Malham Cove. What an amazing piece of geology that is
 The river Ribble is a great contrast with the Yare or the Bure or the Wensum – a lot of small cascades and a major waterfall. If anyone knows of a waterfall in Norfolk please do let me know - I would love to go and see it
And there were some awe-inspiring pieces of civil engineering as well. We didn't get the chance to travel on the Settle and Carlisle Railway - maybe that's for next year. However, we did go to admire the Ribblehead Viaduct. What remarkable structure it is, on a slight curve, with a slight gradient, and in an amazing environment. There is a fantastic balance between civil engineering geography and geology, to me, each one was enhancing the others
We also visited the Stocks Reservoir and the Forest of Bowland (actually in Lancashire not Yorkshire, to keep them both happy!) which sounds much more level, except the path didn’t stay by the side of the reservoir, but ascended several hundred feet to give a view down the valley. At least we heard a cuckoo! That seems to be different from Norfolk as I don’t think we have heard a cuckoo in Norfolk for several years. We are used to hearing curlews in Norfolk - wading birds in the estuaries and on tidal marshes, but hearing them on the high moorlands was a real treat
At least the Leeds and Liverpool canal offered some level ground. This is another amazing piece of civil engineering from 250 years ago. We walked into the town of Skipton for lunch where we picked up another major difference. The accent. There seems to be something of a different voice quality for people In Yorkshire compared with Norfolk
Fortunately the days of the week are still the same, so on the Sundays we could go to church. Having admired all the natural things and human ingenuity it is good to go and praise God for all that he is and all that he has done. It brings a new perspective to all the things at home. So what have you got to praise God for in the world around you?
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