Coldstone Beck
Arising about 330m (1070 feet) above sea level on the undulating plateau of Burley Moor, a little stream has cut a narrow ravine through the escapment bounding the eastern edge. It falls steeply, losing height by 100m in just over 500m as the crow flies, before making a more gradual descent through Burley-in-Wharfedale to the River Wharfe 2.5km away. A short, inconsequential stream perhaps, but one which has flowed over its bed of millstone grit for thousands of years. It is called Coldstone Beck and for those of us, who as children leapt from stone to stone across it, splashed in it and peered into its secrets, it holds a special place. I return there from time to time, sometimes alone but more often with family and friends. Yet my memory of those far off days remains strong; my twin brother and I are by the stream, both of us captivated by the unceasing motion and sound of the water and the flash of sunlight on the wet rocks.