Welcome
Photographing the River Aire and it's journey through Yorkshire to the east coast is filling my life at the moment.
It is to support The Aire Rivers Trust's Roots in the River project and the aim is to talk about Aire Miles to the public. Get in touch for a presentation between 20 and 60 minutes.
I'm walking it from Source (whatever that is - it's contentious!) to Mouth and taking a photo at every mile to document how the landscape changes around the river and some issues along the way. It's been a great experience so far.
Some of the Aire Miles, I visit several times and here is goings on at Kildwick Bridge which I visited three times. The last time was on my way home from visiting further up the valley and I hung about on the bridge for enough time for local people to ask me if I was alright. I feel privileged to see these amazng colours and textures and be able to photograph them.
Two Projects
I have two projects on-going right now.
Aire Miles is to photograph the River Aire at mile intervals from source to sea. It is mainly on foot and will take the full cycle of seasons over one year. It begins at the furthest point from the river's mouth at Airmyn. This on 1st May this year was a muddy pool on the edge of Malham Tarn. I will reach the mouth at Airmyn in about a years time. I'm looking forward to exploring and meeting people along the way.
After Dark is a continuation of Shipley After Dark and is more opportunistic. It is a winter speciality as it's about once the sun goes down so is in some ways easier in the winter months. I also love dressing up in layers and woolly hats: yes - it's a winter project mainly.
This site contains galleries of projects past and current.
Have a look round and I hope you enjoy the photos.
More information:
A Blog where there is a narrative to accompany the Aire Miles photographs
The Aire Rivers Trust website where this project and others are detailed
Latest
22nd December 2025 I thought I'd show you the navigation tools. I tried navigating with only these to begin with but I was focused on finding my way rather than photography so I also now use the OS App on my phone. Bonza!
18th December 2025 Another mile and another bridge. The bridges seem to be railway bridges that connect the mines on the Aire's north bank with the towns on the south. Why aren't the big towns on the same side as the mines? The route to follow the river under this bridge is lined with boards. Inspected weekly.
14th December 2025 Exploring the hinterland between the river's enormous weir and the cut and locks, there were many interesting features. Here is Mile 61's lesser sights from an apparently condemned bridge. You can see the steel pilings on the river banks and in the foreground is the vandalised barrier to prevent wanderers such as myself.
28th November 2025 For the next few Aire Miles I made a special journey by train to Castleford and walked up river with a partner from Yorkshire Water. It was the first photo from a day of exploration and some wonderous sights and mini-adventures. Honestly, it was like being a kid again. Castleford just gave and gave. The wavy bridge walking route across the weir is outside the Aire Miles scope but is beautiful to see and hear.
23rd November 2025 This is Allerton Bywater, more former open cast coal mines, flooded in the last twenty-five years. They are a haven for birds but here is the flood wall between the former pits and the river, with its footpath running along the top. I think I'm going to be walking this for quite some miles now ...
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