Old Mill Lane

Old Mill Lane

Sunday 7 February 2016

Wakefield

Seeking a dry walk, after a succession of storms had turned footpaths in to mud baths, we headed off for a stroll round Wakefield. This once prosperous city, built on coal, is now a bit down on its luck, exemplified by the first 89p shop we have seen.

All roads led to Chantry Bridge and the Hepworth Gallery but being mean we avoided the £5 parking fee in the Hepworth car park and found a cosy spot next to a skip depot.









































.





The gallery is sited next to the River Calder and has a colourful boat yard nearby.




























.































.







The Hepworth was showing a retrospective exhibition of Martin Parr's photographs and they had certainly done him proud with several galleries devoted to his pictures. His early work consisted of sensitive black and white images from around the Calder Valley, in the style of the magnificent Tony Ray Jones, but he then went on to use colour and flash in an intentionally lurid way.

Some of my least favourite images were grouped together on a wall with one of his videos playing on a television.































.











































.



























.































.