What year is it, who's the president?

It's 2006 and the Bradford Pothole Club President is John "Daft Jonah" Schofield. Each year the BPC President celebrates his "ascension" by throwing a special President's Meet. This traditional BPC event involves outings during Saturday and a barbecue and "drinks party" at Brackenbottom (the club's HQ) in the evening.

On scorching Saturday 1st July I decided to complete a Tour d'Ingleborough by mountainbike.

A terrible map of the Tour d'Ingleborough Route

I was accompanied in the early stages by John Robbo.

John Robbo descends from Cam End to Gearstones, Ribblesdale.

Unfortunately the delights of the Hill Inn (link connects to superb "homespun" site on all things Yorkshire Dales) at the half-way stage proved too much and I didn't see John until Saturday evening, much the worse for wear.

I continued my journey beyond Chapel-le-Dale, toward Ellerbeck and Scales Moor, where I came across this incredible sculpture completely by surprise.

In 1780 The Reverend John Hutton published a book entitled 'A Tour to the Caves in the Environs of Ingleborough and Settle'. On his visit to Chapel-le-Dale he noted -

"The firft curiofity we were conducted to was Hurtlepot, about eighty yards above the chapel. It is a round deep hole, between thirty and fourty yards diameter, furrounded with rocks almoft on all fides, between thirty and fourty feet perpendicular above a deep black water... It was indeed one of the moft difmal profpects I had yet been prefented with... After viewing for fome time with horror and aftonifhment its dreadful afpect from the top, we were emboldened to defcend by a fteep and flippery paffage to the margin of this Avernian lake. What its depth is we could not learn; but from the length of time the finking ftones we threw in continued to fend up bubbles from the black abyfs, we concluded it to be very profound"

and

"In our way from Hurtlepot, we could not help remarking the ruins of two fmall artificial mounts of earth, which we were told formerly ferved as butts, when the inhabitants exercifed themfelves in the ancient military accomplifhment of archery."

In times of flood Hurtle Pot emits a weird booming noise which, it is said, gave rise to the legend of boggards inhabiting the hole; alluded to by Hutton in his description of the environs. During The Hundred Years War, and particularly during the reign of Edward 3rd in the 14th century, archery was encouraged throughout England as part of a "territorial army". Men were ordered by local Sheriffs to practice archery on Sundays and holidays leading to the establishment of archery ranges close to churches. Hutton's butts appear to be a relic of this tradition.

The stautue seems to meld both the myth of the boggards and the historical actuality of archery being practiced in the area. I found it a very atmospheric piece.