Westwood-Yo

The Westwood Pasture is a large landed area on the western side of the historic town of Beverley in East Yorkshire, England. It is protected against encroachment by development being ancient grazing land with a strict code of rules to determine who is eligible to use it for the day care or extended billeting of their livestock. Otherwise anything goes within its boundaries in the modern age ranging from teenage binge drinking to retiree rambling to activities by courting couples and bird watchers. I spent a couple of summer days with a paint brush carefully applying successive coats of best quality linseed oil onto the hand-written hoardings which listed the Regulations administered by the Pasture Masters. The wording, upon squinting close scrutiny, was archaic and quaint. In a condensed and summarised version the many thousands of words really just said "keep your creatures in your own back garden unless you were born and bred within the curtilage of ye olde town of Beverley". I have spent many hours wandering about on the open spaces of the Westwood Pasture, not binge drinking, rambling, courting or twitching, but pursuing the family pet dog on one of its rabbit hunts, kicking a football, swinging a 7 iron golf club or just out of a sheer interest in what is a fascinating piece of England that has resisted significant change for centuries. The geography is mainly of rising ground, westwards from the built up edge of town with three bisecting roads serving as main approaches to Beverley. The main carriageway which becomes York Road sweeps up towards the Racecourse with its dominant grandstand and modern buildings but with great empathy to the surroundings. The middle Newbald Road is just about wide enough for two way traffic with a lower almost causeway type course before a steep climb and a cattlegrid exit. The south road to Walkington village provides a rapid descent into town with a sharp offshoot into the highly desirable residential location of Westwood Road characterised by three storey town houses and small cottages. The grazing land is heavily populated in the spring to early autumn with herds of young, curious cattle with no road sense and consequently there are many bovine fatalities from collisions with vehicles and on the rare occasions human loss of life. My father was involved in an appeal to raise money for relective collars for the cows in an attempt to cut down on their sudden and unannounced looming up in headlights and through the windcreens of fast moving traffic. The art of dodging fly blown cow pats is well practiced amongst regular users. The requirement to wash down dogs after they have revelled in rolling in such things is equally common. Industry and commerce has shaped the Westwood in the past. Two windmill towers, devoid of sails, survive as landmarks out of up to four original sites. The deep undulations now popular for runners. orienteering and mountain biking were the consequence of excavation and removal of chalk and minerals required for the expansion of the town for roads and construction. Recreational use for the benefit of the townspeople and visitors is also prominent. The central area of pasture retains a circular gallop for the training of racehorses similar to the features found on Newmarket Heath or on the periphery of Malton. The former stables and yards dotted around the western side of the town within short trotting distance are now largely converted into posh mews homes. Beverley Golf Club has, in addition to sandtraps, treacherous rough and a high lost ball count the added obstacles imposed by ruminating cattle, dog walkers, casual but head-down ramblers, impulsive non-fee paying golfers, passing cars and the possibility of stray radio controlled aircraft. The course does not feature regularly on the main competition circuit in spite of being considerably more difficult to play than many championship Links courses in particular. An interesting man made feature on one of the back fairways is a dew pond. This is a perfectly circular depression for the collecting of moisture for the livestock on an otherwise fast draining chalk strata. The pasture is dotted with freshwater springs which emerge on a periodic basis to wash down across the Newbald Road. The adverse weather conditions of late June 2007 led to the surface water  run off from the Westwood contributing to significant flood damage in the town. Photographs of the reflections of the window height inundation of the very attractive Pasture Terrace houses made the front page of many national newspapers. When younger one of my chores was to operate the manual pump to clear flood water from the cellar beneath my parents' house just down the slope from the Westwood. The clump of bluebell woods known as Burton Bushes on the north western side of the pasture is all that survives in that spot of a forest that in medieval times extended across the whole central belt of England. The attraction of higher ground to our ancestors, in that it gave a good vantage point to spot invaders and marauders and was less likely to become waterlogged ,promoted  the Westwod as the site for tumuli and during the last century a bronze age chariot was excavated from a burial mound and is now housed at the British Museum. I personally have quite an affinity for the environs of the Westwood. I have played football for hours on the very rough pitch just in the shadow of the Black Mill Tower with many an attempted wonder goal being thwarted by those cow pats or other animal faeces which put in a decisive challenge at the moment of contact. In trying to catch that darned dog I have whistled, called and sworn aloud at all hours of daylight and night. The shedding and misplacement of car wheel trims on the cross road and golf balls respectively has provided a handy secondary income to supplement pocket money. If upset or just downtrodden by life there is nothing better than to just wander the Pasture at any hour although taking care to avoid animal excrement, discarded beer cans and the odd prophylactic with the distinct impression of cow teeth marks.