Burley Woodhead is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in the

City of Bradford The City of Bradford () is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Bradford, but covers a large area which includes the towns and vi ...

, in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England. The hamlet is to the south-west of

Burley in Wharfedale Burley in Wharfedale is a village and (as just Burley) a civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated in the Wharfedale valley. The village is situated on the A65 road, approximately north-west from Leeds, ...

and is approximately from the

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. He ...

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the ...

. Burley Woodhead comprises chiefly of a small cluster of farms and homes along the road from Ilkley to

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds. It sits in th ...

at the foot of Burley Moor, though the village is at above sea level, with the moor being some above sea level. The local

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

is The Hermit. Between 1832 and 1976, the hamlet had its own school. The building itself is a grade II listed structure and is now in private hands. The primary schooling is in the nearby village of

at the Burley and Woodhead Primary School. The former Wesleyan Chapel, which dates from 1867, is now a private residence. The moors to the west have attracted meteorologists and tourists to a weather phenomenon known as the

brocken spectre A Brocken spectre (British English; American spelling Brocken specter; german: Brockengespenst), also called Brocken bow, mountain spectre, or spectre of the Brocken is the magnified (and apparently enormous) shadow of an observer cast in mid ai ...

. This occurs when it is foggy and the observer is above the fog with the sun behind them, which creates a shadowy figure. The phenomenon is normally associated with mountains, but occurs on Burley Moor because of the local geography and weather conditions. These same conditions produce fog at Leeds Bradford Airport south to the south-east. To the west of the village is the former quarry workings of Burley Woodhead Moor; the face of the quarry is now used by climbers. The hamlet is also crossed by the

Ebor Way {{Infobox hiking trail , name=Ebor Way , photo=Ebor Way Sign Eccup 2016.jpg , caption=Signpost north of Eccup, Leeds , location=England: North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire , length_mi=70 , trailheads=Helmsley, North Yorkshire {{coor ...

and the

Dales Way The Dales Way is an long-distance footpath in Northern England, from (south-east to north-west) Ilkley, West Yorkshire, to Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria. This walk was initially devised by the West Riding Ramblers' Association with the 'lead ...

walks. Carr Beck runs through the southern half of the hamlet and is a tributary of the

River Wharfe The River Wharfe ( ) is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale. ...

. The beck is dammed to the west of the village and forms Carr Bottom

Reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

, which is not used as a drinking supply, but as a compensation reservoir. White clawed crayfish have been found in the beck. The reservoir is part of the

South Pennines The South Pennines is a region of moorland and hill country in northern England lying towards the southern end of the Pennines. In the west it includes the Rossendale Valley and the West Pennine Moors. It is bounded by the Greater Manchester ...

SSSI area.

References

External links

"Burley Woodhead"
Burley Local History Group {{Navboxes , list1 = {{City of Bradford {{West Yorkshire {{Portalbar, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom {{authority control Villages in West Yorkshire Wharfedale Geography of the City of Bradford

See also

References

External links