Rarely-seen pictures show some of the worst winters Yorkshire has ever had
In January 1962 the drifts were so deep on the York to Bridlington Road, near the top of Garrowby Hill, that only the tops of the signposts could still be seen.
These early news photographs also document a golden age of motoring, when only two principal routes – the Snake Pass and the Woodhead Pass – connected Yorkshire with the settlements west of the Pennines, and it was not unusual to find both closed.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdSlightly further north, on the Standedge Road near Huddersfield, a driver in 1937 passes – more in hope than expectation – a hoarding advertising the Welsh “sunspot” of Llandudno. With no grit on the carriageway it is only the stone verge that prevents him from sliding into it. Another car at the same location was less lucky and is seen abandoned with an apparently broken axle.
It was not only cars but also trains that became stranded in the frequent moorland drifts, and a picture from 1940 shows workmen digging out a snowbound locomotive on the line between Manchester and Sheffield, while in an undated shot on the Leeds to York road, stockmen resort to using the deserted highway to drive their cattle.
It has been several decades since the drifts have been quite this bad, but as the devastating floods of this year and last have reminded us, nature can always have a surprise up its sleeve.
Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdAlmost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.
And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.
Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.
If you want to help right now, download our tablet app from the App / Play Stores. Every contribution you make helps to provide this county with the best regional journalism in the country.
Sincerely. Thank you.
James Mitchinson, Editor
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.