Lofthouse and Middlesmoor: Sawdust and scenic Nidderdale

As Douglas Adams wrote in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy… “Stress and nervous tension are now serious social problems in all parts of the galaxy, and it is in order that this situation should not be in any way exacerbated, that the following facts now be revealed in advance.”

It did in fact rain most of the day.

It was quite dark as heavy clouds lay blanketed from horizon to horizon. There were probably mice around, but I didn’t see them. No cars were hit by cricket balls, and no upper arms were bruised…that I know about anyway.

Nervous tension averted, we can proceed with a tale of a club that is most definitely situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Yorkshire’s giant golf balls

I didn’t really have to plan my journey, certainly not relying on Siri to help guide me to Lofthouse, as it is a place I have travelled to and past many times. Curiously, I haven’t actually been to the cricket club before, and hand on heart I cannot give an explanation as to why not.

I knew my journey would take me around 50 minutes as I pointed my car in the general direction of Menwith Hill. It always amuses me as I pass what is locally known as the ‘giant golf balls’ to remember a ‘documentary’ programme aired a good few decades ago.

One of the protestors, who had probably spent more than a healthy amount of time camped in the layby by America’s ear on Europe, had somehow managed to make a half hour “exposé” about one of Britain’s most secret military bases.

In the documentary, I think I remember that as the film crew had driven past the base, she had slipped down to hide behind the passenger door, telling the reporter that filming and photographing the base was strictly prohibited and if she was seen going past, then they would probably be arrested.

It may have made good TV then, but even as a child, I could remember thinking ‘what is she talking about?’ – as you could nip into any of the local shops and buy a postcard featuring the bright white domes taken from the road that runs alongside it. As I drove past, I felt that I didn’t need to slip down in the driver’s seat and hide from the base’s view!

I had decided to head to Pateley Bridge via How Hill, a journey in the past that had seen a deer spring out of the trees on one side of the road, over a drystone wall and managing to hit every single side panel from front to rear and causing a few thousand pounds of damage.

Favourite cemetery?

A vet was called along with the police armed response unit and…it didn’t go so well for the deer, unfortunately. No such worries for me this time…just the sight of a few slow-moving sheep partaking in the ‘extreme sport’ of road-side grass eating as cars drove past.

On the road by Thruscross Reservoir, just a little bit up from the Stone House Inn, is my favourite cemetery. That’s a normal thing to have, isn’t it?

You know the line in An American Werewolf in London, where Jack and his friend David, walk into the village pub and the locals warn them to ‘Stay on the road and keep off the moors’…I can imagine on a cold foggy winter’s night, this cemetery with its imposing cross at the entrance would frighten the bejesus out of all but the bravest of souls and you would definitely stay on the road!

I’ve told my wife I’d like to be buried there…obviously when I’ve died; but I test her patience far too often and need to keep on her good side so I don’t end up there earlier than planned!

Driving past The Coldstones Cut [which I believe is England’s highest art installation], resisting the temptation of popping into the excellent Toft Gate Barn café next to it, and dropping down the steep Greenhow Hill Road into Pateley Bridge; I took a quick left just before the riverside playground and headed to Lofthouse.

The turn before How Stean Gorge

As it is late spring, going on early summer…the number of tourists is growing. Caravans, campers, walkers, and cyclists are appearing in greater numbers around the dales, and I found myself following a camper as it headed in the general direction of How Stean Gorge.

The road runs for a few miles, partially alongside the impressively sized Gouthwaite Reservoir.

At some points on this part of the drive, it feels like you can open the car window, hang your arm over the drystone wall and touch the water.

Getting past the end of the reservoir, you pick up the route of the River Nidd and the Nidderdale Way. I spotted quite a few walkers along the road…some serious and others not really kitted out for the day’s weather. I knew that if I reached How Stean Gorge (who actually sponsor Lofthouse & Middlesmoor Cricket Club), I’d have gone too far…so kept a careful eye out for my turn.

Successfully reaching the road for Scar House Reservoir, Lofthouse & Middlesmoor Cricket Club is immediately on the left as you take the drive up to the Reservoir. Parking next to the village volunteer fire station, I got out to see if I could find anyone to chat to.

Being over an hour and a half early, I was surprised to see the bright orange stumps already sitting proudly in the middle of the ground, but my initial search yielded no results, so I headed back to the car.

I got chatting to a bloke who was walking his dog in one of the fields, who [it turned out] lived next to the groundsman. After a ten-minute discussion about the club and the village, he headed home and said he would let his neighbour know I was there.

Local knowledge + avoiding sixes

Shortly after, one of the players turned up and I noted he parked up the road, away from the ground. Being honest, I had been nervous parking next to the water company’s small utility building, as it was a fairly-easy six from the crease…after the briefest of chats, I got back into the car and parked just in front of him, knowing It would take a world-class hit to hear the grimace-inducing sound of leather on metal there.

As I walked back to the club, I noted a badly damaged car next to the fire station that I mused was acting as a warning to anyone who decided to park side-on to the ground – what your car could look like after two innings!

Nidderdale beauty

Walking in through the gate of the ground, the view down to the pavilion and the hills beyond is breathtaking.

I know it was grey and drizzling but even the conditions couldn’t take away from the natural beauty of this part of Nidderdale.

The ground is on the small side, with every boundary easily reachable by big hitters, but I just love these small intimate amphitheatres of cricket. The ground was far from flat, with an undulating surface that rose on one side, dropped on another, and the remaining two being somewhat inbetween.

A barn conversion sat overlooking the ground from the other side of the Nidderdale Way path that ran around the outside of the fence, the big wooden doors being closed before the start of play to protect the glass clad entrance…but curiously, the Range Rover left to sit broadside…almost daring a cricketer to send a ball towards it.

As ‘kick-off’ approached, the two teams turned up and I was pleased to find that, despite what was turning into almost a persistent drizzle, the game was going ahead.

Cricketers in the Mist

They’re a hardy bunch are Yorkshire cricketers; at the due time, the two teams braved the rain and blustery winds, taking to the field and the game got going. Lofthouse won the toss and decided to put Middleham into bat, a decision that was to pay dividends almost immediately.

Two wickets in the first five overs put the home team on the front foot. They’d also managed to restrict the visitors run rate. Adding a third wicket by the seventh over; Middleham needed to get a foothold in the game.

Peacock and Mullard then went about adding runs to Middleham’s total, and by the time Peacock was caught in the 15th over, the visitors were just shy of their century.

By the drinks break, Middleham had put 120 on the board, had just lost their fifth wicket and looked like they could push towards 200.

Drinks had, Lofthouse & Middlesmoor came out roaring…and a brilliant few overs of bowling and fielding saw the home team dismiss the visitors for 177 in the 29th over. I’ll be totally honest, I didn’t know if this was going to be enough to defend on a small ground…but that would also partly depend [obviously] on how good the home team’s batting went.

Mullard had been superb with the bat for the visitors, reaching 79 off 79 balls before being dismissed. Captain Stearn (16 from 22), Peacock (16 from 20), and Chilton (25 from 14) had helped the score along nicely.

Craig Costello had dominated with the ball for the hosts, as he took five wickets for 47 runs in just about seven overs.

The reply was emphatic, with the initial ten overs seeing Lofthouse stroking the ball around the ground, making good use of all the boundaries to score a mixture of singles and fours.

As the home team approached their century, Middleham were desperate for a breakthrough; and in the eleventh over they were to get two rapid wickets to give them a glimmer of hope.

Another wicket in the 13th over and it seemed like the flow of the game could alter in favour of the visitors; although, any idea that Middleham could wrest this game from the fingers of their hosts were soon to be dispelled.

Magnificent power hitting by Craig Costello, saw the small red ball punished mercilessly as it was despatched to the four corners of the ground.

As the end neared, a huge six by Craig saw the ball fly past where I had initially parked, confirming my decision to move the car had been a sound one!

A spectator had parked his car pretty much in the same spot a few minutes earlier and was sitting in the boot with the tailgate open to protect him from the rain, watching helplessly as the ball arrowed past the side of his vehicle.

As the fielders went to retrieve the ball from down by the River Nidd, he re-evaluated his situational awareness, closed the boot and hurriedly drove away.

The only surprise left was that Craig was then bowled, and it was down to the new pairing of Dave Spencer and Matty Collinson to guide the home team over the finish line, to a six-wicket win, and add 20 points to Lofthouse & Middlesmoor’s Theakston Nidderdale Division Four total.

Five games in, it’s still too early to be paying attention to the league table as a win can potentially lift a club from near the bottom of the league to midway.

Musings of a Hitchhiker

The club is a wonderfully welcoming one, set in picturesque settings. With good weather…well, let’s be honest, even without…Lofthouse & Middlesmoor Cricket Club is blessed with a breathtaking vista and one I will be back to enjoy!

PHOTOS

Want to read more?

Here are all of Mark’s articles and photos on Cricket Yorkshire.

To see more of his photography, you can visit caughtlight.com or he’s @caughtlight on Twitter/X.

There’s also the Caught Light Photography Facebook page.

I also highly recommend his blog called Leica Moments which includes days out at grounds around Yorkshire.