← The Register, all years
The Wellington Boot Ledger
Kept separately · 23 entries · status: still thinking about it
I keep the wellingtons separate and I'll say why. A wellington is footwear, I'll grant you that, but it's working footwear, and a working boot comes off in the ordinary run of things. Mud takes them. Gates take them. There's less to sit with, if I'm honest. It never felt right numbering them into the main sequence, so they have their own ledger and always will. I will note that most of these turned up near water, farms or fields. I record that as a fact and leave it there. They're still logged properly. Fair's fair. Our Linda says I could just not log them, but that's not how it works.
—
9 April 2011 · Right foot, Black
Field gateway, Farnley Tyas
Wellington. Right. Black. In the gateway mud. Not counted. Noted here instead.
—
5 November 2011 · Left foot, Green
Overflow channel, Blackmoorfoot Reservoir
Wellington. Left. Green. By the overflow. Photograph didn't come out.
—
14 August 2012 · Right foot, Green
Ford, Scammonden
Right wellington, green, lying in the ford. Weather were warm for August. Left it where it were.
—
25 May 2013 · Left foot, Black
Farm track near Emley
Left wellington, black, on its side by the cattle grid. Dry all morning. Farmer waved. Didn't stop long.
—
8 February 2014 · Right foot, Green
Canal towpath, Slaithwaite
Right wellington, green, upright at the water's edge. Weather were poor. Canal high after the rain.
—
19 July 2015 · Left foot, Black
Spillway, Butterley Reservoir, Marsden
Left wellington, black, wedged near the spillway steps. Warm morning. Flask conditions good. Logged and moved on.
—
30 April 2016 · Right foot, Green
Cattle grid, lane above Hade Edge
Right wellington, green, heel down in the grid. Bright but cold. Flask conditions fair. A wellington all the same.
—
15 October 2016 · Left foot, Blue
Beck below Ramsden Reservoir
Left wellington, blue, in the beck itself. First blue one. Weather grey. Flask conditions reasonable. Photograph came out.
—
3 June 2017 · Left foot, Green
Field drain, Deer Hill
Left wellington, green, sole up in the drain. Fine morning. Cheese and pickle. Flask conditions very good, which were the main thing.
—
24 March 2018 · Right foot, Black
River Colne bank, Milnsbridge
Right wellington, black, caught in the bankside grass. Tried the new camera on it. Came out grainy, same as the old one. River up a bit after the thaw.
—
12 January 2019 · Left foot, Green
Sheep field above Meltham
Left wellington, green, frozen into a rut by the trough. Bitter wind off the moor. Sheep took no notice of it and neither, in the numbered sense, did I. Logged here.
—
7 September 2019 · Right foot, Black
Reservoir path, Wessenden
Right wellington, black, on the path edge above the water. Still morning. Sat five minutes out of habit before I remembered it were a wellington. Flask conditions excellent.
—
16 May 2020 · Left foot, Green
Beck, Grimescar Wood
Left wellington, green, in the beck. Found on a permitted walk from the house. Not the walking I'd choose but you work with what's local. Logged same as any other.
—
27 February 2021 · Right foot, Blue
Flooded field off Steanard Lane, Mirfield
Right wellington, blue, half under the floodwater. Second blue one, first since Ramsden in 2016. Couldn't get near without wellingtons of my own, which felt like summat but I've not dwelt on it.
—
13 November 2021 · Left foot, Black
Canal lock, Marsden
Left wellington, black, on the lock side. Weather damp. Barry rang about it the same evening, having heard from a chap he knows. Told him it were already in the ledger. He were pleased.
—
11 June 2022 · Right foot, Green
Duck pond, Greenhead Park
Right wellington, green, at the pond edge. A park is not the usual setting for one, but the water fits. Warm morning, plenty of families about. Photographed it quietly and had my sandwich elsewhere.
—
1 April 2023 · Left foot, Green
Digley Reservoir
Left wellington, green, below the dam wall. Checked the date twice given what day it were, but a wellington is a wellington. Flask conditions good. Egg and cress.
—
23 September 2023 · Right foot, Black
Trough field near Denby Dale
Right wellington, black, standing upright by the cattle trough as if someone had just stepped out of it. Noted that plainly and left. Mild for late September.
—
22 June 2024 · Left foot, Green
Canal, Skipton
Drove to Skipton on a reported sighting, understanding it to be a shoe. It were a wellington. Left, green, by the towpath. A long way for a wellington, though the chap who rang meant well and I said so. Logged here, ate my sandwiches by the canal, came home. I've since asked that reports specify.
—
14 December 2024 · Right foot, Green
Flooded lane, Honley
Right wellington, green, in the standing water where the lane dips. Rain most of the morning. Fourteen photographs, three usable, which is about the average for December.
—
10 May 2025 · Left foot, Black
Overflow, Blackmoorfoot Reservoir
Left wellington, black, by the overflow. Second wellington at this spot, the first being November 2011, which I looked up when I got home. Fourteen years apart. Recorded and left at that. Flask conditions very good.
—
4 October 2025 · Right foot, Green
Farm gateway near Emley
Right wellington, green, in the gateway mud, well trodden in. Grey morning, decent light for it. Farmer said there's always one somewhere, which I thought were about right.
—
21 March 2026 · Left foot, Green
Beck, Armitage Bridge
Left wellington, green, lodged against a stone in the beck. First day of spring, cold water, birdsong. Sat a short while on the stool. It were a wellington, but it were a good morning.
They are not numbered. Numbering them would be a decision.