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Once a year, the Rotary Club of Halifax organises a public open day to the normally-closed estate of Castle Carr. Head towards Warley Moor, up to the head of Luddenden Dean from the Cat I'th Well Inn near Wainstalls, and eventually you'll come to a grand gatehouse with battlements. It's the first visible sign of the once-grand Castle Carr estate.
A mile or so later there's a rather sad pile of stones and part of the entrance keep to this Victorian mock-medieval house. This is closed off to the public, and is the only part of the main house left standing. After a rather rapid decline post-WWII, the house was sold off and demolition started in 1962. This was halted before the full building was razed, allegedly as construction works believed the site was haunted.
Beyond the house, after crossed a dam at the lower of two large reservoirs, the path then runs back down the valley, towards the ornamental water gardens. The land owner has a reputation for enforcing his rights strictly and visitors are not welcome, so this is the only opportunity for the public to see the water park and estate. It's a popular event in this part of the valley and normally sells out. This was the first time I'd been, and we were lucky the weather was on our side, being hot and (mostly) sunny.
