'A blessing to the town': 11 pictures from Otley Chevin as volunteers raise the giant wooden cross for Easter

The structure, which is more than 30ft high, is carried to the top of the landmark every year to mark the onset of Easter.

A team of about 50 people are required to get the cross into position, carrying it in sections from the car park before assembling it at the Chevin and hoisting it into position.

The Chevin cross was first installed in 1969, has now become a well-known Easter symbol. It is put up each year, two weeks before Easter and removed two weeks after.

The current cross is made from wood that was salvaged after the Manchester IRA bomb on June 15 1996.

Now a local tradition organised by Churches Together, the cross has been installed every year apart from 2001 because of restrictions caused by foot and mouth disease, and in 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

John Swift, who co-ordinated the efforts this year, said: “We get about 50 volunteers, at least, from various different churches and other sources around the area.

“It’s surprising, the number of people who come here as a place of remembrance of various kinds, and just to be here. It’s a blessing to the town.

“It’s good to see it again on the Chevin. Come anytime, and expect God to do something in your life as you come here.”