I like them both, but I agree that the sky in #1 is a bit problematic. Parts of it have an almost solarized appearance which is a little odd in that context. However, a more judicious use of custom of Photoshop filters in the B&W conversion process might help with that. Difficult to say without seeing the original color, though. But I would not crop the image. I might have chosen a slightly different camera position for the shot, however, to avoid the grassy bank in the right foreground, which is extraneous to the composition.
Overall, I prefer the second photo. I think it's the more unified and interesting composition of the two. I'd be curious to see you do a B&W conversion of that one as well.