It's an ill wind....

I was up at Troutbeck post office buying a paper at the weekend. I stopped for a brief chat with the ladies who run it about Limefitt and the new development. Whilst we were talking a lady came in and pronounced "there's an elm wind out there"

"An elm wind?" I asked - "What's that? anything to do with the tree?"

"Nor - It's an ELM wind" she said "H-E-L-M"

"Ahhh" I replied "and what's that then?"

"No idea" she said "I ought to stop saying it cos people do keep asking me"

At this point one of the post office ladies pipes up. "It means a wind off the hill"

"Yes that'll "be it says the 'elm lady "it's a cruel wind that batters everything in it's path"

When I checked on wikipedia I found this :

Helm Wind

The Helm Wind is a named wind in Cumbria, England. A north-easterly wind which blows down the south-west slope of the Cross Fell escarpment, it can be so strong that it has been wrongly described as a hurricane. It is the only named wind in the British Isles. It may take its name from the helmet or cap of cloud that forms above Cross Fell, known as the Helm Bar, since a line of clouds over the fells can predict and accompany a Helm.
Valuable research into the wind was carried out by Gordon Manley in the 1930s. Manley interpreted the phenomenon in hydrodynamic terms as a "standing wave" and "rotor", a model confirmed in 1939 by glider flights.
The Helm Wind in Mallerstang: The dale at the head of the Eden Valley has its own version of the Helm Wind, which sweeps over Mallerstang Edge and affects especially the central part of the dale. This can be equally fierce and can blow for two days or more, sometimes sounding like an express train. As for its better known big brother, the coming of a Helm Wind is accompanied by the formation of a dense cap of cloud (a "Helm Bar") which, in this case, forms along Mallerstang Edge.

Wordsworth Rap

Daffodils seem to be the PR man's best friend just now. First of all we had South Lakeland parks trying to get a few column inches with their daft plastic daffodil stunt (very weak that one). Now we have GoLakes (as the Cumbria Tourist Board is now know) releasing a rap based on the famous poem - you can check it out at http://www.golakes.co.uk/wordsworthrap/

It's ironic that Wordsworth was very anti mass tourism according to The Guardian "he sent the prime minister in 1844 a poem condemning the proposed railway to Windermere which now brings thousands of young people to the Lakes. A nimby tract which would also lend itself to rap delivery, it starts: "Is there no nook of English ground secure/ From rash assault..."

Thomas earns his pocket money

Friday - bribery and corruption get Thomas and his cousin up at the crack of dawn (well I was up at 6:30 making the picnic anyway.) By 9.00 we were striding out up the path towards Ill Bell. This has long been a target and we have been waiting for a good day, which today promised to be. In the event it was a little cloudy, but that did no harm as it would have been hot work in full sunshine. We reached Ill Bell at about 11:40 having eaten our picnic on the peak before. The reward for all the climbing for us was a wonderful panorama of the Throutbeck Valley, the sea, Kentmere and the Kirkstone Pass. Thomas's reward was extra pocket money. On the way we saw skylarks, falcons and a fox running across the fell. It is odd that I have grown used to seeing urban foxes but this was the first time I have ever seen one in the wild. We started down the other side of Ill Bell but the path is very steep and narrow and Thomas took a bad tumble. We decided it was safer to retrace our steps and to go back the way we came. All in al though a lovely walk and a real feeling of achievement when we got down and looked up at where we had just been.

A New Favourite Walk

Wednesday - Another lovely day and we walked up to troutbeck and round Robin lane to join the Hundreds Road up to Wansfell and then back down to Troutbeck. This walk has everything! Views of the Troutbeck Valley, Windermere and the Langdales. A waterfall and on the return to Troutbeck a choice of 2 smashing pubs! I think we may have done it the wrong way round though - the view of Windermere was over our shoulder all the time the way we did it.

The Maiden Voyage of our Kayak

Monday - Today we took our kayak out for the first time. We bought it at the end of last year from a shop near the ferry in Bowness who were selling off this season's hire fleet. It has a scratch or two, but otherwise was a great bargain at about £100 less that I could find a second hand Malibu on Ebay which paid for the paddles and and seats.
We drove to Coniston as there are easier launch sites there than on Windermere (where all the places where you can launch either seem to be private or have no parking within a few hundred yards). At first Thomas was a bit wary of our going too deep, but was soon raring to go. After a few minutes practice we decided to cross the lake. Before long we were paddling with the same rhythym and we made it across and back far more quickly that I had expected. The views of the Coniston fells on the way back were striking. The Old Man of Coniston with its "face" especially impressed Thomas. My hands are now quite sore from the friction caused by paddling on my thumb joints (probably doing it wrong ;-)

Troutbeck Walk

Sunday - a beautiful day - sunshine and a pleasant breeze. I took Suki up Applethwaite, back down the path to Troutbeck Church, passing these inquisitive sheep on the way, and then up the lane to Troutbeck village.Nice to see that the local hens are still scratching around. I took some photos for the Troutbeck page on http://www.limefitt.com/. The vernacular architecture is really interesting up here - typical Lakeland features like the stepped gables and plenty of dates on the buildings, the oldest one I have seen is this one.

Lambs

Saturday - There are lambs everywhere you walk just now. We have to keep Suki on a lead - she doesn't normally take any interest in sheep, but with farmers issuing dire warnings of shooting loose dogs we aren't taking any chances.