Dubbs Reservoir

A walk up to the reservoir at Dubbs on Friday whilst the weather was fine again. Always a pleasant and moderately demanding walk, this time it was made even better by the sight of the 2 swans and their 5 cygnets on a surface as smooth as a mirror. Actually the reservoir is looking pretty low but I don't suppose that bothers the swans too much.

Troutbeck Garden Trail

Bank Holiday Monday was the day of the Troutbeck Garden Trail. Fortunately the weather held off most of the day and we even got some sunshine in which to walk around the dozen or so beautifully terraced gardens that were open to the public for the day. It was a really lovely way to spend an hour or two, and it must generate quite a bit for village funds too.

Well I never....

A shock revelation in today's Times - walking in the country makes you happier than struggling round the Trafford centre (unless you are a WAG presumably)

Researchers from the University of Essex compared the benefits of a 30-minute walk in a country park with a walk in an indoor shopping centre on 20 people affected by depression.

After the country walk, 71 per cent said that they felt less depressed and tense while 90 per cent reported increased self-esteem.

After the walk in the shopping centre only 45 per cent felt less depressed and 22 per cent actually felt more depressed. About 50 per cent felt more tense and 44 per cent said that their self-esteem had dropped.

Exclusives on the other pages - "Pope may be Catholic", "Bears defecate amongst trees"

Counting Sheep

I was woken up this morning by the sheep in the field opposite which started "baahing" at about 5:30. These sheep are an interesting colour - a sort of piebald brown. I can't identify them from anything I can find on the web. Anyway I thought they were supposed to help you get to sleep not wake you up! All together now - Yan, Tyan, Tether, Mether, Pimp.

So that's why it's called The Struggle!

Sunday was a bit rainy so, as I couldn't persuade anyone else into a walk, I jumped on the mountain bike and headed off up through Troutbeck and round Jenkin Crag and down through the woods to Ambleside. The wood was stunning - a carpet of buebells and wild garlic in every direction. It's a fantastic mountain bike trail. Unfortunately I had no camera with me.

From Ambleside I headed up The Struggle to the top of the Kirkstone Pass. Halfway up I was seriously questioning my decision as I must have had to walk about 80% of the way, not being as strong and as fit as was 20 years ago. When I finally got to the top and headed back down to Limefitt is was all worth it though - I must have travelled about 3 miles at 30 MPH without pedalling!

A walk at Glenridding and a barbie at The Mortal Man

In an attempt to avoid the Bank Holiday crowds we set off for Ulswater and parked in Glenridding. We headed up Glenridding Beck and walked up to the bridge where we got a fabulous view of the lake. There are some great names in the lakes. Where else could you walk under "Lucy's Tongue".

When we got home it was time to stroll up to the Mortal Man where the new owner, Nigel Parkin, was laying on a barbeque. We enjoyed some very upmarket salads and burgers, but we probably shouldn't expect less from the man who put The Samling on the map. He is trying really hard with the place and I really hope that he is successful there. He certainly has the right raw materials with the magnificent building, a superb family beer garden and a view to die for.

(I think that's a pint you owe me Nigel)

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.

Sunset

What can you add to this!

It almost spoiled it taking a picture, but it's good to remember such a perfect moment!

Troutbeck Church

We spent Saturday up at Ullswater in a futile attempt to find Wordsworth's daffodils (apparently it was at Ullswater that he saw the daffodils that inspired the poem, but couldn't see any in sufficient quantities to inspire even a single line in a blog!). We needn't have gone so far. Troutbeck Church 100 yards down the road is the amazing at this time of year. The shot on the right shows the churchyard at Jesus Church, Troutbeck.

Ullswater and the ferry

Saturday - blue skies - a beautiful spring day. We went up to Ullsawater to do take the ferry from Glenridding to Howtown and then walk back.

A perfect day for this walk. In summer this must be really busy but this weekend it was beautifully quiet.

We caught the 11:10 ferry and set off from Howtown at about midday. We picniced at Silver point and arrived back at about 4.00. Just after leaving Howtown we climbed up behind the farmhouse and saw a buzzard cruising at the same level as we were at.

A fantastic walk on a beautiful day.

Snow

March seems to be the month for snow in the Lakes. Today the Kirkstone pass was closed due to drifts, but down at Limefitt we just had a dusting.

The daffodils are taking a bit of a buffeting from the wind and snow. Hopefully South Lakeland Parks won't be repeating the plastic daffodil publicity stunt they did at Fallbarrow here ;-)

Marsh Fritillary

From The Times on Wednesday - Cumbria - Twenty thousand caterpillars are being released to help to revive an almost extinct breed of butterfly. The marsh fritillary has suffered in the county due to the loss of flower-rich, wet grassland. Conservationists are moving Scottish caterpillars into the Cumbrian wild to reestablish the species and prevent future decline. The butterfly is one of the most threatened species in Europe and in the UK 66 per cent of its population has been lost in the past ten years.

Blood Moon

We were really lucky to have a clear night on Saturday for the lunar eclipse. Watching the moon get covered by the earth's shadow and then turning blood red was an amazing experience , and so much better for being in the Lakes where there is so much less light pollution. Watching the stars is one of the great pleasures here. Sitting at a table outside with a coffee and a glass of brandy counting satellites is one of my favourite pastimes.

This time it was a unique experience though. I have never seen a "blood moon" before and it was really spectacular. At about 10 p.m. it looked as though the clouds were going to spoil things, but when totality occured it was a totally clear night. A real once in a lifetime experience.

Catkins

A gentle walk around Ings bridge in the spring sunshine to start off the new season at Limefitt.

Not much to see in the way of spring yet, but the promise of daffodils with the yellow starting to force its way through. The hazel trees (or are they bushes?) where we got the nuts to eat during our walks last autumn are covered in catkins. I didn't realise that several types of tree have catkins before I looked at Wikipedia to confirm that they were catkins. Oak, birch, hazel, willow, alder, chestnut, sweetfern and poplar are all catkin-bearing.