Over The Border

On Tuesday, with the threat of frequent, heavy showers in lakeland, we decided we would head just over the border in to Scotland for a short drive around the Solway Coast. It is always nice crossing the border because the roads suddenly become much less busy. So we headed towards Dumfries before turning to the coast and the little village of Southerness.

There is not much to see in the village itself, but when you get to the beach, the scene is dominated by Southerness Lighthouse. The second oldest lighthouse in Scotland, work began on it in 1748 as an aid to shipping headed for the Nith Estuary.

Improvements were made in 1805, under the watchful eye of Robert Stevenson. First lit in 1800, the lighthouse was finally decommissioned in 1936. But it still stands firm on the foreshore of Southerness, where it makes quite a tourist attraction.

From here, you get a good view across the Solway Firth, back towards lakeland...

...and we could just make out the imposing edifice of Carr's Flour mill (of water biscuit fame), some eight miles across the water, at Silloth.

From here, it was onward again, to the small village of Rockcliffe and a nice walk along the coastal path.

It was lovely to see the blue skies as we enjoyed the views across the estuary.

The path crossed a few small streams as they tumbled out of the woodland.

But by now, it was looking like we were going to get caught by one of those showers, so we headed back to the car and had our lunch while it passed.

Another lovely day, but home again on Wednesday, so time to make the most of what's left!

...and those views.

Just a couple more pics next time to round things off!

Force it

Leaving Windermere behind, we set off again. This time, we drove up and over the Kirkstone Pass on our way towards Ullswater. Halfway there, we stopped off for some lunch in a car park with a view - the 2,546 ft summit Red Screes.

Thereafter, it was off to Aira Force. The stream which feeds this waterfall is the Aira Beck and it drops through some pretty spectacular falls and rapids on its way down to Ullswater.

The woodland walk up to the falls, was rather nice...

until we got to the lower of the two bridges which span the beck. The bridge is built with vertically aligned stones, which is apparently unusual for Cumbria.

Soon enough, we had our first look at Aira Force itself. The water drops about 72 ft with another bridge spanning the top - built with horizontal stones, far more traditional!

We were expecting there to be far more water crashing down the falls at this time of year, but it was unusually lacking after a fairly dry winter. But the view from the bridge, looking straight down, was still good.

Tuning back after a while, there were lots of beautiful Primroses flowering along the banks of the beck.

The water was now picking its way quietly through the rocks...

as was Malcolm.

Time for one more look, back up stream towards the force.

Still more to come.

Respects

On Monday morning, Malcolm and I set off for Windermere. It is some 14 years since we had the sad task of scattering Malcolm's Father's ashes on Orrest Head - the small fell that overlooks the town and lake - so we like to pay our respects when we're in the area. Unusually, it was pretty quiet on the top and although it was rather dull and cold, at least it wasn't raining. We glimpsed the lake through the trees on the way up.

In the distance, small patches of snow were still hanging around on the tops of Crinkle Crags (it would be added to in spectacular fashion on Wednesday morning.)

Described as one of the finest viewpoints in the Lakes, Orrest Head certainly lives up to it's reputation, even on a dull morning in April.

Below us as we stood contemplating the scenery, we were also treated to the sight and sound of two F15 Eagle fighter jets as they practiced low-flying through the valleys.
It's a very nice place to choose for a last resting place.

We still had plenty of time to spare, so we moved on, down to Bowness-on-Windermere, to get a closer view of the water. As usual, it was well populated with swans, geese, ducks and gulls, on the shore.

This Black-headed Gull was enjoying the view too...

... and it's not a bad view at all!

We had a short stroll along the lakeside, looking over to Belle Isle. It is the largest of Windermere's Islands and the only one to have been inhabited (indeed, the Roman governor of Ambleside built his villa there). Belle Isle Round House now dominates the view and is still a private residence for the Curwen family who have owned it and the island since 1781.

Still more to come...

Home Again

Malcolm and I returned home yesterday, from a few days away in the Lake District. It's always something of a gamble going to the Lakes, as the weather can be (and often is) rather bad. But on this occasion, we were very lucky and had some surprisingly good weather. We started our stay, with a walk along the Lancaster Canal.

The skies were rather grey, but it remained dry for our walk and gloriously quiet as we enjoyed all the Celandines growing along the banks.

Several small bridges cross the canal. Not all of them carry roads or tracks. This one for example seems to have no purpose other than to allow farm access.

Dotted along the canal, clumps of daffodils added a little colour to the scene. Wordsworth would have been proud!

Then there was another bridge, again, with no road over it...

Soon, we were looking down towards the Mill Pond at the southern end of Holme village.

... another bridge, this one carrying Sheernest Lane.

A little further on, we spotted some strange structures in the grass across the canal.

Conveniently, an information board was provided and it turns out these were old coke ovens. It isn't known when they were built, but it's thought to be soon after the opening of the northern end of the canal in 1819.

They were not in use for long, as the nearby railway line meant that it would have been cheaper and easier to transport coal, stone and coke from elsewhere.
So that was the first day. more to come...

Attenborough

This morning, we took Malcom's Mum, for a trip out to  Attenborough Nature Reserve. The weather was being very kind to us as we walked around the various lakes and water-ways of the reserve.

There were plenty of wildfowl to be seen, as well as Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Robins and Cetti's Warblers in the trees and hedgerows.

All the while, our progress was being overlooked, by the looming presence of Ratcliffe Power Station. As Malcolm said, 'anyone who objects to having a wind farm near their home, should be given one of these instead and see how they like that'.

The walk took us along the Trent for part of the way...

and then back towards the visitor's centre and car parks. On the way, we stopped to watch some more bird life and stumbled across this Little Egret, fishing in the shallows.

Not so many years ago, you would have had to take a trip to the Mediterranean to see these birds, but now, they have become quite common in the UK.

Back to the car and on for some lunch to wish Pat an early, happy mother's day!

Round the Lake

It was another beautiful, sunny morning as Malcolm and I set out for our walk today, so we decided we would do a circuit of Shipley Lake, taking in Osborne's Pond on the way. The Maple Trees are just beginning to show their characteristic lime green flowers and set against a bright blue sky, they outshone everything else.

From a distance, the casual observer might dismiss them as fresh green leaves, but closer inspection shows them for what they are.

On Shipley Hill, the Dog's Mercury is flowering too. A familiar plant, it is usually completely overlooked, but such an early herald of spring, shouldn't be ignored.

Up through 'Beggar's Walk' and Malcolm was looking the part!

At the gardens of the old Shipley Hall, the Pieris is in full bloom too, its small, bell-like flowers giving away its family relationship to the Heathers.

The fresh, new leaf shoots stand out like little red flames among the green leaves and white flowers.

Back down to the lake and a pair of Mute Swans were drifting about looking for food. Just perfect!