Davenpete

Bowness Common close to the Solway this afternoon. The pic with the cows is exactly as taken BTW - just a very lucky combination of timing of sunset and cow about 200 yards from home. Dx

This morning from the Battlements of Fort Greyhair, Silloth church steeple on the horizon. Dx

On 19/09/2021 at 17:49, Smudger said:

Just got back from 11 days in the Lakes superb weather,this day we were up on Rannerdale Knot over looking Crummock water,my Son and his partner posing and then went and had a swim in the lake as it was red hot and on to pub for a pint of Wainrights .Whats's not to like

Rannerdale Knotts are fantastic to hike. Dx

Lodore Falls in Borrowdale on Sunday after all the rain - didn't take my decent camera - should have done. Dx

My head in a better place today that it has been recently, so went for a decent walk from Caldbeck, up over Brownrigg fell for the most amazing views across the Solway, then back down and into the magical Howk gorge that you'd simply never guess was there if you didn't know. Unfortunately because the Howk's so thick with trees you can't photograph the deepest shafts in the rocks where the river goes.

Dx

Thought it was about time I shook myself and got out on another hike - so did my favourite walk round Ennerdale, an easy 8 mile jaunt around what I reckon is the prettiest of the Lakes. Excuses why I've not been out hiking more over the last month or so:

A] I ran myself over - no I REALLY did! (actually the exercise did my various lumps and bumps and cranked up back the power of good in loosening it all up)

B] Recovering from an excess of fun at Cleethorpes (your own stupid fault Carne when are you gonna grow up?)

C] Being admitted to the Cumberland with crippling stomach pains (visiting this hospital is a near death experience in itself - endoscopy on Wednesday, though things seem OK right now which probably means I'm doomed)

Er that's it (at least all I'll admit to).

Dx

Went for a gentle hobble on the beech (long story - suffice to say I managed to run myself over on Friday - not badly injured given what it could've been, hopefully it won't curtail the activities of this dancing bear at Cleethorpes too much). Lovely patch of Sea Holly - one of my favourite plants - a nice breeze made it very pleasant. Spotted this lovely Golden Plover whilst I wandered the beech too. Dx 

On 06/07/2021 at 20:58, Winsford Soul said:

Hi Neil.  Thank you for your kind words.  Really appreciated . Yes mate the Harrier was from there.  Just for you and your daughter  in case you didn't manage any photographs. Male and female Bearded Tits at Leighton Moss.  

 

One bird (along with the crested tit) I've always wanted to see - fabulous pics. Dx

Best Laid Plans Mk2:

Hadn't been out for over two weeks (been recovering from a surfeit of fun). Anyway it was chucking it down here so on went the waterproof and off I went - stopped at the shop for a sandwich for tea and realised I'd forgotten my camera - nipped back to get it, checked it turned on and that the card was in - all good - off to Braithwaite for a planned three peaks above the old Coledale mines.

I get there and gone is the rain and it's 22ºC - so just shirt sleeves. Off I trot - after a mile or so I decide to do a shot back towards Bassenthwaite and Skiddaw - 'Your SD card is locked' it tells me - strange but no problem, I go to take the SD card out and move the lock slider back to unlock and it's missing altogether so I can't fix it - bollocks!

Anyway at this point I think sod it I'm doing the lazy hike without the peaks (though I did venture up to the corrie high above the mine where I'd not been before) - lovely walk anyway, if weighted down by a rather heavy sling for my left arm/neck that I like to protect from overuse. Shots with the phone instead - from now on I'll always carry a spare SD methinks.

Dx

Went up to Greendale Tarn above Wastwater tonight - lovely conditions, but it was a fair way straight up to get there. I had planned to come back over the top of Middle Fell but for various reasons I didn't arrive at the tarn til 8.00pm so thought better of it as it would've been getting too close to darkness for safety by the time I was coming down. Dx

Having limbered up yesterday with St John's and High Rigg it was a proper jobby today - Harrop Tarn above Thirlmere, then (the other) Blea Tarn, over Standing Crags, up to Ullscarf and then what turned out to be a very long way back down via Green Coomb and Wythburn Head . At about 8.5 miles and peaking at 726m (just shy of 2400 feet) by far the toughest day out I've done to-date though the views were simply amazing (my prime reason for going up there). Thoroughly shagged out now. Dx

Left late so did an easyish walk of 5 miles or so that I've done before - from Thirlmere to St John's in the Vale Church and then back up over High Rigg. Was a pretty dull day so I've gone arty on a couple of the shots. Dx

Sunset tonight from from downstairs on the patio. Looks like the meadow is about due for the farmer to cut it. Dx

PS There's no over sharpening or the like on the foliage, it's just the beautiful tracery effect of the sun catching the edges of the leaves.

I intended to do the Langdale valleys today, but the weather looked bloody awful in the direction on the way so I plumbed for doing the upper circuit at Loweswater again - of course the sun broke out and it was a glorious half an hour into my walk. Was dead chuffed to see a Slow Worm up on the fell - never seen one in Cumbria before (picture came out crap - this camera doesn't seem to like closeups). Dx

Having been intrigued by Stonethwaite/the Langstrath Valley on Friday I went back there tonight: A typically Carne move to visit a spot within a couple of miles of the wetttest place in Britain on a rainy evening. It's an easy circular walk totalling about 3 1/2 miles from Stonethwaite up to Black Moss Pot and back. The extremely dull weather meant the shots are somewhat 'atmospheric'. Dx

After being a bit duff yesterday post-jab 2 I thought I'd take it easy and just walk up to Scale Force above Crummock Water. Turned out that Buttermere was insanely busy (they really ought to ban motorhomes from these tiny hill roads - particularly with 90% being rented by inexperienced motorhome drivers they were causing absolute chaos trying to get past each other) - it was like Blackpool on a Bank Holiday

Really enjoyed the walk up to Scale Force - despite the hundreds of cars (on top of the ample parking at Buttermere they'd converted three whole fields into car parks too - all full) everyone had headed for the lake so it was fairly quiet at the waterfall.

The weather was just nice - not too hot - so I thought 'right I wonder if you can see Loweswater from the head of the Scale Beck valley?' and off I went - you can't - then I thought 'how nice the view must be from the Knott on the other side' - so I did that (just looked it up, surprise, surprise it's Scale Knott) - though now 2/3 up Melbreak I resisted the temptation and made my way back. 

Dx

PS Included the road/parking purely out of interest - really impressed with this cheapish Sony 'bridge' camera (50x optical Zeiss zoom) - my car is the red one taken at a distance of at least 2 1/2 miles from the top of Scale Knott - no extra sharpening or cropping.

22 hours ago, Len said:

'MAIN CHANGE - SUNSHINE IS HER WAY'

I know there are others who like it too.......

Len 

 

Love this, heard it at my one and only trip to Stafford (went on to there on a scooter after doing Loughborough on the Friday and kipping(ish) in a car park - a LONG round trip from Oxford, though I did Morecambe from Oxford on a scoot too - didn't go more because I was at college in Hull on the opposite side of the country and could only afford one nighter a month, so usually went down to Peterborough with Martin Midgley from Bradford and Striker from Hull on our scooters). I used to have a Main Chnage (my most expensive purchase at the time - £100 in 86 somewhat less than it is now!, came with a printed sheet with info on all the people involved in the record) - in the end I could never get over the vibe destroying slow break though and sold it to Mark Sargeant - but the rest of it still fills me with the joy of discovering Northern Soul.
One guilty pleasure I still have is Rain 'Out of my mind' - because it's the first specifically 'Northern' record I ever bought (quickly followed by Alfie Khan and Barnaby Bye - oh dear : ) ) - I still have that original poxy Axe reissue today.

Dx