The Sunday Girls Road Club!

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Visitors to the seat do not get much livelier or friendly than this group of cyclists from Hull and East Yorkshire who came by this morning on their way from Whitehaven to Tynemouth! I took some pictures for them and said I would forward mine to their website – for details see below!

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They were a lovely bunch! I hope they enjoy the rest of their ride.

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Midsummer’s Day (or thereabouts)

I did think it would be nice to take some early morning and late evening pictures from the seat on Midsummer’s Day but the weather was very cloudy and it didn’t seem worth it. However the following evening was clear so I took this photo of Peggy at 10.17 pm! It was still very light. I think she had her mind on something in the hedge rather than the view!

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The following morning was very sunny so I took Wattie for a morning walk down to Crummock.

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We then came back along the river bank and I got this rather nice view of Melbreak.

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As we came back to the bridge, I noticed that there was a reminder of the flood level of 2009 on the side of the monitoring station. It all seems a long time ago now.

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Now it’s the turn of the dog daisies!

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After the bluebells and primroses the hedges are now predominantly white! The hawthorn bushes are heavy with blossom and the dog daisies are surpassing themselves. The cow parsley has sprung up and is leaning heavily into the road which makes the sharp left hand turn from Nether Close towards Foulsyke even more blind than usual.

Every now and then, living here, there is something slightly quirky happening. Derwent Isle, the island with the boat house straight across from the landing stages at Keswick belongs to the National Trust. It is leased as a private home, but is open to the public five days a year. I had this year’s dates in my diary for some time and so my friend, Hilary, and I booked ourselves in, grabbed our paddles and joined a flotilla of canoes on the 10.45 am crossing to the island!

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It felt quite an adventure! Derwent Island was once owned by Fountains Abbey and monks lived there, then in the 16th century it was a village home for German miners working in the nearby fells and valleys. In 1778 the island was bought by Joseph Pocklington, who built a house and boathouse, fort and battery and Druid Circle folly. Pocklington held regattas at which he fired off his cannon. He sounded quite a character but apparently Wordsworth didn’t approve of him! Henry Marshall purchased the island in 1844 and created a Victorian ‘add on’ to the house!

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We were given a guided tour of the house (shoes and bags left in the hallway). The dining room seated 23 and the sitting room on the first floor led out onto a balcony (which we were not to lean on!) with the most stunning view down the lake.

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After this we were free to wander anywhere on the island which we did. There were views all round and quiet seats from which to enjoy them.  At one point we found chickens in a run with a pink painted house. It must be amazing to live there but quite a logistical exercise to pop over to Booths if you run out of coffee!

Back to Foulsyke and more views from the seat:

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There have been some beautiful evenings with the fells so clear one can make out the cairn on the top of Gable.

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Even when it is cloudy the sun can come slanting through and light up the fells: Rannerdale got the full glow in this picture.