That time of year!
It’s mid-May and so it’s time for Rannerdale bluebells again: they never fail to impress. I went over late Saturday afternoon and took some pictures but what you can’t capture is the wonderful scent.
I think however that the following photo is the best!
I haven’t forgotten the seat. I went out earlier today and noticed a sheep walking purposefully across the field and bleating:
I then turned round and saw these two escapees! I think they are probably hers – what a handful!
All in the April Evening
On Sunday evening, I sat relaxing on the seat with a nice glass of wine, admired the view and smiled at the lambs in the field in front. At first they all scampered away but then became curious and came closer to the fence. Today it is windy, cold and there’s snow on the fells – what a change!
Last Tuesday I heard the first cuckoo in Foulsyke Wood and I also saw my first swallow. Since then, the cuckoos seem to be everywhere and there are lots of swallows about: I saw several when I was walking down by the lake yesterday catching insects over the water. We have also got a thrush who sits and sings on a high branch in my neighbour’s garden.
The primroses are still out and making a good show and there are also some bluebells in sheltered places along the verges. Not yet time for Rannerdale!
On Wednesday, Margaret, myself and some friends went on a long promised walk with Keith Richardson, journalist and author. Keith takes you through Keswick and along the banks of the River Greta talking about its history and wildlife, characters and literary associations and ends with cream teas at Greta Hall. It was a brilliant day and Keith was full of wonderful stories and anecdotes as well as a mind of information.
A final note and picture of the seat – my brother in law, Len, sketching in the afternoon sun on Thursday.
Inspections and cyclists
I returned home to Loweswater from Oxford on Wednesday having been staying with my daughter Clare who has had a new addition to their family, a daughter, Edith Rose, born on Sunday 29 March. She is lovely and looks very like her big sister, Poppy! When I came back, the daffodils were fully out and so I took a photograph of the clump by the seat: you can just about see there is snow again on the tops in the distance.
Before I went to visit Clare I had my annual Visit England inspection. The inspector was very happy with what she saw and I maintain my Five Star accolade with Gold Award. She highlights:
‘The very warm welcome guests receive and the home made scones/biscuits are certainly appreciated.
The extra care and attention given to dog owners.
The many improvements that have been made since the last visit which is to be commended.
Consistent attention given to housekeeping to ensure the highest levels of cleanliness are maintained throughout.
Externally very well presented, situated within an enclosed courtyard and very well maintained grounds/gardens.
The setting is stunning with spectacular views!’
Now Spring is sort of in the air, there are more cyclists about, both cycling the C2C and local rides. More guests are bringing bikes with them and as well as providing lock up storage I have now added a bike pump with gauge and cleaning equipment.
There are not any lambs yet in the fields in front of the house although there are now quite a lot further down the valley towards Lorton. The primroses are out in the hedges along the road and I have got some very bright yellow hammers around the bird feeders – lovely to see them again!
Not sure where the purple ones came from!
Later……..Easter Sunday at 7.45 am the view from the seat.
Has Spring arrived?
The weather in Loweswater has been lovely for the past few days, slightly hazy but with blue skies and no wind and the last remaing bits of snow are disappearing from the fell tops.
I have been taking advantage of the nice weather and have been working in the garden for the past two days. Yesterday afternoon I became aware of a group of people with lots of very expensive looking photographic equipment taking pictures around the seat! The sheep in the field in front were being very obliging and posing with interest but I suspect they were thinking food. I thought it would be fun to have a happy snappy of the scene!
Today it was clearer and I couldn’t resist taking a photo towards the lake with the sheep eating their hay.
The daffodils are now out and looking very pretty and as I was photographing Peggy decided to pose alongside!
Crummock Water at the beginning of March
There has been a change in the photos taken around the seat over the past few weeks and one is aware of Spring approaching. It has been difficult taking photos during the winter in the morning as the sun is so far south and low in the sky. My son, Ian and his girl friend, Emilia visited a couple of weeks ago and Emilia took a nice picture of an early morning visitor looking for some tasty breakfast!
The sun is now also becoming warm enough for visitors to sit on the seat for a little while.
The snow is fast disappearing off the higher fells: the following two photos were taken four days apart.
I am keeping an eye on the daffodils by the seat and will post when they are out!
Snow
At the end of January the snow came……
It didn’t stay very long in the valley but has remained on the fells. The views from the seat today, February 1st, are rather different from Thursday’s or indeed, January 1st.
Whilst I was by the seat, I noticed that there were some tiny snowdrops tucked under the kest which were starting to open .
It was such a beautiful morning I took Wattie for a walk around Buttermere. I was able to include a stretch of lakeshore I had not visited before: the National Trust have opened up the wood going down to the lakeshore by Comb Beck waterfalls with an invitation to make wild sculptures – could be fun!
A walk round Buttermere on a sunny winter’s day is really rather special.
January 2015
The seat at the front of Foulsyke is situated on the old carriage turning circle for the house. There are so many photos taken from there I thought it would be nice to do a feature on the seat. I wondered about a daily picture, but would I do it at the same time each day, towards the same direction? It would end up with an awful lot of pictures! The view towards Crummock is only part of the life of the seat. Walkers, cyclists, locals, guests, and even sheep, all at various times stop by, sometimes just in passing but at other times for refreshment, cycle repairs or just a well needed break. These, together with the ever changing views, are all part of the seat’s life and I would like to record them in some way over the coming year. I am not sure as yet how I am going to do it but probably in different ways over the year: I will see how it develops.
I thought I would start with a picture from each day during the first week of January: not too good an idea given some of the weather we have had! New Year’s Day, it rained all day and even the champagne glass couldn’t stay upright and I could only take photos with my back to the rain.
January 2nd was better and I was able to take a photo towards Crummock with a shaft of light over Haystacks.
January 3rd started off with low cloud but it gradually cleared through the day and could have been quite an acceptable walking day!
The following day looked set for a good sunrise, not quite as good as some of the ones we had before Christmas but certainly worth a photo.
Monday 5th – the photo says it all!
But then, hey presto, Tuesday is blue skies and fluffy clouds!
Then came Wednesday 7th when it did not stop raining all day! The river overflowed onto the fields by the bridge at Lanthwaite Wood and we had a little lake of our own!
By Thursday it had stopped raining – it still looked a bit grey and wet but there was a nice wintry view along the road.
These may not be the greatest pictures but I think they give a flavour of the first week of January which was very much dominated by the weather.
December 2014
I have been rather remiss with my blog recently and have just realised that my last entry was in September! A lot seems to have happened since then and probably one of the most exciting reasons I have not been writing was the arrival of a new grandson! Paul and Ann had a lovely baby boy, Arthur, at the beginning of November.
I have a photograph of my father, also Arthur, on the top of Scafell Pike in the late 1920s – it would be lovely to have one of the new Arthur when he is a little bigger!
Since I last wrote we have passed through autumn into winter. There was snow on the fells earlier this month but it has all but disappeared at present. Thinking of what have been the most striking features of this autumn, one must be the amount of beech nuts – I have never seen so many! The holly has had a lot of berries and despite the arrival of the fieldfares there still seem to be plenty around. We have had some amazing sunrises recently, sorry no photos, as by the time you go in to pick up the camera the moment has passed. One morning when I went to let the chickens out, there was a beautiful pinky red glow over Robinson which was echoed by another glow in the west and a contrail over Low Fell almost looked like a rainbow!
Several people ask how the chickens are! Sadly I have only two now as two succumbed to chickeny problems. However Marigold and Gladys are well and still laying despite it being almost the shortest day. They are great fun and very amusing and they thoroughly enjoy a bowl of porridge before bedtime on cold days!
It is almost Christmas now and the lights in Cockermouth and Keswick are looking lovely – the climber on the wall of the Moot Hall in Keswick is still trying to get to the top but the pièce de résistance has to be Podgy Paws‘ window – ‘Strictly Come Barking’ – great fun!
May I wish you all a Happy Christmas and best wishes for the New Year!
September
It is mid-September and the weather is glorious, autumnal with beautiful misty mornings followed by sunny days. There are lots of berries on the trees and it seems a bumper year for blackberries: there are masses in the hedgerows and lots of people out picking them. The swallows have been busy gathering on the wires to depart south: fortunately the second brood of swallows under the canopy in the courtyard fledged in good time to join them.
Workington’s history and past is one of an industrial port and as such it has seen better times. It is an interesting place and when I go to the laundry, I sometimes take Wattie for a walk along the slag banks by the port. It is a lovely walk with views over the whole of Workington, the port and shoreline and is a regular dog walking area. There is a stone seat at the highest point with a high central back hopefully providing shelter from the elements. At the end of July a nine foot crucifix appeared fastened firmly into the top of the seat which can be seen for miles around. It is a wooden structure with a metal figure of Christ on the cross. The man who made it did it in memory of his wife who died suddenly earlier in the year. It is well made and put together and around the base is a chain to which people have attached padlocks in memory of loved ones. It has withstood strong winds and there is no graffiti anywhere. Opinion is mixed about the rightness of it. The local authority has said it has to come down because it didn’t have planning permission but many locals support what he has done even though they maybe feel he shouldn’t have done it. It was still there yesterday.
Last weekend I had a few days away to visit my son, Ian, who now lives in Lyon in France. I went all the way by train from Penrith! It was a long but speedy and comfortable journey and, in overall time, quicker than flying. I had a lovely time and on one of the days, Ian and Emilia took me walking in the Alps beyond Chambery (just in case I needed a mountain fix!) Rather different from the Lakeland fells with the sound of cowbells on the high pastures and luckily still a few alpine flowers remaining. I couldn’t help but wonder how a flock of Herdwicks might deal with sheep bells?
August 2014
I often wonder how many photographs are taken of the view from Foulsyke and as the weather has been so good lately there must be many wonderful pictures. Whenever walkers or cyclists go by, they stop, have a rest on the seat and take several photographs. I often find guests snapping away (or setting up their tripods) during their stay, you just can’t resist! If it is very clear, as it has been recently, you can make out the cairn on the top of Great Gable. I had a lovely family from Denmark staying a few weeks ago who enjoyed their breakfasts outside in the garden every day. They emailed me on their return and said:
I have the view from your garden on my cellphone, so I can keep this wonderful spot with me.
However it is not quite so good at the moment with the tail end of Hurricane Bertha whipping around but as I have been writing this evening, there was suddenly a spectacular rainbow that arched right across the sky: not quite sure who was getting the pot of gold.
We have been so lucky to have a superb period of settled summer weather and at times it has almost been too hot to walk – not what one expects of the Lake District! I have been exploring some of the lesser frequented fells and below is a picture of Wattie having a little rest on top of Green Crag in Eskdale – snooze with a view!
One of the really special moments for me this summer happened when my friend, Hil and I were having a Pimms and fish and chip picnic in Crow Park before going to the theatre in Keswick. As we sat overlooking the lake an osprey wheeled overhead and then suddenly dived from a great height into the lake with an enormous splash and came out with a large fish – we were utterly amazed, such a wonderful sight.
There are some excellent productions on at Theatre by the Lake this summer. ‘A Comedy of Errors’ is quite magical, it’s not often you find yourself clapping and cheering at the end of a Shakespeare play. I enjoyed ‘Dracula’ which is an ambitious production, perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea, Dracula himself was quite mesmerizing and the brides of Dracula were stunning. In the Studio, I enjoyed an excellent production of Pinter’s ‘Old Times’ and the Pintersque ‘The Winterling’. I am looking forward to ’Seeing the Lights’ next week.
