So Many Places

September 1, 2025 Mark Richardshiking, Lake District, Nature, Walking6 Comments

PXL_20250422_162050172 — *Warton Crag, Clougha Pike and Silverdale from the Pepper Pot.*

A post to round off this April, featuring several evening walks. This first is from the Tuesday evening after Easter Monday, in other words my first day back at work, when, for some reason, I went out twice, once for a quick Eaves Wood wander and later for another amble to The Cove and across The Lots.

PXL_20250429_194630699 — *Humphrey Head and Hampsfell Fell from The Cove.*

This photo is from The Cove, obviously, but is actually a bit of a cheat because it was taken a few evenings later on in the week.

PXL_20250427_175655715 — *The Howgills from The Helm.*

The following weekend was a busy one, but on the Sunday evening, after dropping B at the station in Oxenholme, I had a walk along the ridge of The Helm, which, in common with many of the small limestone hills in the area, has terrific views.

PXL_20250427_175819870 — *Scout Hill, Farleton Fell, Clougha Pike and Warton Crag from The Helm.*

PXL_20250427_175826298 — *Arnside Knot, Cartmel Fell, Whitbarrow Scar and Sizergh Fell from The Helm.*

PXL_20250427_175842271 — *Gummer How, Natland and the Coniston Fells from The Helm. Note Caw on the horizon in the centre.*

PXL_20250427_175855865 — *Kendal from The Helm.*

Right at the end of the month, on a Thursday after work, I went back to Aughton Woods, hoping to find bluebells.

PXL_20250430_160852678 — *The Lune and bridges at Crook O’Lune.*

It was unseasonably warm, and there were lots of people picnicing by The Lune and quite a few paddle-boarding and swimming.

PXL_20250430_163800084 — *Waterworks Bridge over The Lune.*

PXL_20250430_165110593 — *Clougha Pike from Lawson’s Meadow.*

PXL_20250430_165426982 — *Bluebells in Aughton Woods.*

PXL_20250430_170041578 — *Bluebells in Aughton Woods.*

There were lots of bluebells, but as ever surprisingly difficult to photograph satisfactorily. I was shocked by the fact that the flowers were already so tall and straggly and clearly close to going over. I’m sure that ordinarily bluebells would have only just been coming into flower at this point in the year.

PXL_20250430_171113143 — *A loop in The Lune.*

This loop is a spot where I’ve previously swum in the river, but I didn’t really have time for that on this occasion.

Worth noting that the path through the woods which continues along the valley, which had been destroyed in a storm, has since been restored and reopened.

PXL_20250430_172844797 — *Ramsons in Aughton Woods.*

PXL_20250430_173351809 — *Aughton Woods, The Lune and Ingleborough.*

PXL_20250430_180330856 — *The Lune at Crook O’Lune.*

This walk along the Lune and the stroll along The Helm are both cracking outings which I really ought to do more often. So many places to choose from!

Austwick, Feizor, Wharfe Wood, Oxenber Wood

August 31, 2025 Mark Richards6 Comments

One final Easter outing to report on. TBH chose this one, she wanted to go back to Oxenber Woods.

PXL_20250417_120022177 — *Austwick Beck.*

PXL_20250417_122458487 — *On the Pennine Bridleway between Austwick and Feizor.*

She also wanted to try Elaine’s Tea Room in Feizor, having heard me sing its praises, so we headed that way first for a spot of lunch.

PXL_20250417_133121477 — *Pump and cottages in Feizor.*

PXL_20250417_134644933 — *Moughton Scar and Pen-y-ghent.*

Wharfe and Oxenber Woods were resplendent with flowers. There were anemones and and primroses absolutely everywhere. The sunshine helped too.

PXL_20250417_140915586 — *Moughton Scar.*

PXL_20250417_141652247 — *Descending towards Ingleborough.*

PXL_20250417_141804465 — *Primroses and Wood Anemones.*

PXL_20250417_141846985 — *Wood Anemones.*

PXL_20250417_142038036 — *Moughton Scar.*

PXL_20250417_142045580 — Ingleborough, Crummack Dale and *Moughton Scar.*

The views aren’t bad either.

PXL_20250417_142331135 — *Austwick and Robin Proctor’s Scar.*

PXL_20250417_143911082 — *TBH on Flascoe Bridge.*

A short walk, but packed with interest. I think we ought to make this a regular spring outing.

A Bretherdale Round

August 17, 2025August 18, 2025 Mark Richardshiking, Lake District, Wainwright, Walking8 Comments

Shap Summit – Packhorse Hill – Dryside – Clovenstone Hill – Crag Hill – Round Hills – Thorny Bank – North Side – Bretherdale Head – Breasthigh Road – Greenside Crag – Crookdale Crag – Red Crag – Shap Summit.

PXL_20250407_075045753 — *Shap memorial.*

A circuit of the tops of Birkbeck Fells Common and some of the tops of Bretherdale Common. If it looks like there are a lot of hills in the list above, bear in mind that most of them were actually below where I had parked on the A6 Shap road and that many also have very few contours of their own. Although these hills are now within the Lake District National Park, none of them were included within the original boundaries so none of these hills are Wainwrights or Birketts, in fact, I was going to say that they probably haven’t troubled any hill-listers, but of course, some of them are Tumps.

PXL_20250407_075052844 — *Crookdale Crag and Greenside Crag.*

Anyway, having failed to climb any hills on my birthday, I felt the need to put that right the day after and I fancied somewhere quiet, which this certainly was; I think I saw two other solo walkers all day, both of them on the bridleway Breathigh Road; on the hills themselves I didn’t meet anyone at all.

PXL_20250407_075810633 — *Shap Fell Bothy.*

I think this used to be a shelter for stranded lorry drivers during inclement weather, now it can be booked as private accommodation.

PXL_20250407_081819560 — *Shap Pink Granite Quarry.*

Partly this walk, as well as extending my exploration of the Lune Catchment area, was fulfilling a promise I made to myself during my previous visit to this area, when I thought that Packhorse Hill, Thorny Bank and Crookdale Crag all looked quite shapely and worth a look.

PXL_20250407_083722862 — *A distant view of Cross Fell in the Pennines.*

The hills are, in honesty, quite featureless on the whole and this could be a bleak outing in poor weather, but on this gorgeous blue-sky day it was great to be out and about.

PXL_20250407_084802750 — *Tree planting.*

PXL_20250407_090042355 — *The Cloven Stone on Clovenstone Hill.*

PXL_20250407_091316593 — *The cairn on Crag Hill.*

This is all access land, but the high walls usually seem to have an even higher accompanying barbed wire fence, or even one on either side, so a little care is needed to locate convenient gates, or crossing points. I always managed to find something when the need arose.

PXL_20250407_095549023 — *Bretherdale and the valley of Breasthigh Beck*

PXL_20250407_101320830 — *The trig pillar on North Side (and a view to the Howgills).*

PXL_20250407_104455686 — *Narrow & rough unsealed highway.*

PXL_20250407_105526050 — *Narrow & rough unsealed highway.*

A man who I took to be the local farmer was driving what looked like a glorified golf-buggy along the track, but then diverted downhill across the fields to where his family, I presumed, were herding a flock of sheep. Further on it became very stony and narrow – I would have guessed much less than the advertised four foot seven, I’m not sure how anything other than a trials bike could get through. Actually, it was plenty wide enough for even a portly pedestrian.

PXL_20250407_110807709 — *Bridge over Bretherdale Beck.*

PXL_20250407_111150022 — *Bretherdale Head.*

PXL_20250407_111345211 — *Unusual signpost.*

PXL_20250407_114204276 — *Looking back down into Bretherdale from Breasthigh Road.*

It was warm work climbing back out of the valley.

I’d originally looked for a circuit starting from Tebay, but kept ending up with very long routes. I found this circuit suggested in a blogpost (hurrah for bloggers! I wish I could find it again now to share it with you). It alleged that the hills hereabouts are ‘tussocky’ and I was feeling smugly, that to the contrary the going was pretty easy, but I have to admit that Greenside Crag is pretty tussocky.

PXL_20250407_122153036 — *A view from Greenside Crag.*

What’s-more, if you’re not careful where you out your feet you might discover a deep hole with a lot of cold, wet, muddy slop at the bottom of it…

PXL_20250407_122625549 — *Attacked by bog!*

PXL_20250407_125215611 — *A late lunch on Crookdale Crag.*

So on Crookdale Crag, with the end of the walk in sight, I stopped for a late lunch, rang my parents, and took my shoes and socks off to let my feet dry out a bit (but not necessarily in that order).

PXL_20250407_133838039 — *Red rock on Red Crag.*

PXL_20250407_134339624 — *Looking back to Crookdale Crag.*

PXL_20250407_134442758 — *Colt’s-foot on the verge of the A6.*

It occurs to me that, after all of this dry sunny weather we’ve had of late, now would be as good a time as any to venture into the soggy Shap Fells, perhaps Wet Sleddale is due a revisit.

*Edit – forgot the map. 8½ miles or thereabouts.*

Ne Quid Nimis

May 30, 2025May 29, 2025 Mark Richards9 Comments

PXL_20250318_180356895 — *Sunset over the River Lune.*

Long-suffering family and friends will know that ‘moderation’ has always been my watchword.

PXL_20250319_161041329 — *The Water Witch by Lancaster Canal.* *Lots of brave customers sitting outside in March.*

Well…I’m prepared to acknowledge that restraint might generally be a good thing, even if it’s hardly my superpower.

PXL_20250319_161752478 — *Lancaster Cathedral.*

But not where walking is concerned. Surely, in this case, you can’t have too much of a good thing?

PXL_20250319_163521763 — *Cherry blossom?*

These photos are from the first four walks from a mid-March week when I managed a streak of six consecutive days each containing a good walk.

PXL_20250319_164959014 — *The aqueduct.*

Which is what I should be doing all of the time, but one way or another, doesn’t happen anything like often enough.

PXL_20250319_165137481 — *The Lune from the aqueduct.*

The first two outings were both around Lancaster, the idea being that, by setting off straight after work I could avoid my habitual faffing about when arriving home and so make the most of the limited light available.

PXL_20250319_165944123 — *Looking back to the aqueduct.*

It was a good idea. I should have continued to do something along this line, but somehow I haven’t.

PXL_20250319_170742377 — *Ponies grazing in Skerton.*

The walk along the Lune from the aqueduct to Skerton Bridge is lovely. I was quite surprised by the large variety of birds I spotted on and around the river.
I was surprised again to see ponies grazing in Skerton, although perhaps I shouldn’t have been, since the same thing used to happen when I lived in Hulme in Central Manchester in an even more urban environment.

PXL_20250319_171652245 — *Skerton Bridge.*

PXL_20250319_172514896 — *Greyhound Bridge.*

PXL_20250319_172652466 — *Millenium Bridge.*

PXL_20250319_172901149 — *A wonky house and the George and Dragon on St. George’s Quay.*

PXL_20250319_172929356 — *The Custom House, now the Maritime Museum.*

PXL_20250319_173123149 — *Carlisle Bridge.*

PXL_20250319_175147022 — *Abandoned chair.*

PXL_20250319_180801779 — *Lancashire Coastal Way.*

PXL_20250319_180756321 — *Another sunset.*

I finished this walk through Aldcliffe and back on the canal in the very last of the light.

PXL_20250320_184844259 — *Post sunset from the Lots.*

A solitary photo each for the final two walks. The first, after a later finish at work, a brief outing to the Cove and across the Lots.

The second, on a Friday evening, a walk to Arnside and back for fish and chips with TBH. We started later than planned (I know, who’d have thought?) and so ended up doing the whole thing in the dark, but still enjoyed myself enormously.

Almost twenty miles in total across the four walks, so not bad going.

Ravenstonedale, Green Bell, the Lune

April 10, 2025April 10, 2025 Mark RichardsArchitecture, england, hiking, Walking14 Comments

PXL_20250119_100846936 — *Unusual advertising ploy.*

The day after our Cark outing. The forecast was, if anything, even less promising, but I was determined to get out.

PXL_20250119_101401426 — *Unusual balcony.*

A little over a year before, I’d omitted Green Bell from my walk on a glorious winter day due to failing light. So I decided to put that right on a cloudy day when I would see even less from the top then I would have done in the dark!

PXL_20250119_101054547 — *St. Oswald’s Church.*

Ravenstonedale, where I parked, is not a big place, but it has three churches in close proximity.

PXL_20250119_101717183 — *High Chapel (now a heritage and community centre).*

PXL_20250119_102111575 — *A hennery-piggery.*

Apparently, pigs were kept downstairs and chickens above.

PXL_20250119_102354463 — *Artlegarth Beck Bridge.*

PXL_20250119_102405226 — *History of the bridge.*

What to say about the walk? It was cold and bleak, there were no views, but I was well wrapped-up and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute.

PXL_20250119_105719218 — *Thornthwaite.*

PXL_20250119_111449152 — *Frosted Grass.*

PXL_20250119_111545598 — *The path contours below Knott.*

A good path, not shown on the OS map, took me over Knoutberry and up to Green Bell. A minor diversion from that path took me to…

PXL_20250119_120053725 — *Spring feeding Dale Gill.*

PXL_20250119_120025280 — *The source of the Lune (according to Wainwright at least).*

The source of the Lune, which, given my obsession with the Lune and its many tributaries, was surely something to savour.

PXL_20250119_120815162 — *Time for tea and a butty.*

Visibility during the last part of the climb became very poor.

PXL_20250119_123349853 — *Green Bell trig pillar. Amazing views!*

Although it had not been my original plan, I decided to use the good paths I’d ascended by to return to Ravenstonedale.

By the time I reached my car in the village, my rucksack had its own coating of frost.

I had another flask of tea waiting for me in the car – an idea I should adopt more often. Then I decided that I had time for a mooch around St. Oswald’s.

PXL_20250119_135857549 — *St. Oswald’s again.*

PXL_20250119_140035830 — *Unusual layout. Collegiate pews.*

PXL_20250119_140134048.NIGHT — *Triple decker pulpit.*

PXL_20250119_140606014.NIGHT — *St. Oswald’s interior.*

PXL_20250119_140201640 — *Stained glass.*

PXL_20250119_140308499 — *Stained glass.*

PXL_20250119_140521579 — *Stained glass.*

PXL_20250119_140533957 — *Stained glass.*

The church, and Ravenstonedale, struck me as a bit quirky. I liked them both very much. I shall have to repeat this walk on a better day.

PXL_20250119_140513335 — *Painted board.*

PXL_20250119_140651673 — *Painted board (dated 1747?)*

PXL_20250119_141107143 — *Ruins of the Gilbertine monastic dwelling.*

PXL_20250119_141031605 — *History of the ruins and the Gilbertines.*

PXL_20250119_141500327 — *Medieval grave slab.*

PXL_20250119_141858088 — *Highly informative board.*

I’m very much in favour of all the information boards provided – a handy shortcut if you are behind with your blog!

*The route – a little over six and a half miles.*

Oxenber Woods and Smearsett Scar

November 25, 2024November 24, 2024 Mark Richards8 Comments

The Sunday at the end of Whit week. I decided to make good on an old promise to myself to come back to Austwick to explore Oxenber Woods, where I knew from previous visits there are permission paths not shown on the OS map, and to climb Smearsett Scar which I’d been discouraged from ascending in the previous summer by some seriously inclement weather. I also had grandiose plans to explore the large area of limestone pavement of Moughton Scar, but that will have to wait for another village.
I parked in Austwick, which I always think is a very handsome village, but difficult somehow to do justice to in a photo.

PXL_20240602_105902375 — *Moughton Scar.*

PXL_20240602_110214382 — *Flascoe Bridge*

It wasn’t that warm, but a girl and a lady (her mum?) were paddling in the beck here.

PXL_20240602_111139177 — *Austwick and Robin Proctor’s Scar*

PXL_20240602_111754194 — *Looking to the Bowland Fells.*

PXL_20240602_111819239 — *Moughton Scar from Oxenber Woods.*

PXL_20240602_112129915 — *Click Beetle – *Ctenicera cuprea*.* *Again.*

PXL_20240602_112457814 — *Looking back to Austwick.*

PXL_20240602_112501228 — *Norber and Ingleborough.*

PXL_20240602_112509645 — *Moughton Scar.*

PXL_20240602_112623316 — *Looking toward Crummack Dale. The flowers are mostly Pignut I suspect.*

I bumped into a few other runners and walkers in Oxenber Woods. I remember chatting to one lady about the dearth of butterflies, a conversation I had with depressing frequency this summer.

PXL_20240602_113829595 — *Columbine – Aquilegia Vulgaris.*

PXL_20240602_115604593 — *Smearsett Scar (on the right).*

Somewhere around here, I turned uphill and left the right-of-way. I didn’t see any other walkers after that until I dropped down of Smearsett Scar on to the Dales High Way path.

PXL_20240602_121347828 — *Oxenber and Wharfe Woods in the foreground, Ingleborough on the right.*

PXL_20240602_121438118 — *The large cairn on Pot Scar.*

Just beyond the cairn, I found a sheltered spot for a sit down. In the sunshine and out of the wind it actually felt like summer. I had a brew, drank in the views and took endless bleary photos of a Skylark which was constantly on the move.

PXL_20240602_121512637 — *The Bowland skyline. Unspoiled by features.*

PXL_20240602_121542383 — *Fountains Fell and Smearsett Scar.*

PXL_20240602_121613191 — *Pen-y-Ghent and Fountains Fell*

PXL_20240602_122442802 — *Time for a brew.*

PXL_20240602_131050431 — *Smearsett Scar.*

It began to cloud over and eventually I dragged myself away from my comfortable spot.

PXL_20240602_131758125 — *Smearsett Scar.*

PXL_20240602_131950405 — *An entertaining route.*

There was a less exposed way up to the top of Smearsett Scar but this one looked too tempting to miss.

PXL_20240602_132802654 — *Ingleborough and Moughton Scar.*

As I said, at this point I meant to turn north and head for Moughton Scar, but decided to go south instead towards Feizor.

PXL_20240602_132818801 — *Feizor Thwaite and Pendle Hill.*

PXL_20240602_134705302 — *Pot and Smearsett Scars*

PXL_20240602_134914364.PANO — *Pot and Smearsett Scars* pano.

PXL_20240602_135833757 — *Mountain Pansy*

PXL_20240602_140508668 — *The path descends into Feizor.*

PXL_20240602_142019759 — *Tea and a toasted teacake at Elaine’s Tearoom Feizor. Recommended.*

One advantage of my choice was the potential of a stop at my friend J’s favourite tearoom.

PXL_20240602_145149829 — *Fields of Buttercups.*

PXL_20240602_151228802 — *A lane lined with Ground Elder.*

I met a man and his daughter near here who had genuine free-range chickens pecking about in their garden and were selling eggs. I bought half a dozen. Very nice they were too.

PXL_20240602_153411457 — *Austwick Beck*

PXL_20240602_153848458 — *Church of the Epiphany, Austwick.*

PXL_20240602_153914460 — *Saint Francis of Assisi*

I couldn’t find St. George. I suppose St. Francis is a more suitable patron for this blog anyway.
The Church of the Epiphany is Grade II listed. Here’s the description from the Historic England website, I hope you’ll forgive me for quoting it in full:

“AUSTWICK THE GREEN SD 76 NE (south side) 8/18 Church of the Epiphany GV II Former lecture hall, now parish church. 1839 for Charles Ingleby, apsidal chancel added 1883. Slobbered rubble, stone dressings, slate roof. North porch. Nave, west baptistry and beir house, chancel and south vestry. Lancet style. Gabled north entrance porch, ashlar; pointed arch and hoodmould, diagonal buttresses; shaped kneelers, coping and cruciform finial. Tudor arched entrance, plank doors with strap hinges. 4 bay nave, lancet windows; hoodmoulds. Corbel table of 4 different corbels. Shaped kneelers, gable end copings; cruciform finial at east end, bellcote at west end with ball finial. Sexfoil window in west gable. West end of baptistry has 3-light window with trefoils in spandrels. Pentagonal chancel has 2-light lancet window with trefoil to each face; hipped roof. Interior: exposed king post roof. Consecrated 1841.”

Slobbered rubble, hoodmoulds, sexfoil, spandrels, king post roof. Marvellous. I have no idea what it all means. Or rather, I didn’t, I’ve looked them all up, but whether any of my newly acquired knowledge will stick is another matter. It might, I often retain useless information, it’s the important stuff I can’t remember.

About 6 miles. One to revisit.

PXL_20240604_194624079 — *Huevos Rancheros. Well, it has eggs in it anyway.*

Here’s how some of those eggs got used, a couple of days later. I’d hate you to think that I habitually photograph my meals. I don’t. I think, on this occasion, I was trying for the first time an idea I got from a Tom Kerridge book for a boil in the bag omelette, and I was mildly surprised that it worked so well. I also remember thinking that it might make omelette into a potential backpacking breakfast because using a sandwich bag and boiling the omelette makes it an almost mess free meal. Of course, you still have to transport the eggs somehow.

PXL_20240605_181532957 — *An evening double rainbow seen later in the week from our patio.*

Clougha Bivy

November 18, 2024November 18, 2024 Mark RichardsNature, Walking, Wildlife8 Comments

PXL_20240517_184837422 — *Red-and-black Froghopper – Cercopis vulnerata*.

“A truly unmistakable species, and one of our largest homopterans. The nymphs are rarely seen, as they feed on underground roots.”

Source.

Also, understandably, sometimes known as the Black-and-red Froghopper. I found this very colourful froghopper on one of the many boulders below the edge on Clougha Pike…

It was a Friday evening, I’d been home after work, but with the weather set fair I was out again with some new kit I’d been itching to try out.

PXL_20240517_192651253 — *Nearing the top with the sun dipping toward the horizon.*

I parked in the Littledale car park, but then descended and traversed around to ascend what I think of as my ‘standard Clougha route’, which is most people’s standard Clougha route I think. It would have saved time if I’d started from the Rigg Lane car park instead, but the pay-off would come on the Saturday morning.

PXL_20240517_194340880 — *Close to the summit.*

PXL_20240517_194401659 — *The last of the light.*

PXL_20240517_194851086 — *The trig pillar.*

There was a cold wind blowing on the edge, and with the sun rapidly disappearing I was searching about for a spot which had a bit of shelter and which looked like it might be comfortable for the night.

I found a spot below a low outcrop of rocks which I thought might do and was soon tucked up in my new sleeping bag and bivy bag. They kept me wonderfully warm and dry despite a cold night and a heavy dew. Unfortunately, Clougha is very rocky and uneven and is well covered with heather; whatsmore, the mat I’d borrowed from TBH deflated on me. It wasn’t the most comfortable night. But then, I never sleep well when I camp these days.

PXL_20240517_211016165 — *The lights coming on around the Bay.*

Every now and then I’d shift my position and poke my head out to have another look at the lingering light in the west and the lights coming on around the Bay. The photo above was taken from my bivy. I think the distant lights must be Barrow.

It’s always a relief when the sun makes an appearance and I feel like I can get moving again.

PXL_20240518_044100653 — *Misty views of the hills above Kirkby Lonsdale.*

The sunrise wasn’t spectacular, but the light was lovely and although it was initially cold, it’s always great to feel like you have the hills to yourself.

PXL_20240518_044107083 — *A zoom of the same view, featuring Caton Moor windfarm.*

PXL_20240518_044732611 — *The Three Peaks*

PXL_20240518_050235169 — *Another view of the Three Peaks.*

The orange infused mist around Ingleborough drew the eye and I took lots of photographs of the view in that direction.

On Grit Fell someone else was camping. In a tent – that’s the little white dot in the photo above. Perhaps they were in a more conducive spot as they seemed to still be asleep.

PXL_20240518_052656235 — *Ward’s Stone from Grit Fell.*

On the carin in this photo I spotted several millipedes…

PXL_20240518_052746031 — *Millipede – probably Ommatoiulus sabulosus*.

It seemed odd to me that there were more than one.

PXL_20240518_063631946 — *Grit Fell from Ward’s Stone.*

PXL_20240518_063742681 — *A boulder to shelter behind for breakfast.*

Despite the sunshine it was still pretty cool and I hunkered down between these large boulders to eat an apple and drink the last of my water. I hadn’t brought any other breakfast or a stove because I was conscious that it might be hard, despite how soggy the hillsides here can be, to find a reliable source of drinking water – there aren’t many obvious streams high on the moors.

PXL_20240518_075350485 — *The Goldsworthy sculptures on Grit Fell.*

I’d doubled back and picked up the track which traverses below the top of Grit Fell. The track was crawling with millipedes, thousands of them. I’ve never seen anything like it. It took some concentration not to stand on them.

PXL_20240518_075837888 — *Striped Millipede, Ommatoiulus sabulosus*

“A distinctive large species (to 30mm length) typically dark brown or black, with two conspicuous orange stripes running the entire length of the body. These stripes may sometimes be broken into a series of orange blotches.”

“Adults wander widely in the summer and can occur in almost any type of habitat. However, analysis of the recording scheme data suggests this is largely a coastal species in Britain and Ireland showing a very strong association with sand dunes and a strong association with other maritime habitats and with heathland. A very strong association with sandy soils clearly links these habitats. Barlow (1957) and Biernaux (1969) also found that, in the Low Countries, the species preferred warm, well drained soils. However, the suggestion of a strong association with peaty soils in wetland and moorland habitats is surprising and not supported by work elsewhere in Europe.”

Source

Well, here they were definitely on peaty soils. I wonder if my identification is correct. It seems to fit. I’m also still intrigued as to why there were so many present and all so easy to see. After I left the track, I didn’t see as many, but they were still about, crawling on many of the rocks I passed, with many more, presumably, hidden amongst the heather.

PXL_20240518_080143764 — *A familiar rock outcrop.*

I always seem to photograph these rocks – they stand out from the otherwise rather bland surroundings and also let me know to look out for the right turn on to the path which will take me downhill.

PXL_20240518_080755329 — *Descending towards Littledale – Ingleborough still very hazy.*

Conder Head, the source of the River Conder, one of the Lune’s many tributaries, is in this neck of the woods somewhere.

PXL_20240518_083539446 — *Reaching farmland and the last part of the walk. Caton Moor ahead.*

Not a long walk – a little shy of eleven miles in all – but very memorable and, despite the fitful sleep, one I shall be hoping to repeat. I was home in plenty of time for lunch.
And out again in the afternoon…

Fellfoot Drove Folds, Brownthwaite Pike, Leck Beck

October 29, 2024October 29, 2024 Mark Richardsandy-goldsworthy, hiking, Walking, Wildflowers24 Comments

PXL_20240420_080813519 — *The former school house at Cowan Bridge where the Bronte sisters were educated.*

A Saturday in late April when the forecast was pretty good. I had plans, I don’t remember what they were, but then B, home from Uni, announced that he would be playing for the Kirkby second XV. Since I hadn’t seen him play since he last played for the Colts almost a year before, I changed my plan – I still wanted to get out for some fresh air, but I would need to be close to Kirkby Lonsdale and I would want to have finished in time for a 3 o’clock kick-off.

PXL_20240420_084234803 — *Brownthwaite Pike.*

As usual, I made a virtue of necessity, and chose to park at Cowan Bridge (the village hall car park has an honesty box) and head for Brownthwaite Pike via Fellfoot Road.

PXL_20240420_084318580 — *Apple Blossom in the hedgerow.*

PXL_20240420_085821394 — *Blackthorn and Brownthwaite Pike again.*

PXL_20240420_090550045 — *A stately tree.*

PXL_20240420_093220583 — *Fellfoot Road*

Fellfoot Road, as you can see, is a track. I’ve walked bits of it before, over the years, and it has appeared on the blog on previous occasions, but I had never walked its entire length. (Spoiler alert: I still haven’t!)

PXL_20240420_093526517 — *Fellfoot Drove Fold I*

Along the road are a series of small drove folds, each of which contains a boulder – a set of sculptures (?) by Andy Goldsworthy.

PXL_20240420_093846305 — *Fellfoot Drove Fold II*

I’ve seen some of them before, and, if I’m honest, thought that they were a bit underwhelming, but there was something strangely compelling about seeing each one in turn and noting how they subtly differed and resembled each other.

PXL_20240420_094241185 — *Fellfoot Drove Fold I*II

Also, I suppose, a nerdy pleasure in counting them off, although having said that, I did eventually lose count.

PXL_20240420_095038345 — *Fellfoot Drove Fold I*V

I generally used my phones wide-angle setting, which helped to put the folds into some perspective with their surroundings, but has also maybe made the boulders look a bit smaller than they seemed at the time.

PXL_20240420_095330302 — *Fellfoot Drove Fold* V

PXL_20240420_095405782 — *Fellfoot Drove Fold* VI. *My favourite. Don’t ask why, I couldn’t say.*

PXL_20240420_095804801 — *Fellfoot Drove Fol*d VII

PXL_20240420_095939809 — *Fellfoot Drove Fold VIII*

PXL_20240420_100942370 — *Fellfoot Drove Fold IX*

PXL_20240420_101011344 — *Fellfoot Drove Fold I*X steps

Most, perhaps all, of the folds had steps and a stile to give access, although in places the verges of the track were very overgrown making it difficult to get to the steps.

PXL_20240420_101200525 — *Fellfoot Drove Fold X*

PXL_20240420_101420662 — *Fellfoot Drove Fold XI*

PXL_20240420_101950929 — *Fellfoot Drove Fold XII*

PXL_20240420_102149259.PORTRAIT — *Fellfoot Drove Fold XIII* portrait.

I must have inadvertently put my phone in portrait mode for this one, which has thrown the background out of focus. I rather like the effect – I might try it again.

PXL_20240420_102159339 — *Fellfoot Drove Fold XIII*

You can see the difference, with this photo of the same fold using the wide-angle mode on my phone.

PXL_20240420_102637538 — *Fellfoot Drove Fold XIV*

I was enjoying the walk immensely, I thought (correctly it turns out) that I had counted fourteen drove-folds. I also thought that there are only fourteen. I now know that there actually sixteen. I shall have to go back! I still would have liked to carry on to the far end of the track anyway, but I was very aware that, as is often the case, my failure to do any detailed planning had me now struggling to get back to my car in good time.
Noticing, on the map, a strip of access land stretching down to the track, I turned uphill and took a direct route to the top of Brownthwaite Pike.

There were both Buzzards and Ravens swooping about near the trees on the hillside, and, as I always do in the presence of Buzzards in the spring, I worried that I might get dive-bombed, as I have been in the past; but I think that it must have been the Ravens who were nesting in these trees and they were just as worried about the proximity of the Buzzards as I was and energetically chased them off.

PXL_20240420_110645858 — *Looking across the Lune Valley to Hutton Roof Crags and Farleton Fell.*

PXL_20240420_113030825 — *The Bowland Fells from Brownthwaite Pike.*

Brownthwaite Pike is not the prominent top which it looks to be from the south and west, but it is a smashing viewpoint.

PXL_20240420_113201368 — *The large (ancient?) cairn on Brownthwaite Pike.*

From Brownthwaite Pike I descended to Bullpot Farm, then past the entrance to Bullpot itself, which was surrounded by more Primroses, and down to Ease Gill Kirk.

The dry ravine of Ease Gill Kirk, with its many cave entrances, is well worth a very thorough exploration, but I was in a hurry now and passed it by on this occasion.

PXL_20240420_123956805 — *Ease Gill Kirk.*

PXL_20240420_124046864 — *Early Purple Orchid.*

PXL_20240420_124253464 — *Ease Gill Kirk.*

PXL_20240420_124308267 — *The slender path out of the Kirk. A bit exposed.*

PXL_20240420_124808149 — *Leck Beck and Ease Gill (on the right).*

PXL_20240420_125405518 — *Not the easiest stile to climb.*

On previous visits, I’ve always followed the path down the valley into Leck, but this time I took the quite boggy path slightly above the valley. One field I passed through, Castle Hill, contained the remains of an ancient settlement, but I passed by in a rush – I need to do some decent planning and come back to have another go at this walk to see all of its interesting features properly.

As it was, I missed the first twenty minutes or so of the match, but at that point B was an unused sub. I can’t remember the result, he has played a few times since, both for the first and second teams and I’ve seen them win and lose. I’ve even been able to take my Dad to watch his grandson play a couple of times – for the first time, I think, since B’s first season as a youngster when it was my Dad who persuaded him to give rugby a go.

*MapMyWalk gives just over 11 miles. I have no idea why one part of the route is black rather than red.*

Gang Aft Agley

August 14, 2024August 13, 2024 Mark Richards9 Comments

PXL_20240114_180330365 — *Post Office Hill.*

Photos from a week in January and musings about ‘best laid schemes’ which haven’t really come off.

PXL_20240115_160828171 — *Lancaster Canal (frozen over) and the Cathedral.*

In January I often have the luxury of Christmas money to spend, lucky me, and a fit of enthusiasm for daily exercise just when the weather and lack of light would seemingly make that most difficult. I’m not always very good at spending the cash on myself, but my resolve to get out for a walk often lasts well into the spring.

PXL_20240115_162223640 — *The Millennium footbridge over The Lune.*

This year however, the situation was completely reversed. I almost certainly overspent my Yuletide wonga. In the first instant, I treated myself to a smart watch, which I guess probably makes me, as usual, a very late adopter.

PXL_20240115_162846612 — *Looking towards the lakeland fells.*

Anyway, I think it was the arrival of said timepiece, and a desire to test it out, which prompted this January’s burst of energy, and had me heading out for a wander around Lancaster as soon as lessons had ended, before, I hasten to add, returning to work to finish paperwork and other quotidian tasks.

PXL_20240115_163311014 — *Former frontispiece to Cawthorne House, which was built in the 1770s*.

Sadly, the burst of energy only lasted for a week. I can’t remember, at this remove, what caused me to stop, but as famous wit and raconteur Mike Tyson once said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face”. Now, I didn’t get punched in the face, I’m glad to say, nothing so dramatic; I probably just got a bit too busy, or too tired or both.

PXL_20240115_163322729 — *Lancaster Castle.*

The photos I took, if nothing else, are reminding me what a good week it was, frosty but clear, and that even if I didn’t stick with it, this was A Good Thing. Next January, or right now for that matter, I just need a little more resolve.

PXL_20240117_160255165 — *The lakeland fells again.*

Lancaster is quite a hilly city and there are a couple of excellent viewpoints which I visited. One is by the Castle and the Priory Church, the other is in Williamson Park, by the Ashton Memorial.

PXL_20240117_160303792 — *The last of the sun.*

PXL_20240117_161041747 — *Lancaster Priory Church.*

PXL_20240117_161738598 — *The Millennium footbridge over The Lune, again*.

PXL_20240118_161205798 — *The Ashton Memorial.*

PXL_20240118_161306463 — *Looking across the Bay towards the lakes from the Ashton Memorial.*

PXL_20240118_162310570 — *The Ashton Memorial.*

PXL_20240119_163127247 — *Lancaster Train Station.*

PXL_20240120_145449787 — *Mossy limestone pavement.*

At the weekend, I ventured a bit further and managed some decent local walks, although, Sod’s Law in action, the bright frosty weather had disappeared and it was grey and wet.

PXL_20240120_161631415 — *Clougha Pike from near Jenny Brown’s Point.*

PXL_20240121_104605132 — *Eaves Wood in the rain.*

My brother, who lives in Switzerland, lucky him, tells me that walking with a hands-free*, lightweight umbrella is all the rage on the continent, this year’s must have bit of kit. I quite often use my ordinary, old-fashioned brolly locally, but in the British hills I can only imagine a brolly would be a liability, what with the ubiquitous wind and the horizontal rain.

(*Trying to picture this, I like to think it would be incorporated into a hat, but I think he said attached to a rucksack.)

PXL_20240121_110020739 — *The ring of beeches.*

Finally, I also spent some of my Christmas dosh on some new toys: a warmer sleeping bag, some trekking poles to replace the cheap Aldi ones, which were a short-lived bargain, since I managed to bend them both, and a new bivvy bag. I’d ordered the wrong bivvy bag, not the extra large one I wanted, and I ought to say that Alpkit were brilliant about exchanging it.

received_706094021319799 — *New toys from Alpkit.*

These purchases, well two of them anyway, were part of another hare-brained, ill-fated scheme of mine. I’d noticed that, since I started the blog, way back in 2008, I’d only managed seven nights wild-camping, a total which seemed woefully small. I resolved to get out and use my new gear at least seven times this year to double that total. Now, I know that the year is not yet over, but it seems unlikely at this point that I will make my arbitrary, self-imposed target. (As ever, I hear you sigh). Not to worry, I have at least been out overnight, and maybe I’ll manage another trip, if a spell of settled weather is ever forecast.

A Sociable Dentdale Walk

June 26, 2024 Mark Richardshiking, Walking, yorkshire-dales10 Comments

PXL_20231216_125919195 — *The village of Dent.*

The Saturday of our annual pre-Christmas get together and we were once again back at Gearstones lodge and once again faced with a rotten forecast for the weekend. The Eternal Weather Optimist and the Madman were, of course, out early conquering every peak in the region in the pouring rain. The Dormouse stayed in bed (she may not have been the only one). The Tower Captain was with us and he joined a younger contingent for an impressive looking hike over into the upper reaches of Dentdale and back again. I suggested a lower level option – a walk from Dent essentially along the river Dee and then back again. Carefully chosen, obviously, to reflect the weather conditions and the needs of the party and nothing at all to do with my ongoing obsession with the River Lune and its tributaries.

Dent is a very picturesque spot, with a substantial church…

PXL_20231216_130038953 — *St Andrews, Dent*

Of course, I wanted to have a peek inside.

PXL_20231216_130159283.NIGHT — *St. Andrews, Dent. Perpendicular style?*

I took photos of all of the stained glass windows. Here’s a couple, this one because it has St. George in the middle (I assume it’s him)…

PXL_20231216_130254055 — *A council of saints.*

There are a couple more sword-wielding saints in here, I wonder who they are? This one sneaks in, just because I like the colours, particularly the greens…

PXL_20231216_130316741 — *A nice green.*

It was one of those days when it was either drizzling, raining, or just about to rain.

PXL_20231216_134236244 — *The prof negotiating a stile.*

Still, it was a highly enjoyable hike. Some of the party weren’t exactly brimming over with enthusiasm. It was necessary to maintain the fiction that we could turn back at any one of three footbridges which would take us across the River Dee and onto our return route, but we persevered until the final bridge, which was always what I had intended.

PXL_20231216_134549154 — *The River Dee.*

There are caves and potholes all along the river here and at some point the river must disappear underground leaving a much smaller stream…

PXL_20231216_140639683 — *The River Dee?*

PXL_20231216_141135749 — *‘There may be troubles ahead.’*

We could often see showers not too far off, but we seemed to miss the worst of it most of the time.

PXL_20231216_141140150 — *Heading uphill.*

PXL_20231216_142024798 — *Gibbs Hall Farmhouse.*

There are a number of cottages in the vicinity of Gibbs Hall, a roofless old building, and it was presumably from one of those that we were joined by…

PXL_20231216_142605575 — *We are joined by a cat.*

…a very friendly white cat.

PXL_20231216_142619436 — *The old, white-haired member of the group. And a cat.*

Do you see what I did there? I’ll get me coat.

The waterfall at Ibbeth Peril is very impressive. A little online research suggests the cave here is impressive too, but it’s only safe to explore when the river is running low.

The general consensus was that the shelter of the trees here made for a good place to eat lunch. I hadn’t brought any (breakfasts and evening meals tend to be large meals on these weekends) so spent some time wandering around in the trees.

The cat decided to join me.

PXL_20231216_143719224 — *Me and the cat go for a wander.*

PXL_20231216_144010548 — *Large toadstools.*

There were lots of large toadstools scattered about amongst the trees.

The next section of the walk was the wettest.

PXL_20231216_145701990 — *Victorian postbox.*

PXL_20231216_145709778 — *I liked the lettering.*

PXL_20231216_152757310 — *Deepdale Beck.*

PXL_20231216_154121819 — *Following Deepdale Beck.*

Following the beck, back to the river, with the path hemmed in by a fence was surprisingly tedious going.

PXL_20231216_160909032.NIGHT — *Back in Dent.*

There are two pubs in Dent, we watched a customer leave one and walk the short distance to the other. Shuttling between the two strikes me as a very fine pub-crawl, one I should like to get around to at some point.

PXL_20231216_190115242 — *Curry for tea.*

Our friend J cooked-up a delicious chicken curry, and in a move well above-and-beyond the call of duty, she also produced a quiz of several rounds.

PXL_20231216_210453279 — *Quiz. I’m hopeless at anagrams.*

The quiz was highly enjoyable, almost as good as the curry, but our team were doomed to failure since we were terrible at the anagrams round. Take the first question, it has 22 letters. There are 22! (22 factorial) ways to arrange 22 letters, which is to say 1,124,000,727,777,607,680,000 different arrangements. Let’s be generous and round that down, to a mere sextillion. If we were systematic and tried one arrangement every second, it would only take us 30 trillion years to get through them all. It’s a wonder that we got any of them at all!

Beating The Bounds

A Blog about walking, thinking about walking, reading about walking…….and maybe other stuff

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