Month: November 2023
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From Snow Flurries to a Water Syphon System and The Curious Case of Bousdale’s Meeting House
On a rather agreeable day upon Roseberry Common, I was engaged in the rather laborious task of thinning out the encroaching Rowan and Birch trees. The day could have been described as pleasant, but only when the snow wasn’t falling, and the sun decided to grace us with its presence. That ominous flurry you see…
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“T’ back-end’s ola’s t’ bare-end”
I stumbled upon a Facebook post the other day claiming Cumbria has five seasons. The fifth, the Back End, supposedly hits between Autumn’s fall of leaves and Winter’s icy grip. Having woken up to a dusting of snow on the Cleveland Plain this morning, I headed with high hopes up onto Urra Moor, the highest…
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Aysgill Force — The Butterset Boggles
A brief stroll up Sleddale a side valley off Wensleydale, tracing the course of Gayle Beck, led us to the delightful Aysgill Force. En route, we passed through Gayle, a village woven into one of folklorist Richard Blakeborough’s yarns. It kicks off with a birth prophecy, throws in unrequited love, a spurned admirer, a murderous…
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Wishing Trees and Megger Stones
A quandary with today’s photo, taken yesterday because I’m still a day behind. A walk from Dent village in the “hidden valley” of Dentdale up the looming Great Coum. Take your pick: a manmade feature with no history I could find, or a natural attraction draped in a legend supposedly centuries old. I’ll include both.…
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Howgills Revisited: A Day of Unhurried Views
Yesterday was a revisit to the Howgills – not exactly my usual haunt. The tally on my track record? A mere handful, alright, maybe two handfuls. Did a couple of Karrimors ( as the OMM used to be called) and several Sedbergh Hills Races. August, always hot and dry – not conducive to my athletic…
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Tebay from Roundthwaite Common
I stayed in Tebay once, lodged in a humble hostel. Otherwise, Tebay’s always been a mere waypoint on my route to the southern Lakes. Dominated by a long terrace of Victorian houses, squashed at the side of the Lune Gorge. It might once have been a remote spot, when, in the early 19th-century, Tebay was…
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Graeme’s Legacy — The history of Grime Moor
On a dull overcast day, I found myself volunteering with the National Trust at their Bridestones property. The sun, playing hide and seek in the clouds, occasionally showered the moor with some spectacular lighting. Our task was on Grime Moor, supposedly named after Graeme, a onetime local landowner. We were making habitat piles from felled…
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Ingleby Bank woods — where two bodies were found hidden
Looking down on Hagg’s Gate from the crest of Cushat Hill. Hagg’s Gate and Cushat Hill, names no one uses nowadays. Ingleby Bank, on the other hand, is a name that has roaming issues. The O.S. map claims it’s the slope of that ridge on the other side of the vale of Greenhow. But it’s…
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On This Day in 1971 — The Cairngorm Plateau Disaster
Memory, a slippery eel, isn’t it? We’re nearing 60 years since JFK was shot in Dallas—tomorrow’s the day actually, 22nd November. I can still see my dad’s face, shocked by the news as we sat around our black and white telly, flames dancing in the open coal fire. Meanwhile, young me just pondered why the…
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From Shinrin-Yoku to Komorebi
For those of us who’ve practically become one with nature by running through every type of forest imaginable, here’s a revelation: the Japanese have a term for it – ‘shinrin-yoku.’ In layman’s terms, it’s ‘forest bathing.’ Californians, ever the trend setters, are all over it. So, have I been a forest-bather all this time? Now,…