Author: Fhithich
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Swart Beck
In the Lakes for the week. This is Swart Beck, flowing through the ruins of Greenside Mine into Glenridding.
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Carrock Fell
The Northern Fells of the Lake District are composed mainly of Skiddaw Slates but one exception is Carrock Fell where the bedrock is a hard and grainy igneous rock called gabbro. I have encountered gabbro before. Just a few days ago on Mull whilst walking through the extinct volcano there. But at between 23 and 66…
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Carsaig Arches
A day of travelling. Heading back south. Ferries, buses and cars. So a photo from Wednesday last of the Carsaig Arches on Mull’s dramatic sea coast. Woke up to a sea fret which was finally burning off.
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Traigh Gheal
Checked in at the Lochaline Hotel overlooking the Sound of Mull. A bit basic but much appreciated after two days wild camping and last night in a bothie. But that at least was a midge free zone. I have walked with two mates, Andy and Bob, from Fionnphort on the western tip of the island…
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I Nam Ban Boidhehch
Island of the beautiful women, or Iona as it is more commonly called.
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The final straw …
Finally Roseberry Topping appeared after a week with its head in the clouds. But I climbed up there this morning to find the summit crags defaced by a giant Vote Leave banner. I am incandescent. I do not want to see my beloved Roseberry turned into a political billboard. What irks me more is that it carries a…
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Rhododendron ponticum
It is generally accepted that Rhododendrons are native to the shores around the Black Sea and were introduced to Britain in the mid 18th century for its a blaze of colour during early summer but the shrub was actually part of the British flora before the last ice year. In my posting a few days ago about…
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Mystery wall
Deep in the heart of Hutton Lowcross Wood, below the Hanging Stone, this wall of dressed sandstone is a bit of a mystery. It forms a small recess and seems to be on the same level as the old jet workings but these don’t usually have stonework associated with them being just small scale drifts into the…
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High Bride Stones
Fascinating sandstone columns and rock outcrops eroded over the millennia by wind and rain. Deep wooded valleys or ‘griffs’ cut into the moor, which is a National Trust property a few miles south of Whitby. In the photo is Dovedale Griff. Unlike many heather moors Bridestones is not managed solely for the grouse so is much richer in wildlife.…
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Oak Leaves
I was watching Springwatch last night and I’m sure I heard Chris P say that there are between 750,000 and 1,000,000 leaves on an oak tree. Mental calculations whilst walking in Cliff Ridge Wood tonight justified that figure. Ten leaves on a spring, ten sprigs on a branch the thickness of a pencil, ten branches the thickness…