• Caldbeck Fells

    Caldbeck Fells

    Bright glorious sunshine this morning and then the sun disappeared, never seen again. Winds and rain soon followed.

  • Askham Church

    Askham Church

    A glorious sunny frosty morning. Setting off to explore the Lowther valley, sandwiched between the Lake District proper and the M6. Limestone country. Askham church dates from the mid 19th century but is on the site of a church of the 11th. That church was dedicated to St. Kentigern, a name I never heard of…

  • The Banana Tree

    The Banana Tree

    My first camera was a simple Kodak but sometime in my teens I was given, for a Xmas present, a SLR (single lens reflex) camera made by the German manufacturer Praktica. Colour film was far too expensive so I tinkered around with developing my own monochrome film in the bathroom. I experimented with filters of various shades but my favourite…

  • Scugdale

    Scugdale

    A difficult ascent of the ‘green lane’ between Scugdale and Raisdale hindered a large party of off road motor cyclists coming down. Not aggressive but nevertheless very intimidating. I did take some pictures of the bikers but eventually settled on a nice rainbow to post. instead. Several years ago there was talk of the National Park closing the lane…

  • Hutton Hall

    Hutton Hall

    Only appreciated in its wooded grounds from this height on Kemplah  Bank. Sir Joseph Whitwell Pease, Bart, M.P., had Hutton Hall built as his country pile in 1866 which even included its own private railway station on the North Eastern Railway at Hutton Gate. The Pease money came from the railways, coal and iron, built…

  • Arthur's Pike

    Arthur's Pike

    Above Whinny Crag, above the elbow in Ulf’s lake where the whole of its nine mile length can be seen. In the ’60s Ullswater almost became a reservoir, following in the fate of Thirlemere and Haweswater but a passionate speech by Lord Birket, persuaded the House of Lords to defeat the proposal.

  • Mostly Herdwicks

    Mostly Herdwicks

    Sandwick: sorting the sheep probably for tupping. Mostly Herdwicks with their unique genome that no other bred has. The red smit mark along with the ear clipping identifies the flock, passed down the generations from shepherd to shepherd.

  • Martindale Red deer

    Martindale Red deer

    Too tired to move but alert and watching us closely. Up all night and day rutting and keeping rivals at bay. Bellows echoing around the fells.

  • Pooley Bridge

    Pooley Bridge

    In the Lakes for a few days. Last of the afternoon sun. Looking down Elder Beck towards Ullswater and Pooley Bridge. The wooded hill in Dunmallard with its ancient settlement. 

  • Skelton Park Pit

    Skelton Park Pit

    Very little remains of Cleveland ironstone mines. It was second only to coal as the UK’s biggest extractive industry. Ironstone had been mined in the Cleveland Hills since the 12th Century when primitive furnaces called bloomeries were used to melt the iron out of stone gained from rock outcrops along the dale sides. But it…

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