Weather Window

Last week we took a couple of nights away, in the Lake District. It’s hard to believe looking at the weather today.

We’ve got the campervan geared up for cold weather, it has a very effective diesel heater and we’d chosen a site with a hook up for power. The Quiet Site,  was perfect for our needs, one of those neatly run sites that keeps everything running smoothly with out being too officious about it and a very toasty shower block was always going to win me over. 

Another bonus was that the site bar was open, being ‘out of season’ we weren’t expecting that . Winter campervanning can be snug and cosy, but it does get a bit tomb like, so a nice beer in front of a roaring fire, just a few yards from the van was as welcome as it was sociable.

Mr Uphilldowndale entertained himself with a bike ride up The Struggle and over Kirkstone Pass the highest major road in the Lake district,  I mooched  around with the camera; we were equally content.

Ullswater

We both took a stroll by lake Windermere,  having visited the wonderful Blackwell House,  I’ll post about it.

Windermere

Did you know  that lake Windermere had not one but two very early airfields?

The The start of seaplane flying in Britain can be traced to Lake Windermere, where H. Stanley Adams first became airborne in the Lakes Waterbird floatplane on 25 November 1911.

One man and his dog, Windermere

Advertisements

Unidentified Emotions

As a friend put it on Friday, in the wake of the EU referendum results ‘I’m experiencing emotions I can’t name, I certainly haven’t felt them before’.

Politics isn’t something I’d normally mention here, but the referendum and  decision  for the UK to leave the EU is to big to walk on by.  I’m gutted. Horrified. Sad and bitterly disappointed for my boys. A few of those unidentifiable emotions my friend mentioned are swilling around in the mix too.

A conversation I overheard, seemed to me, to capture the fact that many folk hadn’t got a handle on the chain of events voting ‘leave’ would set in motion.

First women. ‘My son says Nando’s are leaving the UK because of Brexit’

Second women. ‘Oh my god, you’d think it was the end of the world, all we did was put a cross in a box on a bit of paper!’

I wasn’t sure if to laugh or cry, so I  just stood in front of the newspaper stand in crushing bewilderment.

Mr Uphilldowndale and I were set to go to Loweswater, in Cumbria on Friday, in preparation  for Daz’s Memorial  fell race.  We didn’t like going and leaving Joe home alone, he’d been up all night watching the results come in and was as down as we were; but Spud the dog stayed at home to keep him company, as ironically Tom is away, in Europe, working (we cast a proxy vote on his behalf).

 

We stopped by at Dodds Wood and climbed up to the viewing point to see the osprey’s  this  and a walk in the woods did us good and soothed our souls a little.

The next day I had chance to contemplate the hills and some of the many emotional events of the last few weeks, and some of those emotions spilt out. The sheep was my confidante .

What more can I say.

Thirty days wild. June 15th

The best thing that you can do for nature is too make it part of your life. That’s why we’re asking thousands of people to make room for nature in their everyday lives this June. Please spread the word amongst friends, colleagues and family and get them to sign up, too! After all, all our lives are better if they’re a bit wild… ‘

I’ve signed up to 30 Days Wild with the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust,  with the aim of blogging each day, a little bit of the nature of my world.

 

When the weather doesn’t know if its blowing hot or cold, I suppose half a fleece is better than none.

Thirty days wild. June 14th

 

The best thing that you can do for nature is too make it part of your life. That’s why we’re asking thousands of people to make room for nature in their everyday lives this June. Please spread the word amongst friends, colleagues and family and get them to sign up, too! After all, all our lives are better if they’re a bit wild… ‘

I’ve signed up to 30 Days Wild with the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust,  with the aim of blogging each day, a little bit of the nature of my world.

 

Daz’s delightful little nice made a posy of wild flowers with her Nanna, a simple pleasure.

Thirty days wild. 12th June

 

The best thing that you can do for nature is too make it part of your life. That’s why we’re asking thousands of people to make room for nature in their everyday lives this June. Please spread the word amongst friends, colleagues and family and get them to sign up, too! After all, all our lives are better if they’re a bit wild… ‘

I’ve signed up to 30 Days Wild with the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust,  with the aim of blogging each day, a little bit of the nature of my world.

 

I’ve got some catching up to do.  We’ve been away, to the Lake District, what we didn’t know when we booked, back in March, the reason the choice of accommodation was limited was the fact that  ten thousand swimmers were also going to be in Ambleside this weekend, for The Great North Swim, so much for a quiet weekend away.

It seems fitting therefore to have a fishy  wildlife observation.

Can you see it?

Once you had ‘got your eye in’ there many to be seen, trout I presume (I know its not a stickleback!)  I’ve cropped and tweaked the colours here, to help,

there is something so sparklingly fresh and healthy about these fish.There were lots of too, in Stock Beck, by Bridge House

A Reflective Walk

I’m not doing very well at posting, after my promise. Not to worry, I’ll get there, it may take a wee while to find my  blogging mojo. I’ve all sorts of adventures stacking up ready, just waiting.

I mentioned whilst the fell race was on, I took a stroll along the shores of Loweswater, en route I stopped to watch the fish, suspended in pools of sunshine, seemingly motionless in the flowing water, it is easier to see the shadow than the fish itself.

I admired a handsome doocot*

 

And look, a fine drystone wall and gateway, becomes something quite magical, by the addition of an over arching span of  Cumbrian slate.

I listened to the cows, with their methodical munching and tearing of sward, they may get bad press from time to time, and deservedly so, but I’ve an affection for them.

In the wood, foxgloves  swayed and cow parsley effervesced in the scattered sunlight.

At the waters edge, I found a swing.

I had a go at finding my inner child, but concluded that the child needed to concentrate on having a good time. Play on the swing, or take photographs, it isn’t wise to try and combine the two. I have the bruises to prove it. 

*it is 23 years since I lived in Scotland, but some words stay with me in  the Scots dialect, swithering, dreek, and poly-poke are a few of my favourites.

Darren Holloway Memorial Race 2014

Yesterday Mr  Uphilldowndale (Mr Uhdd) and I were up in the Lake District, at  Loweswater for the Darren Holloway memorial  fell race, run in memory of our friend, Darren,  ‘Daz H’. There are handsome trophies for the first male and first female runner.

 

‘Dig in’ is just the sort of encouragement Daz would have shouted to others on to be the best they can. We’ve mentioned before how much Daz encouraged all in their running.

Race HQ was at Loweswater village hall

 

( I think the robin had heard about the wonderful cakes).

 

Darren’s wife Amanda, with two  members of his Ilkeston Running club, Darren’s ‘home’ club, Darren, also ran with Pennine Fell Runners club.

 

It was of course an emotional day, but the was much laughter, Darren’s aunt and mum with the trophies

Whilst Mr Uhdd was out on the the hill marshalling part of the race,

I took the camera for a  contemplative walk.

We were able to round the day off by visiting my friend and former colleague in her new home, just a few miles away, she and and her family had only moved in the day before (and all their worldly goods had yet to arrive) so we really did ‘first foot’ them. We didn’t have coal, but we did take cake.