Labyrinth

 Another perfect day of cloudless skies. By late morning we were driving through Keswick and on into Borrowdale, climbing up the steep singletrack road to Asness Bridge with it's stunning views over Derwentwater and Skiddaw. I hadn't been up there for many years and had never photographed it so, despite the view being hackneyed and cliched, I did just that. We then drove on to Surprise View for another vista over Derwentwater. After a sandwich looking out over the lake we continued up to Watendlath for a cup of tea in the tea shop and a wander around the tarn looking for the campsite where my brother and myself, along with a couple of hundred more runners camped overnight on the Saunders Mountain Marathon. Happy days.

The return drive was just as hairy as the way up but we arrived in the car park in Keswick safely. We had time to have a quick look around the town before we had to return to the theatre. We had booked a pre-theatre meal in the restaurant which was excellent, before taking our seats in the theatre for Kate Mosse's one woman show to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the publication of her novel Labyrinth. We both really enjoyed the show, she is a consumate story teller. As Kate said at the beginning, there were no spoilers for anybody who hadn't read the book which is an archaeological mystery novel written by Kate Mosse set both in the Middle Ages and present-day France. It divides into two main storylines that follow two protagonists, Alaïs (from the year 1209) and Alice (in the year 2005). The two stories occur in a shared geography and intertwine. The novel relies heavily on historical events such as the massacre at Beziers and the Crusade against the Cathars in Occitania, now the South of France, from around 1200. The text itself features many Occitan and French quotes. Ultimately the story becomes a quest for the Holy Grail. Kate, instead, sets the scene for the book by telling the historical story of the region, the Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade. There were only tantalising glimpses of the characters in the book. I love the way she feels that the land holds a memory of those who have lived there in the past and how they speak to her, part of my theory ducing my major body of work for my photography degree.

Ashness Bridge

Ashness Bridge

Ashness Bridge

Derwentwater from Surprise View

Derwentwater from Surprise View

Watendlath

Watendlath

Watendlath

Watendlath

Watendlath

Watendlath

Watendlath

Lake District September 2018. Day 4.

We awoke to a wet morning today after a night of rain.  It is noticeable how much greener it is over here than at home where we are in the rain shadow of both the Pennines and then the Lincolnshire Wolds.  After the rain we found rivers in spate yet reservoirs such as Thirlmere and Haweswater are still empty.
Eventually the rain eased and we set out for Borrowdale with those magnificent bath buns in our bags for lunch.  Again, as we drove up Borrowdale, We noticed the first signs of approaching Autumn. When we arrived at Stonethwaite I was surprised to find how quiet it was and how easy to park despite it being Sunday.  Keswick and Borrowdale were particularly busy.  Our plan for today was to walk up to the Langstrath Birch, the fifth of our Long View trees inspired by the work of Rob and Harriet Fraser.
Passing through the attractive village of Stonethwaite and it's even more attractive pub, we were soon making our way through the flat fields of the valley bottom.  Once through Stonethwaite campsite we arrived at the junction of Lagstrath Beck and Greenup Gill where the two become Stonethwaite Beck.  As the river poured out of Langstrath it thundered through a spectacular gorge looking and sounding mightily impressive being in spate as it was.  Thomas and I indulged in a spot of nostalgia at this juncture remembering being here on mountain bikes 10 years ago when we're were riding Wainwright's Coast to Coast.  We laughed at the memory of climbing Lining Crag at the valley head with bikes on our shoulders and the bemused looks on the faces of two fell runners as we pulled up onto Greenup Edge.  That was a hard day.  I remember then looking up Langstrath and thinking how attractive it looked.  I had also looked down into Langstrath from above on many occasions but had never walked in it, so it was with anticipation as we headed upwards accompanied by the roar of the river to our left.  As we climbed it was good to see the herdwick sheep (herdies) on the open fellside as well as in the intake fields below.
Soon the valley widened and flattened and the river began to meander.  At the head of the valley white water could be seen tumbling down the slopes of Stake Pass with the brooding heights of Bowfell enveloped in cloud further west.  Checking our position on Viewranger,  We soon found 'our' tree at the top of a spectacular cascade of white water.  We spent a happy hour with the tree revelling in the changing light, drawing and photographing it.  All too soon it was time to head back down into the valley delighting in the excellent view we had of a red squirrel as it ran along the top of a fence it's ginger blonde tail stretched out behind it for balance.
We finished a fine day with an excellent pint in the village pub.