A Week in the Lakes, October 2016.

 At the end of October, Heather and I were lucky enough to be able to enjoy a week up in The Lakes staying in our caravan, which we keep on the Windermere Camping and Caravanning Club Site.  On the way up we arranged to meet Thomas at Malham for a walk around Goredale Scar and Malham Cove.  What magnificent scenery this is, created by the action of acidic rainwater dissolving the soft limestone rock to form gorges, limestone pavement and the amazing Malham Cove itself, once a huge waterfall and now home to peregrine falcons and rock climbers who appear minute against the vastness of the cliff itself.

The next day Thomas was at work and Heather and I enjoyed a lazy day settling into the caravan and wandering across the fields to the hamlet of Ashes and indulging in photography of some of the wonderfully stunted trees growing out the limestone rock.  I saw my first mixed flock of winter thrushes of the year comprising redwings and the larger fieldfares.  These handsome birds spend the summer breeding in Scandinavia and northern Continental Europe and when colder weather arrives they migrate to spend the winter in Britain where conditions are easier and food easier to find.

Suitably rested, Monday saw us busy with a much more active day.  First thing we picked Thomas up in Ambleside and drove to the Grizedale Visitor centre to take in the excellent Environmental Photographer of the Year exhibition.  We had close views of nuthatch here, reminding me that it will soon be time to set up the winter feeding station to photograph these superb birds again.

After dropping Thomas off back in Ambleside (lectures called), Heather and I headed north over Dunmail Raise, newly repaired, following last winter's extensive flood damage, to walk up Cat Bells above Derwentwater and Keswick.  Autumn colours here were fabulous and, as we walked up through the woods, we were delighted to be able to watch a red squirrel.  As we climbed higher the views became increasingly extensive and we enjoyed the antics of ravens cronking and tumbling in the sky above the fellside.  The walk over, we repaired to the Theatre by the Lake to meet up with friends Nigel and Jackie for a meal and a performance of Sheridan's The Rivals to celebrate our wedding anniversary.  The large dog fox running along the midnight road on Dunmail Raise, completed a perfect day.

On Tuesday we decided to walk over Whitbarrow Scar where we had been last April.  It is one of our favourite places and the karst scenery of the limestone pavement on top of the fell has an other worldly air to it.  Again Autumn colours were spectacular and Nigel and I enjoyed examining the hazel coppicing in the woods on the way up.  There were still flowers clinging on up here: harebell and knapweed being particularly noticeable.  Our campsite is in a dark sky area and is excellent for 'star gazing' and we exulted in the myriad stars over head with the milky way arching over the sky.  Amazing.

Thomas and I had arranged a day Wainwright Walking on the Wednesday - I have challenged myself to walk all of the 'Wainwright's while he is at university, but I am well behind schedule. Thomas must arrange his days off lectures on days of better weather, however.  Although we completed the walk and added 3 more Wainwrights to my score, it was an exercise in extreme navigation with visibility down to about 10 metres.

On our final day we indulged ourselves in a walk we had long promised ourselves.  We wandered along Ashes Lane and then over the fields to Stavely for lunch at the excellent Eagle and Child.  After lunch  We followed the Dales Way along the River Kent until it was time to climb up out of the valley to make our way back to the caravan.  Dipper and a male goosander delighted us as we walked by the river.

Viking Way, Stage 9: Wellingore to Honington

After shuffling the cars around so that we had one at each end of our walk, Dorothy, Steve, Heather and myself parked up outside the limestone church at Wellingore ready to begin our assault on the 9th leg of our campaign to walk the Viking Way.

Today's rout was to take us across the Lincoln Heath, mostly along the old Roman Road of Ermine Street and then down to the plain of the River Witham at Honington.  Today the Lincoln Heath is neat farmland, but as recently as the mid 18th century it was still true heathland; inhospitable and dangerous.So much so that the Dunstan Pillar was built as a land lighthouse to guide travellers across this dangerous plateau.  In fact, John Byng, 5th Viscount Torrington, one of the most notable diarists and travellers in the 18th Century and well-known for his horseback travels through England writes about it in his Torrington's Tours of Lincolnshire.

Ermine Street was the major Roman Highway between London and York and runs in a dead straight line across the heath.  As this was to be the route of the first part of our day I wondered how much interest there would be in it, assuming we weren't to find the lost standard of the 9th!!!  I needn't have worried, however, as, although straight, this excellent wide green lane undulated and made its way round woods and plantations and gave plenty of variety.  I enjoyed examining the defences of the old RAF Wellingore airfield and the warm yellow limestone walls lining the route were a treat.  We were beginning to see the first signs of Autumn now, as well, with rosehips a plenty and leaves changing colour.  Nearby is the well-preserved Knights Templar preceptory of Temple Bruer.  The Knights Templar were formed in the 12th century to protect pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land.  Their order eventually spread throughout Europe becoming immensely wealthy and powerful.

Just before we left Ermine Street we passed Byard's Leap, the site of an old Lincolnshire legend involving a local knight who set out on his faithful horse Byard to rid the area of a local with, Old Meg'.  Meg is said to have sunk her nails into Byard who leapt three great paces forward before the witch was finally dispatched.  Horseshoes still mark the site of this supposed event.

Beyond Byard's leap our route took us west down the escarpment of the Lincoln Edge and into the village of Carlton Scroop, before continuing by field paths and lanes to the beginning of the green lane of Frinkley Lane near Honington where we had left the second car.  As we neared the end of today's journey the hedges were heavy with huge blackberries, what a pity we had nothing to put them in.

Yet another excellent day.

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