Lake District, October/November. Day 8. Langdale.

The drive into the mountains went well this morning with no crowds.  As we made our way down the Langdale valley The Pikes became more and more prominent Ashes neared the head of the valley.  They looked magnificent in the autumn sun with the broken glowing gold. Bowfell and the Crinkles, though, were under cloud and looked dramatically threatening.   We were quickly parked and boots donned and on our way.  As we climbed up the far side of the valley the views of the big mountains became more and more majestic.  Walking back to Stickle Barn along the old road was flat and easy going but I was still ready for a warm seat by the fire in bar and the pint of Ghyll Gold went down a dream.  Only 3.7% so virtually non-alcoholic!!.

Stopping only for a quick shop in Booths in Windermere we were soon back at the site with a brew on.  Another cracking day.

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Lake District, October/November. Day 7, Birding and F&C.

The sky was studded with stars when I made my usual 5.00 am visit to the facilties this morning.  Orion, the Plough and Cassiopia stood out like beacons but the best was the thin sliver of crescent moon with the shape of the whole clear and the far side outlined in a halo of light.  It was a magical sight and augured well for our day at Leighton Moss.

The weather turned out to be beautiful all day.  Our first day of perfect Autumn weather.  We rolled into the carpark at Leighton Moss having sensibly used the sat nav to find our way.  I have lost track of the number of times we have got lost in the lanes between here, Arnside and the A6! We began our day by visiting the feeding station and then Lillian,s hide.  The hoped for siskins didn't put in an appearance but I was delighted to see both nuthatch and marsh tit.  In the hide the water levels were very high with little room for waders.  There were a few blackwits on the remaining available space but not the large numbers I had hoped for.  The ducks have now more or less finished their moult and looking smart again, though.

Lunch in the centre was a very welcome tomato and basil soup and then we drove over to the Eric Morecambe and Tim Allen hides over looking Morecambe Bay.  While Heather walked over to Jenny Brown Point and Silverdale, I enjoyed another birding session.  Again the water levels were very high, a change since my last visit a month previously when one of the pools was bone dry.  Being full, though, the water was too deep to attract waders so things were quiet.  It was a pleasure though, just to relax and enjoy time with nature.

I was able to watch Heather returning across the marsh and so walked back to the car to join her.  It didn't take us long to drive to Thomas's and while we waited for him to get home from work we walked up to Willamson Park to photograph the Ashton Monument which is currently lit with coloured light.  Red tonight, but a different colour each night.  Cup of tea time when 'The Boy' returned from work and then excellent fish and chips from his local chippie.  A good day.

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Lake District, October/November. Day 6, Lunch Out

Heavy rain all night again last night but it eventually stopped and we launched off to visit Anna and Gordon near Cartmell and then on to Condor Green near Lancaster to meet Linda and Steve for lunch at The Mill at Thurnham on the side of a branch of the Lancaster Canal.  I was amazed at how flooded the fields were in the Lythe Valley and Foulshaw Moss area.  The land is absolutely sodden.  Driving from Galgate down to Condor Green, the lane was flooded in places.  We enjoyed an excellent lunch at The Mill and managed to while away most of the afternoon catching up with Linda and Steve which was really good.  When we eventually went our separate ways we had a quick birdwatch on the flashes on the way to Glasson Dock.  It was quiet with only mallard, teal and wigeon present.  On the saltmarsh the call of curlew echoed over the marsh and there were redshank, oystercatcher and egret.  Our journey home was quicker as the accident on the M6 had been cleared.  During the evening the sky cleared and became full of stars.

Lake District, October/November. Day 5. Kent Kavorting.

The light was beautiful as we made our way down the green lane to Bowston Bridge on the river Kent.  The morning had been wet yet again but cleared just long enough to fit a 5 mile walk in along the river and back and to give some dramatic lighting.  We crossed the river at Bowson Bridge and walked along the river to Beckmickle Ing bridge from where we reversed the route on the other side of the river. Sadly the rain started again at Bowston Bridge and we had had to make our way back up the hill to Ashes Lane in the wet.  Still, beer o'clock now!

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