Wharfdale, November. Day 2

The sun sparkled on the early morning frost when we first woke but it quiccly clouded over to give a day of hill fog with patches of dramatic lighting and superb Autumn colours.  After climbing outside a full English we set off along the river to the delightfully named Yockenthwaite.  The riverside walk was fabulous with loads to photograph and we had excellent views of dipper and Nuthatch amongst other birds.  We were fascinated to watch a flock of sheep  being herded and penned in order to be tended to in some way.  When asked what type of sheep they were the pithy reply came back "awkward!" as one nimbly jumped over the wall.  They were, it turned out, Swaledales.  From here we climbed steeply up the fell side to reverse our route along the top edge of the woodland.  It was managed by the National Trust and much was ash with hawthorn.  In the heavily fruiting hawthorns large flocks of redwings and fieldfares were feasting on the berries.  The views from this elevation were super  and we sat and had mince pie and apple for lunch high above the valley of the Wharfe as it turned south to flow towards Kettlewell and beyond.  As we enjoyed the view we were delighted when a stoat popped out and briefly entertained us.  As always I had the wrong lens.  Our path gradually descended, crossing Crook Gill to the Hamlet of Cray.  Here our route  followed Cray Gill to the road leaving us half a mile to The George where an excellent pint of Black Dub in front of the wood stove was followed by a cup of tea and snooze.  I am looking forward now to another pint (or several!) and pie and chips.

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Wharfdale, November. Day 1.

Farfield Mill was, unusually,  open when we arrived.  Unusually,  because it is closed on Monday and Tuesday,  days that we have a habit of choosing to call in.  Packing and loading the care and preparing the caravan for winter had gone smoothly this morning. On arrival, our first port of call was the tea shop for warming leek and potato soup.

Farfield Mill was built in 1837 and operated as a textile mill until 1992. In 1993 Sedbergh and District Building Preservation Trust was set up to ensure its conservation. In 2001 it reopened as Farfield Arts and Heritage Centre. It is now home to a heritage centre and galleries.  Several artists and makers, especially weavers, have studios and galleries here.  We easily while away an afternoon here enjoying the work on display and chatting with artists and makers.  Farfield Mill

Eventually we continued onto Hawes and then made our way over the high moors and down into beautiful upper Wharfedale to our base for next two days: The George at Hubberholme.  We had stayed here for two new years running in 1986 and 1987 so look forward to renewing our acquaintance.  They have an admirable selection of real ales which I am about to sample and they even still have barnsley chops on the menu!!

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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.