Walk – Page 16 – Neil Baldwin's blog : Warning contains walking, technology, photography, holidays.

Beaten by the Stiffkey potatoes

We’re off to Stiffkey for the weekend and apparently if you are in the know you pronounce it stew’key. Stiffkey is a long village on the north Norfolk coast between Wells-next-to-sea and Blakeney. We had popped over to my parents about half way there on Thursday night, and were up early so we could leave before the cleaners got there. We hit the road at 08:50 headed though Peterborough and on past Kings Lynn and stopped of at Fat Birds cycling shop at Hunstanton to see if we could Helen some cycling waterproofs for her commute to work.

We didn’t find the perfect water proofs but got some ideas, but Helen did come away with some new cycling gloves. We then headed off up the coast road to our first port of call Titchwell Marsh RSPB reserve, where we would be getting our first go in their newly opened Parrinder Hide. The RSPB have decided that they can’t win the battle with global warming and sea rising so have built a new sea wall a bit further in land than the existing one and they have build a brand new hide on top. They will let the sea breach the existing one but preserve the habitats for marsh birds slight further inland. Despite being the peak of the holiday season the reserve was not too busy, there was no queue for a coffee.

After a welcome coffee we headed out on the footpath to the beach where we sat on the collapsed pill box that is visible when the tide is out. It was very windy and sand got into everything. I left my new GoPro Hero2 taking some time lapse pictures for 10 minutes at one picture per two seconds, should result in a 10 to 20 second video. We headed back up the path and stopped off at the new Parrinder hide, which I must say is excellent, it has the same big glass windows that they have at Island mere at Minsmere RSPB, you can wind the bottom part down and pull the top part up giving you a great open air view, which was handy for another time lapse session.

We stopped off at the other hide for a quick look and another set of pictures, then headed back to the cafe for some lunch. The highlights included 15 Spoonbill, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Grey, Golden and Ringed Plover, Ruff and Avocet. At the cafe I had a Stilton and mushroom hot baguette and Helen had the largest beans and baked potato I have ever seen served at an RSPB establishment, there was at least a tin of beans with the rugby ball of a potato. It turned out to be too much for Helen, and some was left.

We then headed on up the coast road and stopped at Burnham Deepdale for some retail therapy. Thee is a new shop that sells all sorts of wildlife gear including Microscopes, tempting as it was I passed up the opportunity to walk out with a stereoscopic one. Helen was tempted by some bags and managed to purchase some much needed greeting cards, I think our stocks must be getting a bit low!

Then it was back in the car for a short drive to The Red Lion in Stiffkey. We had a swift half (Woodforde’s Wherry and IPA Gold) at the bar then unpacked car freshened up. The beer was good the menu looked good, and the rooms were well appointed, clean and smart. We headed out up the main road then took a left up a footpath towards the sea. After about half a mile we came across some farm building and a band of trees which for a drop down to the marsh. We took a left and then a right hoping to get down to the sand beyond the marsh. It was very muddy all around but the footpath was pretty dry and solid. At the beach we sat and looked at the distant seals on Blakeney Point and the birds out on the beach, there were quite a few calls from Curlews.

Back at the pub I had a shower and then headed down to the bar for something to eat, but not before leaving all the gadgets on charge for the next day, we only bought two chargers with us so some juggling would be required. To eat I had salmon on crushed garlic potatoes and spinach, and Helen had a goats cheese salad with some chips. Mine was really nice and Helen was once again defeated by potatoes. We had couple of pints and then retired to bed we had really enjoyed our first day in North Norfolk.

I rode the dangleway and joined the Navy

Today I am off to London to do a couple of things, a trip on the Dangleway which opened in June, and hopefully a look around a Royal Navy boat which has been moored up near Greenwich since Friday. The boat is part of the Olympic build up, it will be used by helicopters. I found out about the boat from the Ian visits web site which is always worth a look of you are planning a trip to London and want something to do whilst there.

I anticipated that the boat tour would be popular so o got the 08:39 train from Berkhamsted, then the southbound northern line to Bank, make sure you get the right platform, then the docklands light railway to Greenwich.

The queue for the Tour round HMS Ocean was about 400m long but I decided it was worth the wait, as the ropes were only available for the one day, and I had arrived early enough at 10:05.

Whilst waiting I checked out Wikipedia to find out a bit more about HMS Ocean, HMS Ocean of the Royal Navy is an amphibious assault ship (or landing platform helicopter) and is the sole member of her class. She is designed to support amphibious landing operations and to support the staff of Commander UK Amphibious Force and Commander UK Landing Force.

She was constructed in the mid 1990s by Kvaerner Govan Ltd on the Clyde and fitted out by VSEL at Barrow-in-Furness prior to first of class trials and subsequent acceptance in service. She was commissioned in September 1998 at her home port HMNB Devonport, Plymouth.

The queue went through a couple of tents the first was filled with chairs and was showing a Royal Navy promotional film, however no one day down they just stayed in the queue we didn’t want to join the navy we all wanted to have a look round the big boat!

I reached the front of the queue a surprising 30 minutes later, and it soon became clear why, the 2 boats ferrying us to the vessel were quite big. We looped round the back of the vessel before pulling along side so we could disembark. Once on board we were ushered up a stairway and into a large area within the heart of the boat, there were demonstrations going on you could, put on an army pack, or learn about reasons and guns. Took the opportunity to climb up the ramp to get some pictures of the helicopters on the deck, then went back in to follow the Tour round the rest of the boat. We were told all about the landing craft that they had strung up on the side then we ended up in an even bigger hangar arts on the bowels of the vessel, where there were more demonstrations and helicopters. I took as many pictures as I could buy the light was very poor.

Then it was time to get back on the little boat and go back to the Greenwich quayside, where I took a few pictures of the Cutty Sark, before heading off along the Thames path towards the dome. The path is a bit in a state of disrepair and in one place I even saw someone lose a show in the mud, o think the whole thing needs some money thrown at it to bring it up to the standard of the path on the other side of the river. Once at the Dome I stopped off to have some lunch, a humous sandwich which because it was a cafe rouge came with French fries, and welcome it was too. Next stop was the dangleway.

You might be wondering what I am talking about well it seems that the Dangleway is what people have started to call the Emirates Air Line, which is a cable car which goes over the Thames.

Emirates Air Line (also known as the Thames Cable Car) is a Transport for London (TfL) gondola lift cable car link across the River Thames in London built with sponsorship from the air carrier Emirates. The service opened on the 28 June 2012.

On 4 July 2010, TfL announced plans to develop a cable car crossing over the River Thames. It is the first urban cable car in the United Kingdom. Designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, it crosses the river at a height up to 90 metres (300 ft), higher than that of the Millennium Dome. The cable car provides a crossing every 15 seconds carrying up to 2,500 passengers per hour in each direction, equivalent to the capacity of 50 buses. The cable car can also convey bicycles and passengers are able to use Oyster Cards to pay for their journeys.

A planning application was submitted to the London Borough of Newham in October 2010 for the “erection of a cable car for the length of 1,100 metres [3,600 ft] over the River Thames from North Woolwich Peninsula to Royal Victoria Dock at a minimum clearance of 54.1 metres [177 ft] above mean high water springs”. The application listed the structures planned for the service on the north side of the Thames as an 87-metre (285 ft) north main tower at Clyde Wharf, a 66-metre (217 ft) north intermediate tower south of the Docklands Light Railway tracks roughly mid-way between Canning Town and West Silvertown stations, a two-storey gondola station and “boat impact protection” in Royal Victoria Dock. South of the river there is a 60-metre (200 ft) main support tower and a boarding station within the O2 Arena car park.

When the project was announced, TfL initially budgeted that it would cost £25 million and announced this would be entirely funded by private finance. This figure was revised to £45 million, and by September 2011 the budget had more than doubled to £60 million, reportedly because TfL had not taken account of the costs of legal advice, project management, land acquisition and other costs. TfL planned to make up the shortfall by paying for the project out of the London Rail budget, applying for funding from the European Regional Development Fund and seeking commercial sponsorship.

In January 2011, News International were planning to sponsor the project but subsequently withdrew its offer. In October 2011, it was announced that the Dubai-based airline Emirates would provide £36 million in a 10-year sponsorship deal which included branding of the cable car service with the airline’s name.

The Dangleway, Emirates Air Line London Greenwich end

Construction began in August 2011 with Mace as the lead contractor.[13] Mace built the cable car for £45 million and will operate it for the first three years for a further £5.5 million. TfL stated that the initial construction funding and Emirates sponsorship will cover £36 million of the cost; the rest will be funded from fares. The cable car will be the most expensive cable system ever built.

In May 2012, TfL said that the cable car would be ready for people to use by summer 2012, and that while there were originally no plans to have it open before the 2012 Olympics, there would be plans in place in case it was opened in time. The public opening took place at 12:00 BST on 28 June 2012. TfL reports that the total cost of the project was about £60 million of which £45 million went towards construction. TfL estimates that the service can carry 2,500 people per hour.

The queues were long and there was some confusion, first you needed to join a younger queue of which there were two, one for humans and one for the ticket machines, I did not realize at first and ended up in the human queue but soon transferred to the ticket machines queue when it became obvious it was shorter and quicker. In all it took me about 45 minute to get a ticket, then I was able to join the boarding queue!

The Dangleway, Emirates Air Line London in flight

Once there it was all over in a flash, we were ushered up the stairs and into a pod then at 8.6 miles per hour we were up and over the river and disembarked on the other side. The journey is really smooth apart from when you go over a pylon, and the view is great liking down on the Dome.

Next it was back on the docklands light railway to head back home. I quite enjoy the DLR as most of it is over ground, do you get to see where you are going a bit like when you take the bus in London. Anyway the journey home went well all train waits were about a minute or two and then when I got to Euston the next train was in five minutes so I was was back to see the end of the days stage of Le Tour.

Two Tree Island

Foreshore inspectors office, Shoeburyness

We had a free Saturday so we decided we should take a trip to Southend-on-sea to visit a a dear old auntie who is in a nursing home. We went to see a film called “Playing the Moldovans and Tennis” by Tony Hawks on Friday, which I can thoroughly recommend. It was at The Rex in Berkhamsted and the second showing in the country and Tony Hawks was there to after for a Q&A session with Anatol Durbală one of the stars of the film.

We were up in good time and left the house just after 09:00 the route there was round the M25 then down the Arterial road to Leigh on sea, there are a few pubs in the Arterial Road that feature in those films about East Enders trips to the seaside at Southend-on-sea. There journey was pretty good with no traffic hold ups.

After spending some time at the nursing home, we headed to Southend-on-sea centre and beyond to the beach huts at Shoeburyness, a place I remember from my childhood. We had a coffee in Uncle Toms Cabin, then headed to the beach to get some panorama shots of the beach huts. If you look in the menu at the top of this page yo can see the panoramas, uner Essex Panoramas, or click here.

Next stop in the itinerary was Two Tree Island, back at Leigh on sea, which is an Essex Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve. As we drove back to the Southend sea front we realised that it was carnival day, they were starting to close the roads, and the public address system was blaring out details of what was happening and when. Luckily we got past the front before they completely closed the road.

We found Two Tree Island which your can get to by taking the road next to Leigh on sea railway station that leads to the station car park, but carry on past, all the car parks, the skateboard park, and over the bridge, until you can go no further. The last car park seems to be the only one that is not pay and display.

It was warm and sunny cloudy, but very windy so there were not may small birds about. We walked west in the direction of Hadleigh, where the mountain bike Olympic events are going to be taking place. We could see the track and grandstands, next to the castle with the help of our binoculars. Towards the west end of the island we cam across a hide which was a pleasant surprise. There was not much to see from the hide, mainly Black headed bulls, a few Oystercatchers, and a Cormorant was about as much as we could spot.

We moved on a bit disappointed with the lack of bird varieties, with the intention of finishing the circuit of the island. About another few hundred yards was another hide. which we popped into. There were a lot more in terms of numbers but they all seemed to Black-headed gulls, most of them in breeding pairs. On closer inspection there were Oystercatchers, Terns nesting, and a few Avocet. Then I spotted a Mediterranean Gull, which we were able to observe and compare to the BH Gulls. They are clearly different when you have the chance to look closely. The black hood is bigger, more balaclava than beany, and the beak is much brighter red. In all we counted 6 (possibly 7) of them. It goes to show you should never write a hide off before you have taken the time to observe.

In the hide was a sign about a man who had been convicted of robbing Avocet nests of their eggs, he had been jailed for a year, and banned from bird reserves for 10 years, which is justice. There was also a note about there being lots of Adders about, we made a point of looking out for them on the walk back but were not lucky enough to see any.

We saw a few Warblers and a couple of Linnet on the way back to the car, and were soon back on the road. We got stuck in traffic at Leigh on sea as there was events going on there too. Back on the Arterial road we stopped at the Sainbury’s at Raleigh, to get pizza ingredients for dinner. Then we were back home by about 17:30.

Little Bittern and Mutant Ninja Turtle at Stockers Lake

A Little Bittern has been reported at Stockers Lake near Rickmansworth since last weekend. Reports suggest quite easy to see, so I thought I would pop down there see if I could get a view. I have never seen a Little Bittern, so I don’t know what to expect, probably a bittern looking bird but smaller than the run of the mill Minsmere type Bittern.

I got off the M25 at junction 17 and parked up down a lane called Springwell Lane where there is a car park. Birdguides had reports and I get the OS grid ref from there and printed out a map from Bing. I orientated my self using the map in the car park, helped by a couple who pointed me in the direction of a crowd of twitchers.

Little Bittern at Stockers lake near Rickmansworth.

On the way I spotted two Turtles sun bathing on a log by the edge of the water, they were close enough for the Canon 100-400mm. I took a few shots then moved on round the lake.

It was obvious where the bird was as there was about 30 people standing around the footpath getting the way of the Sunday morning joggers. It was apparently about 30m away hiding in the reeds and stinging nettles. I stood around with them and waited for a view.

After about 30 minutes we got some fleeting views as it walked behind the reeds, then about 10 minutes later it popped up about 10m down stream, we all moved and I lost my front row, and was relegated to the back, I was still able to get a look it was out in front of the reeds. It is as the name suggests a small version of a Bittern. In fact I would say a quarter to a third the size of a Minsmere Bittern. All the cameras were clicking away, then the bird was spooked and moved further up stream.

I walked down with some others and was lucky to get a spot right down on the bank of the river perhaps only 20m from the bird. I got some shots then sat down to get some even better ones, from a low angle. My Karrimat material insulating mat came in very hand as I sat there with cracking views, and got a load of shots off in good light. Eventually it flew a bit further down the river.

I called it a day at 11:49 and headed back to the car, then back home, to the hum drumb of domestic chores I trimmed the Laurel hedge in the back garden, and cut the lawn.

Wet and windy walk to Boulmer and back

We knew from the weather forecast it was going to be bad, there were storm force winds battering the south west of the country and the tail of the anti-cyclone was going to be right over the north east.

We set out at about 10:30, after N made scrambled eggs on toast, it was grey and windy but dry.

We headed south and in land towards Howick hall where we hoped to follow a sheltered valley back to the coast, in the hall grounds, then walk down to Boulmer on the coast. We passed through a farm and spied the farmer butchering and lamb.

There was not much bird action going on, I guess the weather wind and rain was keeping them hunkered down.

We reached Howick Hall entrance and walked down the road past it in the hope of getting onto a path in the grounds called the long walk. When we found it was all fenced up and gated with a lock. A sign suggested we now needed to pay the entrance fee of £6 to be able to use the path. They did mention an arrangement with dog walkers, keys and locks, but we didn’t have keys or dogs. We turned round and headed towards the sea, then it started to rain so the wet weather gear came out.

The aim now was to get to the Fish Inn at Boulmer, then evaluate our plans over a pint. By the time we got to the pub it was raining quite hard my poncho was letting in water, and my shorts were getting damp. The pub was a welcome site being on the side of the village we arrived from. There was a bus stop outside a possible escape route.

Inside the pub there was a small seating area of 4 tables and then there was a restaurant area out the back, with views over the bay rocks and the sea beyond.

Once our wet outer (and some we inner layers) had been removed and hung near the radiator, we grabbed a table from a couple who were leaving. We decided we may as well have some lunch and then have a salad and home made pizzas for dinner.

We sampled 2 broccoli bakes, a cucumber baguette and chips, and I had crab cakes and chips. I could have done with more chips. We then all went for a pudding, 2 chocolate mousses, toffee and vanilla cheese cake, and I had apple crumble and custard which was lovely. We tried phoning for a taxi but there was no answer, and investigations into buses on my phone and a feeble signal revealed only one bus per day. We had no choice but to walk back to the hut at Craster.

The rain had eased off, and continued to, and eventually stopped as we headed north up the coast. We crossed a nice looking beach on the way, and with the rain stopped it became quite pleasant. At one point we passed a nice house on an exposed point, apparently it was build as a bathing house by the owners of Howick Hall.

Just as we were about a half mile for Craster it started to lash down with rain again. In Craster we got some bread from the smokehouse. Once back at the hut I put some dry jeans on and headed, out to get enough bits to finish off the pizzas. I had no luck getting olives, from the local small Londis, which stocked essentials!

Despite the weather we had got out for a walk, and had been out the best part of the day.

Lindisfarne Holy Island

The plan for Thursday was to visit Lindisfarne and have a look round the Holy Island. I was up earlier than the rest of the house and took the opportunity to take a walk down the coast to Dunstanburgh, to take a couple of panorama sets. The weather was really quite warm, I set out with a T-shirt and fleece on but the fleece had to be removed halfway there.

Whilst down there I looked to see if the end of a lobster trap was still there after we hid it earlier in the week, it was not so I picked up another wreck, of one for H.

We made sandwiches for the day I had Nutella, Helen had Marmite. Then headed up the A1 to Lindisfarne, it made a change to be travelling at the national speed limit. To get to the Holy Island you have to cross a causeway that is covered for about 5 hours on the high tide. We had checked out the tables and were OK till about 16:15. We parked just before the official car park with plenty of others and so avoided the £4 fee.

Looking at the map we decided a loop round the island was the best, option as the weather was probably going to deteriorate later in the day.

There were lots of Northern Marsh Orchids in bloom, and many other flowers to photograph. Highlights included Butterwort and Large Thyme. When we got to the northern end of the island we turned east at the beach and did some rock pooling, was saw the usual molluscs and a few crabs. There was also some interesting geology , with many layers often wavy, some of the layers containing fossils that looked like they were once worms.

We came across and interesting well build hut, it had seats built into the wall round the base, and windows built into the stone, supported by driftwood. Inside there was lots of stuff hanging from the beams built into the roof. Turns out it was a geocache, the most intricate and well built one I have ever seen.

Next we headed south towards the castle and stopped off at the bird hide overlooking the Lough. There were many starlings feeding young on a fence, other birds included Reed Bunting, Wheatear, Pochard, Swans with signets, and a Willow Warbler. We took the opportunity to eat our sandwiches.

Next stop was the Castle, a national trust property so we were able to claw back some of the money spent on National Trust membership. Whilst in the entrance we checked with the staff about the tides, good job too, we needed to be of the causeway by 15:30, or stay till 21:45! That did not leave us much time, we had about an hour to get to the car, Helen then went into route march mode.

It was like the was a mass exodus going as everyone seemed, to be heading back to the car parks, to get off the island. We got back to our car in good time but the tide seemed miles away, perhaps it comes in really quickly over the sands where the causeways is? Anyway we got off the island and across the causeway safely and in good time.

Next we stopped off in Seahouses for some gifts to take back and to stock up on food for dinner. Then it was back to the hut. The weather was just on the turn and a big storm is promised in the south west, and we may see the tail end of it tomorrow. We had had a lucky weather window again, it is a slight shame we miss judged the tides, as we may have timed the trips differently if we had know what the correct tide times were.

Alnwick parkland walk

We were up early to get on the boat trip we had booked, but after we had parked up and paid £4 to park we were told it was too rough, to land and the trips were cancelled, pending a decision later. Rather than waste more of the day we went back to the hut had coffee changed bags and equipment then headed to Alnwick for a walk round the parkland.

Alnwick was busy there was an event on at the famous gardens, we parked up (£2 for the day) then headed through town following the instructions for the walk. We stopped at Greggs and got 4 cheese and coleslaw stotties, for lunch.

The parkland made a change from the usual walks we do in that it was managed landscape but there were big sections of woodland. There was three loops of the park we went for the 5 miler which took in the Priory.

After the walk we stocked up at Sainsbury’s then headed back to the hut and N made Couscous with roast vegetables.

Walk to the the Ship Inn Newton Pool

We were up as at a reasonable hour, had breakfast whilst watching London get ready in the rain for the Queens jubilee boat parade, the weather in Craster looked good the sun was shining, there were clouds, the weather man said there may be showers.

We headed North up the coast towards the remains of Dunstanburgh Castle which sits very proud on a slight rise about a mile and a bit from Craster. We didn’t bother paying the £4 to have a look round, but walked on past. Just pass the castle we came across a good view of a cliff with nesting sea birds, we spotted Razorbill, Guillimots, and Fulmar. It started to rain so we had to get the wet weather gear out. The rain soon stopped and we walked along a wide open beach towards Low-Newton by the sea where we stopped at the Ship Inn for some lunch. They had a wide selection of real ale, and the food was local, the ploughman’s was excellent. The pub and adjoining properties are owned by the National Trust.

Suitably sustained we headed back via Newton Pool where there is a hide. We spotted what we thought was probably a willow warbler and got great views. Then it was on the Embleton to see if we could pick up some pasta to eat later.

The path to Embleton was quite a challenge, we found the footpath we wanted but it soon disappeared into a field of rape taller than all of us, so we chose to go off piste round the field. At the next junction we were debating whether to run the gauntlet of either the field edge or through the field when a party of about twenty walkers came along, we followed into the field of rape, after a lot a laughing we emerged yellow at the other side of the field.

On the road into Embleton we came a cross a small petrol station and managed to get some pasta and a dozen eggs from the farm yard next door. At the Londis we found H some mint tea. Round the corner we stopped for pint at Grays Inn, and booked up an all day bird watching trip to the Farne islands.

Pike or not Pike that is the question

Up just before 8 for our last full day in the Lakes, The plan was to drive over to Wasdale Head then take a walk up the Valley and into a very rugged part of the lakes. We will be following what is the easiest (if not the shortest) route up Scafell. Depending on how we feel when we get up there me may have a go at the summit.

We drove over to Wasdale Head which is a little fertile flood plain at the top of Wasdale Valley, there is a patch work of walls with sheep within. There is a car park near the inn, where we parked it is a close as you can get to the end of the valley. We walked through Burnthwaite along a path called Moses Trod, towards Bursting Knott and Toad How hoping to get up as far as Sty Head. The walking started off pretty flat but slowly got steeper as the metres passed, so we had to loose our top layers. Helen is definitely seeing the benefits of going regularly to the gym, I can’t keep up with her on the up hill bits, where I tend to pace myself. The weather was clearing by the minute, there were clouds on the tops of the peaks but there was plenty of blue sky around to let the sun through, the forecast was that the clouds would clear.

As we got higher we started to become a bit more confident and set our sights on Great End it is 900m with a gentle walk in. We came across a couple of friendly students, and I swapped notes on Lumix camera’ s one of them had an LX5 I have an LX3. We shared the path with them for sometime when it got to the point Right for Great End and left for the Scafell’s, we got even more confident and took the left hand route, towards Scafell and the Pike.

Finally we reached Scafell, we looked ahead and could see Scafell Pike in the distance, but between the two a big drop and another big steep climb, which would have been a challenge to descend. We did consider going to the top and down the other side, but we were tired and it was getting way past our agreed turn round time. Further on the way down we had a conversation with a guy going up and apparently the way down over the top and down the other side would have involved scrambling edient, so this vindicated out decision.

The weather became quite warm on the way down, and we were getting low on water! We chose a slightly different route down the valley, in the hope of dropping down quick and getting on to a flatter section, because we were getting tired of walking on the uneven rocky surface. , not sure if in the end it was a better route, Helen found it particularly tough walking down hill over the uneven ground.

Eventually we got down to the flatter part, and ended up back at the car after an hard 8 hours walking, and a total ascent of 800m. We did not hang about as we wanted to make sure we could get a table at the Woolpack Inn Hardknot where Helen was keen to try out the Pizzas which are advertised as being traditional and cooked on a wood fired oven. The menu is quite extensive, and I chose Sea Bass, Monkfish, Mussels in a Tomato Garlic, White wine, Fennel, Sauce with spaghetti, which seems to be quite a long list of ingredients but they all sound good, and lovely it was too, plenty of fish and mussels and the sauce divine. As for beer I tried a half of Pint by Manchester Brewery and a half of Anarchy. The Half of pint was the best one.

So our last day in the lakes, was a good one, and long walk which at the time seemed tough but looking back we both agreed was well worth the effort, followed by some great food. We will sleep well tonight.

Proper Lakeland weather

Thursday of our Lakeland holiday saw us waking up to rain, and mist over the hills. We had check the weather report at the pub last night, and already had vague plans to drive to RSPB Leighton Moss, which claims to be the largest reed bed in the North West. The rain and mist made up our minds RSPB would be the destination today.

The drive took about and hour and twenty, on mixed roads, a bit tedious but it was raining and we had the Desert Island Discs archive to while the time away. We (or should I say TomTom) found RSPB Leighton Moss easily. Once parked up I said to Helen “where are the binoculars?” We had managed to forget them back at the hut. In future we must both make sure we do binocular checks before we leave to visit a reserve. All was not lost, the RSPB will loan binoculars to forgetful members, like us FOC.

The helpful volunteer on the desk kitted us out with binoculars in exchange for Helen’s credit card, then gave us a virtual tour of the reserve. We headed out to Lilian’s hide apparently opened by John Prescott, the main attraction is the gull roost. We could not spot any other gulls than black headed, but there were a few ducks about. When we got a sense that the rain had eased off we made a break for the next hide.

There was not much to see from the public hide so after a quick scan we moved on to the Low Hide, not much going on there either, but it was a good place to watch the Marsh Harriers, and the Swifts flying past. It stopped raining so we took the opportunity to walk back to the visitor centre for some RSPB lunch. On the way we saw and heard Reed Warblers and Reed Buntings.

At the cafe Helen had from the Kiddies menu beans and a veggie sausage (called sunshine beans on the menu great value at £2.10) and I had a Lancashire cheese baguette. Next we got drove down the road to the beach side hides that over look the marshes.

From the Eric Morecombe hide there were some Black-tailed Godwits, Little Egrets, Redshank, and plenty of Avocets, with chicks. From the Allen hide more Avocets and some Oyster catchers all with chicks. Next it wasa back to thje visitors centre to check out the last two hides.

Great views of Lapwings flying close in front of the hide, and a Gadwall pair. The lapwings were so close we could hear their wings beating against the air. We also saw a flock of 8 Little Egret fly over, which I think is the most I have ever seen so close.

The Tim Jackson (died in an accident bird watching!) hide has recently bee rebuilt, and a lovely hide it is. A bit more activity lots of Gadwall out the front with the usual gaggle of Black-headed Gulls. Over the back of the lagoon we could see a Red Deer and a young doe gambling back and forth without any care, the velvet covered antlers of a stag could also be seen in the long grass at the edge of the reeds. On the way back to the shop I noticed a small mammal running towards me on the path I stood still and signalled to He’ll to do so too, the small creature stood and looked at me for a bit then ran into the under growth. Most likely it was a Weasel but it could have been a Stoat. We left the reserve at 16:30, to take a mountain pass home.

The mountain pass through Ulpha and across Birker fell did not disappoint, the climb up was very steep, but once we were up on the fell, the road flattened out and you could see far ahead, and the descent down into Eskdale was quite restrained. The pass had cut quite some miles but no time off the journey.

We were back bay 17:45 and felt we had made the most of the day by driving whilst it was raining. then doing the wildlife whilst the weather cleared up, culminating with sun as we drove over the mountain pass. We quickly dumped our stuff at the hut and headed back to Brook House Inn at Boot, some of it’s great beer and food.

The food lived up to our expectations, and was excellent, the menu was a fluid as it was yesterday, as we arrived some choices were removed and new ones added. I had the last Deep fried king prawns, with salsa, salad and chips, before that was taken down, and Helen had Feta and Spinach pie with boiled potatoes and a salad. As for beer we both had the Hawshead Brewery Windemere Pale.