Eden Concluded

Getting lost on Loughrigg Fell for the second time in my life has probably earned me the deserved reputation of the worlds worst map reader. Actually, that's probably not fair. I didn't have a map. I had one of those little pocket size cards ( you know.. "20 mother-in-law friendly walks in the Lakes" ) which proved to be a tad inaccurate. I was starting to get suspicious when we passed Lily Tarn for the third time. The first time, the in-laws commented that they felt they'd been here before but I brushed it off, saying that all these tarns look the same. The third time though, I was rumbled. After half an hour of trying to find the path down and failing, I passed the card to my wife. Ten minutes later we were sitting in Rothay Park eating ice creams. Back at the cottage my little red friend obliged again and I was amazed at its disregard for humans and dogs, bouncing around in the hazel tree and hopping across branches unperturbed even by the lads in the Mountain Rescue team who came to practise climbing on Jackdaw Scar. Charlie the Cocker didn't take kindly to Cumbrias finest coming too close to his newly claimed territory but I feared the womenfolk suddenly had a hankering to get seriously lost somewhere? I locked all the walking maps away in case they hatched a plot. That night, when the lads had left and the jakes returned to their roost, I sat calling owls again and drew in three male tawny's with my squeaker, imitating the females distinct "kee-wick".

A request for a rest day allowed a visit to Lowther Castle to see first-hand the restoration work going on there. Derrick escaped with a day to himself on the river and left me wishing I enjoyed angling! We walked the whole 130 acres, saw the red squirrel hides put up by the P&DRSG (see last blog) and glimpsed one red disappearing into the wood. 

Highlight for me (never a fan of old buildings) was turning off the escarpment trail and walking right under a buzzard in the wood, which floated over our heads and sat on a nearby branch watching us. This prompted a visit up the road to the Lakeland Bird Of Prey Centre where we enjoyed (I kid you not) a two and a half hour talk and flying display. It was superb. Informative, amusing and .. as always with raptors .. captivating. We watched a Peregrine Falcon, two Gyr Falcons and a Harris Hawk flown. Excellent.

I got my revenge for Loughrigg at Grizedale Forest by picking the White Trail and telling everyone there were no hills. We stopped at Hawkshead for the obligatory window shopping and I was pleased to see this quaint little village still retains some of its charm .. unlike Windemere, which holds no appeal to me.

Grizedale, not for the first time, disappointed in its lack of wildlife or birdsong. A lush forest but too silent .. much like Norfolks Brecks. It redeemed itself a tad with the autumn fungal displays and Grizedale Tarns mirror surface but the wildest creatures we saw were the chaffinches scavenging around the visitor centre. Returning to the cottage I was pleased to find a note tucked under the in-laws windscreen wipers from Sarah McNeil and Jerry Moss saying that they'd called by while on patrol in the area. Sorry we missed you, guys, but thanks for trying!

The final day was a relative washout so we went into Penrith, where John Norris finally broke the padlock on my wallet and I walked out with a Wychwood Packlite backpack .. designed for the angler but perfect for the wilderness photographer. The wife and I wrapped up the week with a long afternoon walk local to Well Tree Cottage, in the pouring rain, returning with two very soggy but very content dogs. When we left this morning the river was in full flow after yesterdays downpours, which left Derrick distraught. He knew that the best days fishing would be tomorrow, in the deep and clouded pools. 

A wonderful week in a stunning part of the country and a lesson learned in terms of photography. for I deliberately lightened the load by leaving my smaller Nikon 80-400 zoom behind. Big mistake. The red squirrel pics I took with a Sigma 50-500 zoom, handheld. I dumped dozens of unusable pics due to blur (it's a very heavy lens). As you read this, I'm back in Norwich with a second week off, on my own stamping ground. The gun ban has been lifted and I certainly won't need any maps. Unlike Loughrigg, I know this patch like the back my hand! Gotta go .. I have about 500 photos to sort through!

Copyright Ian Barnett Sept 2013

 

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