Hey, I finally remembered to join in with Kate’sPhotoScavenger Hunt this month. Read on for July’s words.
Something Purple ~ Let me tickle you with a teasel. These spiky specimens appeared in the railway bridge field a few weeks ago, and have slowly been turning purple.
Shades Of Green ~ Not the most original photo, but here’s Hugo wearing a green collar in a newly mowed meadow, where the grass is a few shades of green.
Starts with…..F ~ My niece was ten this week. Double digits! Here is her Fantastic birthday cake with 10 candle Flames.
Still Life ~ And still life went on through lockdown. At least it did for wildlife. A selection of what I saw over that period. ❤️
Snapped At This Moment ~ A moment in time, trying on a mask before heading to my first hair appointment since before lockdown. I really don’t like wearing them as I find them suffocating. However I guess I just need more practice!
My Own Choice ~ The lovely coastline at Grange Over Sands a couple of weekends ago. And Mr Hugo of course. 🙂
I thought I would share some of the wild treasures I saw recently on my week off in the lovely Eden Valley of Cumbria.
A Wildflower Meadow On The Lowther Estate. Situated between Askham and Whale after the bridge, the estate has put on a colourful display.
Vipers Bugloss.Daisies & Campions.Corncockle.
More from Melmerby Village. The village green and surrounding meadows are blessed with colour.
Red Admiral.Travellers horses. Not particularly wild , but a lovely pair with very big hooves. Saw them clip clopping past pulling a Romany wagon, the occupant took the reins with a crow chattering away on his shoulder.Bitter Vetch.Skipper on Betony.Honeysuckle.Ringlets on Yarrow.
Langwathby & Edenhall. A perfect place for finding riverside and cornfield flowers.
I feel like it’s been a while since I posted. We recently had a week away at the caravan, which for my other half was a much needed break , having worked continuously through lockdown. A holiday we booked in Northumberland was cancelled , so I think this year we will try to make the most of our own holiday home. I know we are very lucky to have it !
Here is a quick round-up of what we got up to. We are based in the beautiful Eden Valley, which is a rather undiscovered part of Cumbria. I love where we are as there is so much to explore nearby.
Chilling At The Van. Of course we made a bit of time for relaxing as well. We are fortunate to have a large decking area ( probably three or four times bigger than our little yard at home) ,so it was always nice to sit out and enjoy the sunshine with a glass of wine…..or two. 😁
Langwathby Riverside Walk. An Eden Valley walk we often enjoy with Hugo is The Ladies Walk from Langwathby, through Edenhall village & back. The circular route is 3 miles long and takes in lots of gorgeous wildflowers, a couple of sculptures, a Celtic cross and pretty cornfields, as well as the lovely river Eden of course. We even enjoyed coffees and flapjacks on the green at the end from Saddleback’s cafe , a converted horsebox.
Eycott Hill Nature Reserve. Oh my goodness, I was in my element here! Eycott Hill near Penrith is run by the Cumbrian Wildlife Trust..and it is such a beautiful place. Sadly I forgot my actual camera, and only had my phone camera to hand, so trying to take photos of all the wonderful wildlife proved impossible. But I did see lots of beautiful wildflowers including Grass of Parnassus, Bog Asphodel & Marsh Cinqefoil, as well as various butterflies and moths. There are Belted Galloway cattle grazing here and views of the surrounding Lakeland mountains. Dogs are welcome on leads.
Marmalade March. Having just looked up Marmalade March online, apparently it’s a track by the psychedelic porn crumpets. Who knew! It is also an alternative name for the Dalemain Loop, an extension of The Ullswater Way, which is a twenty mile walkable route round Ullswater. I’m not quite up to that yet, so the five mile Marmalade March was undertaken instead. Dalemain ( an Eden Valley country house famed for its annual marmalade festival) was an excellent rest stop mid way, and we made sure to check on the gnarly stone Dacre churchyard bears as well. 🐻
Cow Green Reservoir & Cauldron Snout. The caravan is on a site at the foot of the steep Hartside Pass, which resides in the North Pennines AONB. Over that hill lies more beautiful rugged terrain to explore, as Cumbria eventually turns into County Durham. The border between the two counties runs straight through the centre of the Cow Green Reservoir and the area is home to rare wildlife, such as Golden Plover. A track takes visitors past the dam and to the top of Cauldron Snout, which is apparently England’s highest waterfall. Even on a bleak day, there was much wild beauty to take in.
Skiddaw Summit. Oh my, did my poor legs suffer after walking ( or should I say crawling) up Skiddaw. This was my 5th Wainwright, and by far the highest at 900 plus metres. Unfortunately we picked the worse day to do it, as a dense fog obscured any views. We ended up dripping wet from the fog and Hugo almost turned white. 😮 Was still worth it though!
Allonby on the Cumbrian Coast. It isn’t a holiday without going to the seaside, I say. A sunny Saturday meant a trip to the coast. 😊We chose Allonby, as it has a great beach for dog walking and we were looking forward to fish & chips. The Cod father didn’t disappoint.
So there you have it. Can’t wait to go back to the van in September for a week, and there will hopefully be a couple of weekends before then too.
On Saturday we were finally allowed to travel to our caravan and more excitingly, stop overnight! I must admit I was a little worried about our drive to the Lake District. Would we be stuck in traffic for hours? Would everyone in England be heading away for the weekend? It turns out we hardly saw a soul and the roads were not overly busy. There again the weather was not the best and we definitely needed our waterproofs.
Our destination was just under two hours away, so on route we stopped off near Kirkby Lonsdale to take Hugo for a riverside walk. The Lune was nearly bursting it’s banks, there had been so much rain.
Pretty painted pebbles lined the riverside path.
Rather nice art on the public toilet doors.
An old fashioned float in Kirkby Lonsdale.
The River Lune looking choppy.
Once we got to the caravan site we checked over the van , had some lunch then headed up into the fells for a walk. It’s the first time we have done this route, probably because of my general reluctance to drag myself up hill. It was of course worth it! We found a patch of woodland, a clear water beck and lots of foxgloves.
Once back in the village I couldn’t resist looking round the Green. Melmerby Village Green is an 11 acre green that used to be grazed by livestock. It is managed for wildlife and there are lots of lovely wildflowers on display.
Pied Wagtail almost camaflaged in the wall.
Betony.
Sheepfold.
Harebells.
Postbox in the village.
In the evening we left the pub to the locals and had tapas and wine in the van. Wil fried these padron peppers in olive oil and tossed them in sea salt. Delicious!
Peppers.
Quiet on site.
On Sunday morning we headed to Pooley Bridge which is near Ullswater. The lake was lively!
Hugo in Ullswater.
Bought a sausage roll in here. 😁
And had a socially distanced coffee in The Crown .
The River Eamont and the new bridge under construction. Pooley Bridges original stone bridge was destroyed during Storm Desmond.
Pooley Bridge Inn sign.
It felt good to be able to stay overnight at the caravan and it was nice enjoying a coffee in the Crown pub. We are ready for our proper week long break away. Not long now!
I have been noticing lately how lovely a local field is looking. All-sorts of flowers have been popping up this year. Makes me wonder if someone has been scattering seeds? The plants have been absolutely buzzing with bees and grasshoppers. Meadow Brown’s , Ringlets and Skippers are flying in abundance. I’m eager to see what else will turn up over the Summer. Will keep you posted. 😘
There could be more clover than grass in the field and they smell really sweet, especially in the sunshine after a shower.
Pops of colour are certainly provided by the burnt orange blooms of the Orange Hawkweed, which is also known as Devils Paintbrush and Fox & Cubs.
I think this is a member of the Crane’s -bill family , maybe Druce’s Cranes-Bill.
Tutsan is the largest of the St John’s Wort flowering plants. I was quite surprised to find it amongst the vegetation. I like how there are both flowers and berries.
I noticed a couple of Silver Y Moths fluttering around the thistles. They are migrant moths that fly day and night and can be identified by the metallic y on each wing.
Love-in-a-mist is not a wildflower, so I’m not sure how this bloom ended up here. I love it’s delicate and intricate design.
By the brook a Yarrow peeps , it’s leaves are feathery. In the past this plant was used on bloody wounds, but sticking it up your nose causes nosebleeds apparently. 🙄
Skippers are seen resting on buttercups and darting from flower to flower. They are tiny butterflies, however I cannot tell whether they are the large or small species.
In the grass I spy Fairy Flax which looks like it should be in a fairies garden.
Along with ringlets there are lots of Meadow Browns in the field. They are very fond of the thistles. 🙂
So that’s all for now. There are foxgloves and teasel but I will save them for another post. 🙂
My reading has slowed right down since those first heady days of lockdown, when I was grabbing anything and everything I could get my hands on. Not a huge amount read in the last couple of months though…
The Spy Who Came in from the cold – John Le Carre ( 1963). Classic British spy novel that I didn’t warm to at all. Set in the cold war ,the plot revolves around agent Alec Lemas as he is sent on one final assignment. He will have to seemingly betray his country in order to turn a high powered German intelligence officer. I just didn’t like any of the characters enough to care much about what happened to them. ⭐⭐
The Bookseller ~ Cynthia Swanson ( 2015). Kitty Miller lives a happy but unconventional life running a book shop with her friend Frieda in 1962. She’s unmarried, has her own flat and a gorgeous cat , she’s quite content with her lot in life. Then one night she has a dream and finds herself happily married, a mother of three children and living in a huge house in the suburbs. Soon the dreams become a regular thing and Kitty starts to enjoy this alternative reality , where her name is Katharyn and it’s 1963. I really enjoyed this story which is reminiscent of the film Sliding Doors. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Italian Shoes ~ Henning Mankell ( 2009). Initially I thought this was going to be a Scandinavian crime novel, as it is written by the author of the Wallander series. However there is no crime, just a cranky old man who lives a solitary existence on a remote island. One day he receives a surprise ( and a little unwelcome ) visitor from his past, who forces him to face up to things he would rather forget. A physical and emotional journey is undertaken. A slow thought provoking read. ⭐⭐⭐
Last Breath ~ Karin Slaughter ( 2017). This novella is actually a prequel and introduction to a main character in Slaughters detective novel ‘ The Good Daughter’ which I haven’t read. Charlie Quin is a lawyer who finds herself drawn to a young teenager, who like herself lost her mother at a young age. But are things all they seem with her young client, and how far will Charlie go to protect her. ⭐⭐⭐
I’ll Keep You Safe – Peter May ( 2018). Peter May weaves his love of the Islands of Harris and Lewis into another Hebridean detective yarn. This time there is a murder in Paris and a back story set in a close knit but wary Scottish community. There are two female protagonists and not everyone gets their happy ending. A slow burner of a read. ⭐⭐⭐
Although I didn’t read much throughout May and June, I did have a second hand book stall outside the house to raise money for the NHS. We managed to raise £80. Hugo looks like he’s helping in the above photo, in reality he just barked at any passing pooch, which was a bit off putting. Haha, oh well!
sunshine and celandines 