Hagg Wood – Bottom’s Lane – Burtonwell Wood – Lambert’s Meadow – Bank Well – The Row – The Golf Course – The Station – Storrs Lane – Trowbarrow Quarry – Moss Lane – Jubilee Wood – Eaves Wood.
Broad-bodied Chaser Dragonfly, female.
The day after my Harrop Tarn swim. My new, second-hand phone (a Google Pixel 6) had arrived and I was keen to try out the camera. Actually, it has four cameras – the selfie camera, the ‘standard’ camera, a wide angle and a x2 slight telephoto. I had my actual camera with me too, so I had four to choose from at each point. One thing my phone won’t do is take photos like the one above, of shy subjects like a Broad-bodied Chaser, which need to be taken from some distance. There were loads of them about at Lambert’s Meadow, all female again.
Spear ThistlesElder Flowers
The Elders had just come into flower – I made a mental note to bring a bag and some scissors on a subsequent walk, so that I could collect some to make cordial. I think I made the same mental note several times before it actually worked.
Ragged Robin at Lambert’s Meadow.
I’ve come to really like the wide-angle camera on my phone, it seems to give a considerable depth of field.
Mullein Moth Caterpillar.
Since this caterpillar wasn’t likely to fly off, I was able to compare shots taken on my camera and on my phone. This first was taken with the phone.
Mullein Moth Caterpillar, and Figwort Weevil.
And this one with my camera, which I think is a slightly better photo. The little Figwort Weevil is something I’ve been looking out for; photos taken with macro lenses reveal them to be astonishing little creatures. I’ve only ever seen Mullein Caterpillars in large numbers on Mullein plants before, but apparently they will eat other things.
Common Blue Damselfly, male.
Once again, there were Common Blue Damselflies about in large numbers.
Meadow Brown Butterfly.
Quite a variety of butterflies too, I also have photos, but not very good ones, of Commas and Red Admirals.
Common Carder Bee on Marsh Thistle.Peacock Butterfly Caterpillars.
The Peacock caterpillars had grown considerably since my last visit. My camera seemed to struggle with them, and the photos I took on my phone seem to have worked better.
I’ve cropped this photo more heavily…
Peacock Butterfly Caterpillars.
They’re astonishing, spiky critters, like something from some sort of sci-fi horror B movie. Every time I visited, I noticed a fairly appalling smell. I’ve read that liquid fertiliser made from nettles is highly efficacious, but also produces a stomach-turning odour. Maybe the caterpillars, by eating the nettles, produce a similar stench? On the other hand, maybe there was something beneath the nettles rotting away. I suppose I won’t know until I find another patch of nettles with a colony of Peacock caterpillars.
Common Spotted-orchid.
The phone seems to work well for flowers. I’ve cropped this photo quite heavily too, so that you can see the tiny golden bug which emerged on the top left whilst I was lining up the photo.
Hedge Woundwort.Meadow Vetchling.Early Bumblebee on Bramble flowers.
I suspect the clever people at Google have packed some nifty algorithms into the phone’s software. I’ve noticed that sometimes two photos of the same subject, taken consecutively, can look quite different. Sometimes you can watch the temperature of a scene change on the screen. Although, I can’t put my finger on why, I really like these bramble blossoms and the Early Bumblebee and I can’t help thinking that the phone, or the algorithms, have done something sly to produce a pleasing effect.
Possibly a Tree Bumblebee, but a slightly odd looking one if it is.A ladybird larva shedding its skin to become an adult.
Another comparison shot. The camera photo is the first one, above.
The same ladybird.
This time I think it’s the phone which did a better job, having made the most of some fairly poor light.
Common Twayblade.Common Spotted-orchid.Broad-leaved Helleborine.Broad-leaved Helleborine.Dog Rose.Grypocoris stysi– plant bugs, on Hedge Woundwort.
The phone certainly did a good job with these little chaps. This was in Eaves Wood. I’d stopped to look at the Woundwort because I was hoping to find a Woundwort Shieldbug, then spotted a Common Carder Bee, which soon made itself scarce, but, having stopped and looked closely, noticed these tiny flower bugs. There are lots fo similar species, but apparently this particular pattern is fairly distinctive.
Empis livida– a Dagger Fly.Another Empis livida. Enchanter’s Nightshade.
The weekend after Whit week, and I was back at Thirlmere. This time I’d parked at Steel End where, despite road signs to the contrary, the road is still open, although it is closed beyond that. The reason I’d chosen to come this way, was that last summer, when I’d been gleefully ticking off Wainwrights with abandon, I walked the boggy central spine of the Lakes, from High Raise to Bleaberry Fell, but I’d missed Armboth Fell, which lies to the east of the central ridge. (I use the term ‘ridge’ very loosely here!). After a lengthy spell of very dry weather, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to make that good. Ideally, I’d have been starting the walk from the next car park north, at Dobgill Bridge, but, as I say, the road was closed. So instead I needed to use the permission path along the lakeshore to get to my intended starting point.
Wythburn and Steel Fell.
What a happy accident that was, since this path was lovely, and absolutely stuffed with wildlife, so that the walk (and, by extension, this post too) became a bit of a hybrid between my hill walking and my slow, local walks where I stop every few steps to snap away with my camera. By the lake there were loads of birds: a Heron, Greylag and Canada Geese and lots of gulls. If I’d had a pair of binoculars with me, I’m might have been there for hours.
Common Sandpiper.
I think this might have been a juvenile sandpiper; it kept flying short distances ahead of me, so that I gradually gained on it, which strikes me as typical behaviour of a young bird. This sandpiper…
Common Sandpiper.
…was nearby and making quite a racket, so I took it to be a concerned parent. Of course, I could be completely wrong.
Grey Wagtail.Thirlmere.Foxgloves.Keeled Skimmer, female. My first.
The path was soon away from the reservoir shore and in the trees and I was chasing after moths and butterflies, not always with success. In particular, there were some fritillaries about which I did eventually manage to photograph, but only from a considerable distance, so that the photos are not sufficient for identification purposes. Fortunately, I would get better chances later in the day.
The brambles were flowering in profusion, and that seemed to attract a host of insects of various forms.
Large Skipper Butterfly.Hoverfly, Eristalis intricaria, male.
There were hosts of hoverflies and bees about, but they were extremely elusive, so whilst I have a lot of photographs, there’s only really this one which is up to scratch.
There were lots and lots of these about. They were constantly on the move, so I took loads of photographs, hoping that I would have at least one which was reasonably clear and sharp.
These flies with orange at the base of their wings were also quite ubiquitous, always on flowers.
Green-veined White Butterfly.Speckled Wood Butterfly.Felled forestry by Dob Gill.
Once I reached Dobgill Bridge, I turned uphill, away from Thirlmere, on a very familiar path which had changed beyond all recognition, since the forestry through which the path used to rise had largely been clear-felled.
Small Heath Butterfly.
Once the path entered the trees, it seemed clear that it isn’t used as heavily as it used to be (before the road was closed) and the trees were encroaching on the path.
Dob Gill.Dob Gill flowing out of Harrop Tarn.
Where Dob Gill leaves Harrop Tarn there were once again lots of fritillary butterflies about, which I chased to no avail, but there were also, without exaggeration, hundreds of Four-spotted Chaser Dragonflies about, with which I had a bit more success…
I think that this is a Caddis Fly. Closed related to lepidoptera, apparently, there are 196 species in the UK and Google Lens is not giving me much help in pinning this one down.
Bog Bean.
The Bog Bean had mostly finished flowering, so I had to content myself with a photo of this one, which was quite far out into the water.
Yellow Water-lily.Harrop Tarn.
I continued around the tarn a little way and then found a small path making a beeline for the shingle beach you can just about see on the extreme right of this photo.
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary Butterfly.
As I approached the tarn, I finally managed to get a photo of one of the butterflies which had been eluding me: a Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. Down by the tarn, there were lots more…
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries.
I was intending to swim, but first I was distracted by a profusion of butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies which were about.
Large Red Damselfly.
When I eventually dragged myself away, the beach was perfect: it shelves steeply so that two strides and I was in. The sun shone; the water was cool, but not cold; there were constant splashes around me as fish (brown trout?) leapt from the water to take flies; dragonflies and damselflies skittered about just above the surface of the tarn. In short, it was idyllic, and I took a leisurely tour widdershins around the tarn.
Once out of the water, I was busy again taking no end of photos.
Brown trout fry?Brown trout fry?Four-spotted Chaser.Four-spotted Chaser, male.
There were both blue and red damselflies about, but predominantly red. It was hard to get photos, because they were constantly on the move, perhaps because they didn’t want to fall prey to the Four-spotted Chasers which were also abundant.
Mating pair of Large Red Damselflies.
Even the mating Large Red Damselflies, of which there were many, many pairs, kept flying about, with the male still grasping the female by the neck.
Mating pair of Large Red Damselflies.
On the right here, she is laying eggs, whilst he is still in flight, hovering, hence the blurred wings.
Mating pair of Large Red Damselflies.Mating pair of Large Red Damselflies.
I have several more photos of mating pairs, so there is obviously a healthy population here.
Wolf spiders, female and male.Golden Ringed Dragonfly flying above Mosshause Gill.
There was one, or possibly two, Golden Ringed Dragonflies flying very quickly along Mosshause Gill, which flows into the tarn near to the shingle beach. It’s a large and spectacular dragonfly, but was moving to quickly for me to manage any photographs. Since the flights along the stream were regular and predictable, I decided to stand in the stream bed to try to capture an image of the dragonflies, and you can sort of see one in the photo above. I have better photos, here from a few years ago.
Tadpoles.
The path through the forest was hot work. When I reached open country, I turned sharp right, along the edge of the trees to head for Brown Rigg…
Brown Rigg.Tormentil.Blea Tarn Fell/Bell Crags.
Brown Rigg is one of those Birketts which take you off the beaten path and make Birkett bagging well worth while. From Brown Rigg there’s a fine view of a rocky little top called either Blea Tarn Fell according to Birkett, or Bell Crags in the Fellranger books by my name-sake Mark Richards.
Blea Tarn Fell from Brown Rigg.
Whatever the name, it’s a really handsome fell and another which it would be a shame to miss. First though, I had unfinished business…
Armboth Fell (in the shade).
Ordinarily, I think this route would be madness, but I was able to head down to Launchy Tarn and then climb from there on to Armboth Fell. I won’t say it was dry, but it was dry enough.
Small Heath Butterfly.Looking back to Brown Rigg.Red Deer hinds.Run away!
Years ago, I used to bivvy with friends in this area, above Harrop Tarn, and then explore the rather complex, boggy and empty terrain between there, Ullscarf and High Seat. I have a real soft-spot for this area, partly because it a great place to see Red Deer.
Another Four-spotted Chaser.
I was still seeing Four-spotted Chasers, wherever there was a bit of open water.
I had wondered about another dip, in Launchy Tarn, but it didn’t look deep enough, or particularly inviting.
Launchy Tarn.Wild Thyme.Armboth Fell.
This rocky little rib gives Armboth Fell a quite dramatic top, not at all in keeping with the rest of the hill. I did visit a couple of other nearby knolls, just in case they were higher!
High Tove.
From Armboth Fell, it’s a fairly short walk to High Tove. I think that’s about the most that can be said for High Tove.
Looking back to Armboth Fell, Helvellyn behind.High Seat.
The walk southward along the ridge was actually pleasant with little sign of the extreme boginess which usually presides here. I made sure to summit every little outcrop, since there are numerous Birketts this way.
Standing Crag, Ullscarf, Low Saddle, Blea Tarn.
I had been planning to include a swim in Blea Tarn, but it had clouded up, and I suspected that time was marching on. (My new phone arrived while I was out, so without a phone, I didn’t know the time. Quite odd – but in a pleasant way, since I had all the hours that June daylight affords to complete my walk.)
Blea Tarn Fell.From Blea Tarn Fell, looking down to Armboth Fell, Launchy Tarn and Brown Rigg.
Blea Tarn Fell and/or Bell Crags really is a cracker, with superb views, I can definitely recommend it.
High Seat and Armboth Fell.Very neat sheepfold.
From there I returned to Harrop tarn and then took the footpath down the edge of the forestry back to Dobgill Bridge, then back along the shore to my car. The path turned out to be very rocky and a bit awkward – I think I prefer the path I used on the way up. I did see these Butterwort by going that way…
Common Butterwort.Fly trap!
“Common butterwort is an insectivorous plant. Its bright yellow-green leaves excrete a sticky fluid that attracts unsuspecting insects; once trapped, the leaves slowly curl around their prey and digest it. The acidic bogs, fens and damp heaths that common butterwort lives in do not provide it with enough nutrients, so it has evolved this carnivorous way of life to supplement its diet.”
A terrific day, with lots of interest. Harrop tarn has shot to the top of my list of favourite places to swim and Blea Tarn Fell has firmly cemented its place in my affections. I can definitely see myself coming back this way in June next year: I fancy a wild camp in this neck of the woods.
No MapMyWalk stats or map, for obvious reasons, but here’s a map so that you can trace my route for yourself:
Without mentioning it, I’ve slipped into June on the blog. These photos are from local walks, almost all from the first weekend in June, the end of our Whit week holiday. I was out twice on the Saturday, to Lambert’s Meadow and Woodwell in the afternoon and then a very short tour round the fields in the evening. And three times on the Sunday: a Jenny Brown’s Point circuit with TBH in the morning, Lambert’s Meadow again in the afternoon and another short postprandial leg-stretcher in the local fields in the evening.
Ragged Robin.Common Blue Damselfly.
I took a lot of photos of Common Blue damselflies, there were a lot of them about. I also saw quite a few Broad-bodied Chasers, all of them female again, although most of the photos I took were from quite a distance, I only got reasonably close once…
Broad-bodied Chaser, female.
On the other hand, I only got two photos of this…
Emperor Dragonfly.
…my first photos of an Emperor Dragonfly, something of a holly grail, since they never seem to land. Even this time it was a fairly fleeting opportunity. I have more photos to come, however, of our largest species of dragonfly.
I’m almost as excited by this hoverfly, since I think that this may be another first for me. The common name reflects the fact that the larvae of this species will eat Daffodil bulbs, but in the wild they generally live on Bluebell bulbs. The fascinating thing about this species is that there are several different forms which mimic a variety of different species of bumblebee.
Woundwort.Yellow Water-lily in Woodwell pond.Honey Bees (I think). Are they having a drink?Large Red Damselfly, male.Sunset.Sharp’s Lot.Wild Celery.Lambert’s Meadow.Peacock butterfly caterpillars.
My second trip to Lambert’s Meadow of the weekend was a bit frustrating since I hadn’t recharged the battery in my camera, a common error on my part. Since my old camera wasn’t too good at close-ups, and there’s always lots to see at Lambert’s Meadow, I missed out on getting decent photos of some Dock Beetles, and a rather dapper little Chafer. That night, I dropped my phone, for the umpteenth time, which must have been the final straw; after that, it refused to turn on. Which means that the following Friday, when I climbed Arnside Knott for the sunset and took very few photos, I didn’t have a phone to record my route.
Sunset from Arnside Knott.
The post’s title, incidentally, is from Wendy Cope’s ‘Being Boring’ again. Is it an allusion, I wonder, to Marvell’s ‘To his Coy Mistress’?
“My vegetable love should grow Vaster than empires and more slow”
Hmmm, a bit thin perhaps? Some lazy, internet research led me to lots of adverts for hooch brewed from parsnips and beets and the like, and then to this:
“Newton was constantly awed by the beauty and complexity of the nature that surrounded him. Over time, he concluded that the massive variety of life and processes that occur in nature, such as growth, decay and fermentation, meant there must be some driving force that makes it all happen. He believed that the ‘vegetable spirit’ was that force, and thought it might also be linked with light.”
Hmmm, again. “The force that through the green fuse drives the flower”?
Apparently, he was attempting to reconcile science and religion. I always find it slightly comforting that a genius like Newton devoted so much time and effort to the pursuit of Alchemy. Maybe if he had been around today, he might forget to charge his camera battery or drop his phone and break it? I’m pleased too that he was ‘constantly awed by the beauty and complexity of the nature that surrounded him’.
Early June. The day after our Wainwright Walk with TC. This time it was our neighbours B and G who had taken some time off work, to join us for a canoeing trip. The weather was perfect.
G and B set-off. Helvellyn Gill opposite, Whiteside Bank and Browncove Crags.
B is demonstrating here a paddling technique which I haven’t given enough thought to before: the no-stroke. Sit in the back, keep quiet, hope your other half doesn’t notice. It seemed to work well for him. We only had one skeg – a small keel – between the two boats. TBH and I went without and were therefore a bit prone to going into a slow spin.
Deergarth How Island, from our picnic stop.
It was TBH who had suggested Thirlmere and I was very surprised to find that it was allowed. Bizarrely, you can canoe or kayak, but not paddle-board or swim. We had the reservoir almost to ourselves, perhaps because there are ‘road closed’ signs here, there and everywhere, even though the road from the north is actually open as far as the Armboth car park.
Circumnavigating Hawes How Island.
I’m not a big fan of forestry plantations, but I have to confess that they gave a great backdrop to a canoeing trip. We could almost have been back in the Adirondacks, aside from the sounds of the busy A591.
Fisher Crag.
There were lots of dragonflies and damselflies about, but it was hard to photograph them from the canoe.
Happy times.Looking back to the islands.
It was a shortish trip, shorter than our Coniston paddle had been, but very enjoyable and then we headed homeward for a BBQ in B and G’s garden. Can’t be bad.
It’s a slightly ridiculous situation that the Tower Captain and I are near neighbours, but we generally only go walking together when somebody else organises a get together in Scotland. In his defence, he is often very busy with his campanology and I, erm, can’t think of a decent excuse right now, but something might come to me if you wait? Anyway, we had that conversation at some point this year, and decided that we must make more of an effort. To that end, bless him, he booked a day off work so that we could get out during Whit. TBH elected to join us, and TC brought his spaniels, so we were a party of five. The not-so-famous five.
Beda Fell.
The route was a circuit of Boredale – Place Fell via High Dodd, Angletarn Pikes and Beda Fell. Sandwiched between two glorious, practically cloud free days, this was a bit of an oddity weather-wise. It kept threatening to rain, but equally, kept threatening to clear up too, without ever quite managing either. Out of the wind, at times it got really warm. In the breeze, it was often quite parky.
Looking back to Hallin Fell.
On the steady climb towards High Dodd, it was very warm and we stopped to cool down and to take a drink. There were lots of butterflies about I think, but none willing to pose for photos.
High DoddOn High Dodd.
We by-passed Sleet Fell, which I think is a Birkett, so I shall have to come this way again. High Dodd is also a Birkett, but not a Wainwright. It is, in my opinion, well worth a slight detour to visit.
Hanley, The Tower Captain, Bramble. Gowbarrow Fell catching the sun behind.Place Fell.Where have they got to?
Bramble and I got a little ahead of the others on our way to the top of Place Fell, which is a bit of a novelty for me. I suspect Bramble has had more practice than I have, and kept pausing to check on the party.
Place Fell pano. Helvellyn and Dodds beyond.Almost there.Pano from the summit of Place Fell. High Street range, round as far as St. Sunday Crag.
We hunkered down out of the wind just by the summit and admired the views whilst eating our lunches. I don’t have records, but I would guess that Place Fell must be very high on the list of my most climbed Lake District hills. We had a few family get togethers at Patterdale Hostel when I was in my teens, and I’ve been back there many times since, I’ve also camped at both Side Farm and at Sykeside down by Brother’s Water on numerous occasions, so, one way and another, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to pop up Place Fell.
A view down to Brother’s Water.Brother’s Water and the hills around Deepdale. The long ridge of Hartsop above How prominent.Sheffield Pike, Ullswater and Place Fell.The onward ridge.Looking back to Place Fell.Beda Fell.Extra layers donned.Boredale and Beda Head.The Nab.A long steady descent – the best kind!
The final part of our route gave us a chance to visit both of Martindale’s churches, which I’ve been meaning to do for a long time.
St. Martin’s. Martindale ‘Old’ church.
Apparently, the ‘old’ church was built in the sixteenth century, although the first reference to a church here goes back to 1220, and one of the Yewes is 1300 years old.
Simple, spartan interior.St. Peter and St. Martin, Martindale.
The other church was built in the 1880s.
Interior.
I was very happy, because it has stained glass windows, by the artist Jane Grey.
They’re wonderfully colourful windows, so I’m not sure why I only took pictures of three of them. I suppose that gives me the excuse I need to pay another visit sometime.
I also need to nag TC about another walk. We need to get some training in before our next projected Glen Coe trip.
The blues in all of these windows are fantastic.
A fabulous day, and three more Wainwrights ticked off in my not-so-relentless rebagging round.
Not had many paddling the periphery posts for a while. TBH was really keen to take advantage of the stunning weather and get out in our inflatable canoe. She’s especially keen to canoe on Wastwater – Coniston Water was a compromise involving less driving.
Looking north along the lake.
In brief, we parked a little north of Brown Howe car park (which was heaving), paddled along the west shore northwards for a bit, then across, back down the east side to Peel Island and then back again, finishing with a bit of muppetry where we couldn’t agree on where along the shore we had parked.
The Park and Top o’ Selside from Torver Back Common.
The big surprise was that, although the areas around Brown Howe and Peel Island were quite busy, everywhere else was very, very quiet, so it was a very restful trip.
From the east side of the lake to the Coniston Fells.
I find the canoe quite uncomfortable to sit in, so we stopped frequently on the shore for drinks, and a swim and, on the shore of Torver Back Common, for a picnic lunch. Also, the bottom and one side of the boat need a little more air pumping into them from time to time.
Pano.Coniston Fells from another rest stop.Looking south down the lake (to Slatestone Fell?).Peel Island – busy.A final view north up the lake.
A brilliant little outing, and one I’m sure we will repeat at some time.
Map of our route – I forgot to start the app at the beginning.
I’m quite surprised by the extent to which we managed to canoe in reasonable straight lines.
Another Whit week local walk. TBH gave me a lift to the large quarry on Warton Crag. I hoped to spot the Peregrine Falcons which were nesting there. I didn’t. But I sat in the sunshine and happily watched the multitude of Jackdaws which were also nesting there.
My route.
When I eventually dragged myself away, I followed the path westward anti-clockwise around the quarry and up to the trig pillar on the top, then on the red path shown on the map to Occupation Road (where it says ‘You Are Here’ on the map) where I turned westwards along the track towards the Crag Road. Which very brief description glosses over a whole host of stops and distractions.
Ravens.
This little band of Ravens, of which I’m sure there were, at least to begin with, four members, were chatting away very volubly, as Ravens often seem to do, and put me in mind of the Scouse vultures in Disney’s version of the Jungle Book.
Small Heath butterfly.Common Blue Damselfly, male.Common Blue Damselfly, female, blue form. Biting Stonecrop.A yellow composite.
Another Hawkweed, or Hawksbeard, or Hawkbit. Ostensibly they all have flowers which look quite like Dandelions. On closer inspection, the flowers are often quite striking. (Although ‘quite striking’ – is that an oxymoron?)
Brimstone butterfly, female I think.
There were a pair of Brimstones about, circling each other in flight, but I only managed to photograph the female.
A view northwards – Heald Brow, Arnside Knott, Hampsfell, Gowbarrow, Black Combe and the Coniston Fells.Common Blue butterfly.Nomad Bee.
I’m reliably informed that this is a Nomad Bee, and also that it’s nigh on impossible to decide which particular species from a photograph. It was lurking on this very low plant, seemingly not at all phased by my interest, and so probably waiting for a female Mining Bee to emerge from its burrow so that an egg could be laid in there and subsequently raised by the host bee.
Looking south – Carnforth Salt Marsh and Morecambe Bay.Another view south – Warton, Millhead, Carnforth, Ward’s Stone and Clougha Pike.Speckled Yellow Moth – a partial view.Speckled Yellow Moth – a shaded view.
A lovely moth, the Speckled Yellow, hopefully I’ll get a clearer view for a photo next time I see one.
Small Tortoiseshell butterfly. A tatty example.
I hardly seem to have seen any Small Tortoiseshells this summer, which is a shame.
Just below the summit of Warton Crag, looking north again.One of the white-tailed bumblebees.
Just off the top of the crags in a tall thicket of brambles there were loads of bees, mostly Honey Bees. I took lots of photographs, but bees never seem to stop moving, and because bramble flowers often droop over, many were in shade when I tried to capture them, so I didn’t have much success.
Broad-bodied Chaser, female.
This dragonfly was much more cooperative, repeatedly returning to the same perch and giving me lots of good opportunities to take photos.
As you’ll see, I photographed three different Broad-bodied Chasers during this walk, all female. Where were the males? I did begin to wonder whether the females perch in prominent spots like this precisely to attract a potential mate, which might be why I have so many more photos, over the years, of females than of males?
Silver-ground Carpet Moth.Common Blue Damselfly, male.Dark-edged Bee-fly.
I was initially very excited about this very dark bodied bee-fly; I knew that there are a couple of species of bee-fly, relatively new to Britain, which are predominantly black and wondered whether I had stumbled on something fairly rare. With hindsight, the dark-edged wing is characteristically that of a Dark-edged Bee-fly. Apparently, as they age they can lose their golden fur. Still, first time I’ve seen one feeding on Germander Speedwell.
Mating pair of Dark-edged Bee-Flies.
These two also seem to have lost a little fur. I’m always amazed to watch mating insects flying around whilst still united, as these two were doing.
Mating pair of Dark-edged Bee-Flies.
As promised, here’s the second Broad-bodied Chaser…
I spotted this, third Broad-bodied Chaser of the day, not too long after the second…
Broad-bodied Chaser, female.Common Blue Damselfly, female, green form.
From Occupation Road, I walked down along the Crag Road to Crag Foot and then past Barrow Scout Field where these irises were flowering…
Yellow Flag Iris.Yellow Flag Iris.Yellow Flag Iris.
Whilst I was preoccupied photographing the irises, TBH and Little S happened by and stopped to offer me a lift. Unfortunately, I didn’t hear TBH’s almost silent electric car and leapt around half a mile into the air when she sounded the horn to attract my attention. Something in my subsequent response gave TBH the impression I didn’t want the lift on offer long before I’d finished my sentence, so I completed my walk by crossing Quaker’s Stang, climbing through Fleagarth Wood and heading home via Sharp’s Lot.
Common Blue Damselfly, female, green form.
In Sharp’s Lot there were no end of damselflies about.
Common Blue Damselfly, male, on Salad Burnet.Common Blue Damselfly, male, immature.Common Blue Damselfly, male, immature.
Trying to get to grips with damselflies is proving to be quite tricky. These last two are a case in point. They have all the markings which clearly identify them as male Common Damselflies. But they don’t have that vivid, electric blue, and are, if anything, a little pink. Apparently, teneral damselflies, which is to say newly emerged from their larval stage, are often unmarked and pale, with milky wings, gaining pigment and markings as their new body hardens.
Dingy Skipper butterfly.Ox-eye Daisy, with tiny residents.
Finally, I’ve just finished reading ‘Whoops’ by John Lanchester. I read his novel ‘The Wall’ earlier this year and was hugely impressed. But ‘Whoops’ is not fiction; it’s an account of the credit crunch of 2008 and a more general description of investment banking. I know – I’m a bit behind the times, one of the penalties, I suppose, on insisting on only reading second-hand books. Anyway, it’s a fascinating book. The reason I mention it here is that in it I found this quote from a 1930 essay ‘Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren’ by John Maynard Keynes.
“We shall honour those who can teach us how to pluck the hour and the day virtuously and well, the delightful people who are capable of taking direct enjoyment in things, the lilies of the field who toil not, neither do they spin.”
The essay foresees a future point when a general prosperity will mean that greed, avarice and the pursuit of wealth will no longer be seen as virtues, and when economic activity will no longer be essential. Keynes was predicting that point arriving in 2030, which seems sadly unlikely now that date is approaching. In fact, a return to the hardships of the 1930s seems depressingly more likely for most of us. However, I liked his idea of honouring ‘the delightful people who are capable of taking direct enjoyment in things’. Meanwhile, I shall continue to aspire to become a ‘lily of the field’.
A short post for a change. Bank Holiday Monday, a good time, when the roads are busy, to keep it local. I was out twice, once for an Eaves Wood circuit, then later for a wander to Woodwell and back via The Lots and The Cove.
Bird’s-foot Trefoil, and, I think, a Mining Bee.
In Eaves Wood there’s a large clearing, which, being sheltered by trees on all sides, is a bit of a sun-trap when the weather is good. On this occasion, there were lots of butterflies about in that area. They were extremely elusive, but I did manage to get a couple of photos.
Dingy Skipper.Common Blue.Common Blue.
In amongst the trees the most commonly seen butterfly is definitely the Speckled Wood…
Speckled Wood Butterfly.The silage cut.Sunset from The Cove.
Bit of a boring post, but I’m quite happy with that I’ve decided.
Another Lune Catchment outing. I parked at Clapham Station, which, like our own village station, is quite a long way outside the settlement it serves. The car park was large and very empty, so I shan’t feel bad about using it. Besides which, I would have used the train if the first train in the morning had been at a more reasonable time, and if the fare weren’t so ridiculously expensive. There’s a listed waiting room at the station – I shall have to go back!
River Wenning.
The bridge I crossed over the wenning is also listed, I’m not sure why I didn’t take a photo; most unlike me.
My route initially took me through farmland, very pleasant, but unremarkable. However, I did take a lot of photos of the various views of Ingleborough.
Ingleborough.
Near Wenning Side I exchanged good mornings with a couple who seemed to be assiduously creosoting every gate, fance, stile etc on their property. Climbing a stile later on I managed to get thoroughly tarred-up with the sticky stuff.
Clapham Wood Hall.
There’s very little access to Keasden Beck, but from Clapham Wood Hall I was able to follow it as far as Turnerford Bridge.
Keasden Beck.Another view of Ingleborough.
At West Borronhead I hit access land and turned uphill. With hindsight, I should have turned immediately and followed Alder Gill Syke and the fence beside it. As it was, I went a little further west first and then found myself climbing steeply through tall bracken beneath which were years of accumulated dead bracken, which made for very difficult progress. Once I got to the stream, there was always at least a faint path of sorts.
Pano from beside Alder Gill Syke.
Alder Gill Syke (don’t ‘gill’ and syke’ both mean stream?) gives a good route all the way up Burns Moor, with a steady, fairly easy going and expanding views across the valley of the Wenning to the much more famous hills opposite.
Gragareth, Whernside, Ingleborough over the Wenning Valley.Gragareth, Whernside, Ingleborough over the Wenning Valley, pano.An evil trap.
I’m sure I must have seen these before; I certainly saw a few on this walk, and I’ve seen them again since in the Bowland Fells. Naively, when I saw this one, I assumed it must be part of some sort of wildlife population survey. Sadly not. This device is intended to kill Weasels and Stoats. They don’t like to get their feet wet apparently; by putting a plank or log across a section of bog and putting a trap on that plank, gamekeepers can protect their precious Grouse. Has anybody designed a ‘humane’ trap for grouse-shooting toffs?
Burn Moor trig pillar.
This was another very quiet walk. In fact I didn’t see any other walkers until I arrived at Bowland Knotts. I suspect Burn Moor trig pillar is little visited. Not far from the trig pillar is this curio:
Standard on Burn Moor. Looking down towards Morecambe Bay.
Marked on the OS map as ‘Standard On Burn Moor’, it has large capital letters carved on it and on the top…
Standard on Burn Moor.
…the word ‘Standard’. Odd. It made a very comfy backrest for me whilst I ate a bit of lunch and enjoyed the views. I also had some company; this Meadow Pipit flew around me, from fence post to heather and back again, singing all the time. I assume there was a nest somewhere nearby.
Meadow Pipit.Meadow Pipit.
On the long steady ascent of Thistle Hill to Crowd Stones there was no path and I had reason to be glad of the fact that the heather had been burned in strips, because by stringing together recently burned areas or relatively new growth patches, I could make easier progress. I used the presence of lots of small pink flowers as an excuse for a bit of a photo stop rest.
Bilberry flower.Bog Rosemary.Cranberry flowers.
I think there were Lousewort too, which are also pink, but for some reason I ignored those.
Boundary stone? One of many.
Another excuse for a pause were the frequent boundary stones. At least, that’s what I assume this is. Some had crosses, others had a single letter.
Looking back to Burn Moor from Thistle Hill.Pano from much the same spot.And in the other direction – Raven’s Castle, White Hill, Ward’s Stone.
I took a lot of panorama photos on this walk. I know they don’t work too well in a blog post, but you can always click on them to see larger versions on Flickr, and I think they reflect the wide-open spaces of this walk well.
Crowd Stones – looking down towards Morecambe Bay.
Crowd Stones is also named Raven’s Castle on the nap, but since there’s another Raven’s Castle a little further along the ridge, I shall stick with Crowd Stones. Which is….well, lots of scattered stones. I’d been hoping for something a little more spectacular.
Crowd Stones – Wofhole Crag and Ward’s Stone.
None-the-less, I stopped here for a while for a drink and to try, without much success, to photograph a Curlew which was circling.
Crowd Stones – White Hill.Pen-y-ghent and Fountains Fell.Bowland Knotts.
From this cairn I looked down on the swep of moorland which feeds Keasden Beck. All the little streams seem to be named, my favourite names being Outlaw Gill Sike and Bull Wham. I also liked the fact that the hillside below Raven’s Castle is called Hailshowers Fell.
Stocks Reservoir and Pendle Hill.
From Raven’s Castle there was a definite path again and I felt a bit less off the beaten track.
Descending from Raven’s Castle towards Cold Stone and Bowland Knotts.Cold Stone and Bowland Knotts.Cold Stone.Bowland Knotts pano.
Bowland Knotts came as a bit of a surprise. A really attractive series of gritstone edges and crags. How come I’ve never heard of them before? I found a sunny spot below the trig pillar and settled down for a wee nap.
I think that, at this point, I had originally planned to continue along the Knotts to Hanging Stone, Knotteranum, and Rock Cat Knott and then to strike across worryingly contour free Austwick Common to hit a footpath near Chapman Bank. I’d certainly like to try the first part of that, but on this occasion time was marching on and I was already a bit weary, so I decided to ‘cheat’ and follow the minor Keasden Road downhill back to Clapham Station.
Burn Moor on the left and the valley of Keasden Beck.
Also, I was anxiously following the last day of the Premier League season on the BBC website.
Drinker Moth Caterpillar.
When Leicester went one nil up, hopes of their potential survival were cruelly raised.
Road sign.
But sadly, the important numbers were: Bournemouth 0 – Everton 1. B****r!
Ingleborough again.
MapMyWalk gives 15 miles and just over 500m of ascent. Another very worthwhile outing.
The last Saturday in May, which is to say the first Saturday of our Whit week half-term. With the sun shining, I decided to make my way back to Trowbarrow Quarry to have another gander at the Fly Orchids in better light.
Clark’s Lot. Or Sharp’s Lot.
At the right time of year, damselflies are plentiful and seemingly everywhere. Walking up towards Trowbarrow from Storrs Lane, it was very warm amongst the trees and they seemed to be particularly abundant. Naturally, I took no-end of photos.
Common Blue Damselfly, female, green form.Large Red Damselfly, female.Blue-tailed Damselfly, female.Common Blue Damselfly, male.Germander Speedwell.Common Blue Damselfly, male. Azure Damselfly, male.Andrena species – a mining bee.Fly Orchid.Fly Orchid.Common Damselflies, mating pair.Common Damselflies, mating pair.Fly Orchid.
Nevermind the fact that this flower is supposedly impersonating a wasp, to me the middle flower looks like some sort of demonic Star Wars character, a horned, loon-eyed, dark-cloaked member of the Sith order.
Dog Rose.Bird’s-foot Trefoil.Northern Marsh-orchid.Trowbarrow Quarry.Dryad’s Saddle.
I think this may have been the day when, as I walked home along Park Road, past Silver Sapling, the Girl Guide camp-site, a Stoat popped its head up from a woodpile just on the other side of the wall and stared at me. I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo, but it was a marvellous, close encounter. I say, Stoat, because I think that’s what it was, but it could have been a Weasel – I didn’t see the tail to see if it had the Stoat’s distinguishing black tip.
Later, TBH and I walked around the coast to Arnside for a chippy tea on the promenade.
Round the coast to Arnside.Sea Campion.Allium Unifolium, One-leaved Onion, American Garlic.
As we approached Arnside, we were both very struck by three large and very striking clumps of Thrift. With hindsight, whilst it’s exactly the right pale pink for Thrift, the right height, flowering in the right sort of spot, at the right season, I don’t think it is Thrift after all. The flowers strike me as being the wrong shape, with slightly too pointy petals, and Thrift has fine, ‘needle like’ leaves, whereas these look much thicker. Google Lens suggests that this is Allium Unifolium, One-leaved Onion, also known as American Garlic. As the name suggests, it’s not native, being native to the coasts of California and Oregon and must, I suppose, have escaped from a garden somewhere. Always something new to see!
Beating The Bounds 