A long anticipated walk this one, and something a bit different. TBH and I had both spotted adverts for this…what? Instillation? Artwork? Event? Whatever, these flags had been moved around Morecambe Bay being displayed in various spots, alongside music and performance. The next day would be the last, in Morecambe, but on this day they were in Arnside.
We walked there and back, naturally; via the Knot in both directions, although we didn’t actually visit the top on either leg.
Contented looking pigs at Arnside Tower Farm.Approaching the prom in Arnside.Arnside and the flags.
There were 120 handmade, silk pennants, one for each mile of the Bay’s coastline.
Fish design.Abstract design?
I can’t find any reference to who actually made the banners, which is a shame, because I thought the designs were superb.
Seedhead design.
I didn’t photograph all of them, but left to my own devices I might well have!
Flags on the jetty.
It was Bank Holiday Sunday, and pretty busy in Arnside. On the prom, a couple were singing what sounded to me like sea shanties, accompanied by a concertina.
As much as I liked the flags individually, it was the collective affect from various vantage points which was most striking.
Flags seen from the Jetty.Fairground Design.A view from our route up the Knott.
A great excuse for a walk, fair play to Morecambe Bay Partnerships for putting it on; I’m hoping they have something equally engaging planned for this summer.
Back to June – some photos from three midweek walks and then some from the Saturday of the areas annual Art Trail.
A tea time visit from a Roe buck.
This was when the weather was still hot and dry and summer like and blue skies abounded.
Warton Crag, Clougha Pike and the village, from The Pepper Pot.Silverdale, from Castle Barrow (i.e. from near where the last photo was taken).Morecambe Bay from Castle Barrow.Grange-over-sands from The Lots.Unidentified bee on Common Blue Sow-Thistle.Hoverfly, on Common Blue Sow-Thistle, a Syrphidae species, I suspect.
Our friend J and her daughter E came for the weekend, as they usually do for the Art Trail, and I managed to take absolutely no photos of them, not even a single one, as I usually do when in company. Actually, that’s poor, even by my own low standard.
Cuckoo Pint berries.
Much more important to record what Cuckoo Pint berries look like, obviously.
I also didn’t take any photos of the many art venues we visited, except, that is for The Mawson Garden.
The Mawson Garden.
It’s always a treat to visit, and even better this time since we bumped into a very old friend there and had a good natter too. (No photo, of course.)
The Mawson Garden.Fox by Vicky Yates.
I don’t generally take photos of the art work – even the things I really take a shine too – unless the art work is sculpture or ceramics. It’s acceptable to photograph 3D art apparently, in my warped view of the world at least.
Black Backed Jackal by Vicky Yates – that’s TBH disappearing in the background – my only ‘people’ shot of the weekend.
We were all charmed by the Fox and the Jackal. The latter seems to still be available, at the time of writing, on the artist’s website.
There was a large Mullein flowering in the garden, so I felt duty bound to see whether it had any Mullein Moth caterpillars – I found one, and a ladybird and this…
Hairy Shieldbug or Sloe Bug. Mawson Garden Pergola.Roses.More sculpture.Mawson Garden Pond.Another view of the Mawson Garden.Grey Walls – also designed by Thomas Mawson and sons – the Mawson Garden is in the grounds of the house.
The Art Trail happens on the last weekend in June every summer and is well worth a visit – doubly so now that the Mawson Garden has been open to the public each year.
Skiddaw and Blencathra clothed in clouds. Latrigg sensibly sitting beneath them.
April Fools’ Day – the start of our Easter Holidays. The kids all had exams coming up (they’ve finished now of course), so we had no plans to go anywhere, but luckily for us, there’s plenty of nice places not too far from home.
From Skellgill Bank – Swinside, Skiddaw, Blencathra and Derwentwater.
The forecast let me down a bit – low cloud was predicted, but it was supposed to lift and clear; which it did briefly, although I don’t think Skiddaw ever fully emerged, and then the cloud swept back in again and there were some lengthy showers later in the day. Not to worry – I had a good day anyway.
I started on Cat Bells, with fabulous views both across Derwentwater and into the North-Western Fells.
Rowling End, Causey Pike and Barrow.Looking ahead to Cat Bells, Maiden Moor, Hindscarth and Robinson.The North-Western Fells.Looking down into Borrowdale.
Dropping off Cat Bells brought some welcome shelter from the cold, northerly wind and I stopped just short of the hause for a first hot drink from my flask, to enjoy the view down into Borrowdale and, if I remember right, to chat to my mum and dad about my plans to fetch them, a couple of days later, for a visit.
Bassenthwaite, Cat Bells, Skiddaw, Derwentwater and Blencathra.The North-Western Fells again.Dale Head and Hindscarth from close to the summit of High Spy.Dale Head – weather deteriorating.
I found another spot out of the wind as I descended towards Dalehead Tarn. The weather was clearly deteriorating at this point, and it was obvious that it would be raining soon. In fact, it started not long after I’d stopped for another drink and some lunch; but actually, hunkered down amongst some rocks, I was pretty comfortable despite the rain.
Classic Dale Head view down to the Newlands Valley.
Cloud was swirling around Dale Head as I reached the summit and I was pretty lucky that I could still see the tremendous view down to the Newlands Valley. I think this is the fifth time that an ascent of Dale Head as featured on my blog. I remember climbing here from the old Youth Hostel at Honister Pass in September 1985 – although that may not have been my first ascent. There were many other visits between that one and the five that I’ve written about here. Although I’m extremely fond of Dale Head, I’ve never consciously decided to make it one of my most climbed hills in the Lakes – it just seems to have turned out that way. In the meantime, it’s many years since I’ve been up, for example, Great Gable or Kirk Fell.
High Crag, High Stile, Red Pike and Buttermere.
I’d originally planned to include both Hindscarth and Robinson in this round, but the cloud had rapidly dropped and with no view from Hindscarth, and plans for the evening which didn’t really leave me enough time anyway, I decided to leave Robinson for another time. (The reascent onto Robinson might just have been a factor too!)
The long ridge off Hindscarth, Robinson on the right.
That decision also had the happy consequence that I got to descend the long ridge from Hindscarth over High Crags and Scope End which is a lovely route.
Newlands Beck.
With five Wainwright’s checked-off – Cat Bells, Maiden Moor, High Spy, Dale Head and Hindscarth – I passed into triple figures of hills coloured in, since Christmas 2022, on my ‘new’ Wainwright map. After my raging full-on approach last year, I’ve adopted a more relaxed attitude so far this year. Much as I enjoyed some of those big days, I did begin to wonder if it wasn’t more sensible to ration the hills a bit. Also, I was beginning to miss my regular visits to local hills outside the Lakes and particularly the varied delights of my Lune Catchment outings. To be honest, I’m also a little put off by the longer drives needed to clear-up some of the more remote areas which I’ve so far neglected.
Dramatic light on Keskadale.
The views from the path across the fields from Little Town back to where I was parked near Skelgill were terrific; a reminder, if it was needed, of how superb a low-level walk in the Lakes can be.
A smidgen under 11 miles and around 3000 feet of up and down, according to MapMyWalk.
Happy Place
Later, we were at the Arnside Educational Institute for a performance of ‘Happy Place’ by Forget About The Dog theatre company. (Sorry about the rotten photo!) It was superb. I shan’t attempt to precis the story, but it’s a sci-fi, comedy, musical about fantasies and friendships, was highly inventive, brilliantly performed and very, very funny. My in-laws saw it, in Hamsterley Village Hall I think, the night before, and they loved it too.
B had an open day at Newcastle University. Much to his delight, we all chose to go with him. He was only allowed one guest, and TBH bagged that spot, so Little S and I met A and went sightseeing around the town.
Another bridge and the Baltic art gallery.The curvy glass building is a music venue – The Sage, Gateshead.Visiting the Baltic.
Little S has been taking me to task – apparently he feels that I have unfairly branded him a Philistine on the basis of one incident many, many years ago. He may have a point. Although he is sticking by his opinion of Miro. Anyway, he was quite happy to have a gander in the Baltic and even indulged me again later on, as you’ll see.
Tyne bridges again from the viewing platform at the Baltic.The Procession, Hew Locke.
The exhibit which has left a lasting impression was this huge display of near life-size figures.
More art. Newcastle castle.
This was far from my first visit to Newcastle, but somehow it has escaped my notice that Newcastle actually has a castle. Seems obvious that it would, with hindsight.
Newcastle castle.Newcastle castle.
A was keen to take us a vegan cafe she likes. It was very good. Even Little S evidently enjoyed his meal and he’s usually an unapologetic carnivore.
The weather had been good when we left home, but then we’d been in the cloud as we drove over the Pennines and it remained foggy after that. We’d arrived in Newcastle to find it cold and drizzly. Fortunately, whilst we were in the cafe it brightened up considerably.
Our view through the cafe window.Flower bed at the Uni.Part of the University.The Hancock Museum.Fossil.
The Hancock Museum was another one of those places, stuffed to the rafters with a disparate hodge-podge of wonderful stuff.
Surely ancient Egyptian?I liked the shiny clock.Newcastle city centre.The very fetching Central Arcade.Grainger Market.Monument.Art at the Laing Art Gallery.Art at the Laing Art Gallery.
We were killing time to a certain extent, before a meet-up with the kids’ grandparents for a meal in a very busy Spoons near the uni. It was only when we had run out of time that Little S remembered to tell me that he wanted to go shopping for a suit for his forthcoming prom. Doh!
B was impressed with Newcastle. It’s a good job that I was too, since it seems likely that we will have a few more visits to the North-East over the next few years.
B’s team were having one final tour before they graduate to senior rugby. He had a shoulder injury, so couldn’t play, but after all these years, we could hardly miss it, could we?
We’d been delivered to Berwick-on-Tweed on the Friday evening by our redoubtable, and long-suffering, coach driver. I shall draw a veil over the shenanigans which took place on the bus, then later that evening, and on the following night, because, apparently, “what happens on tour, stays on tour”.
The Saturday morning was clear and bright and incredibly cold. We had snow at home and had been worried all week that the games would be cancelled. Fortunately, the borders didn’t have the snow, just the freezing northerly winds.
Berwick Old Bridge again.
Berwick Youth Hostel, where we were staying, (highly recommended if there isn’t a touring rugby team staying there) is right by the Tweed and Berwick Old Bridge. Since the construction of the bridge, replacing older wooden structures, was completed in 1624, I think it definitely deserves that title. Unsurprisingly, it’s a Grade I listed monument.
Royal Tweed Bridge.
The adjacent Royal Tweed Bridge, another road bridge, is a whipper-snapper by comparison, dating from three hundred years later and finished in 1924. It’s concrete and is Grade II* listed, for it’s scale and innovative design.
Kirkby Lonsdale Colts versus Kelso Colts.
We were back on the coach for the first match against Kelso Colts. Later, we watched their senior team play a local rival in a top-of-the-table, promotion decider. I sat in the stand with the Kelso fans and became very invested in the home side’s performance. Happily, they played superbly and won. Later still, we watched the England vs France match in the clubhouse. The clubhouse was heaving, I assumed due to the home game followed by the six nations match, but apparently it’s always that busy – I can see why; the drinks were very reasonable and, as always seems to be the case with rugby clubs, the atmosphere was terrifically friendly. At one point one of the locals was sharing his enthusiasm for the hiding France were handing to England, but then, when he realised I didn’t share his glee, backtracked and reassured me that England would be better in the second half and would no doubt go on to win. We both knew it wasn’t true, but it was good of him to try to cheer me up.
The Tweed at Kelso.
Between the two games I had time for a short stroll into Kelso itself.
Market Square Kelso.The River Tweed Salmon Fishing Museum.
Housed in the former town hall, this is the River Tweed Salmon Museum. Now, I’m very fond of a museum, but this seemed a bit too niche for me.
I was very taken with Kelso. A handsome town, it looks as though it has, at some point, been a prosperous place, with a number of grand buildings.
Cross Keys Hotel.Kelso Abbey.
There’s a Border Abbeys Way in this area, which looks like it would be a great walk to do. Years ago, I walked St. Cuthbert’s Way with my parents, which starts in nearby Melrose and that was a very pleasant route.
Kelso Bridge.
Another bridge over the Tweed. Kelso bridge, completed in 1803, was designed by John Rennie, who was also responsible for the Lune Aqueduct at Lancaster, and for Waterloo Bridge over the Thames.
The view from Kelso millennial viewpoint.
On the Sunday morning we had a more leisurely start, or so I thought, so I took the opportunity to have a longer wander around Berwick.
Royal Tweed Bridge.Entrance to the icehouse.
Like Kelso, Berwick’s large buildings give a strong impression of (perhaps former) affluence. It’s clear that, historically, the trade in Salmon was very important to the town. Because fresh fish fetched a premium, the catch was stored in ice. This icehouse, by the river, built around 1790, is vast inside – large enough for three double-decker buses apparently. When the winter was mild and didn’t provide enough ice it was imported from Scandinavia or even America.
Royal Tweed Bridge from Meg’s Mount.
Berwick is surrounded by ramparts, built in the mid-sixteenth century. Meg’s Mount is at one end of the ramparts and gives good views of the town and the bridges over the Tweed.
The Royal Border Bridge from Meg’s Mount.
The Royal Border Bridge is a railway viaduct with 28 arches. It was completed in 1850, opened by Queen Victoria and designed by Robert Stephenson, son of George Stephenson, the ‘Father of the Railways’.
Meg’s Mount pano.Berwick Battlements map.Cumberland Bastion.Cannon!Looking towards Brass Bastion.The North Sea.
A town with walls or ramparts is pretty much irresistible to me and I enjoyed my walk enormously, although I had to cut it short when I received a message from B to say that we were leaving an hour earlier than had been originally advertised.
Berwick Barracks.
Berwick Barracks are the oldest in Britain. It’s run by English Heritage and I’m sure it would have been fascinating to have a look around, if time had allowed. I’ve visited Berwick before, a couple of times, long ago, and came away, somehow, with a not particularly favourable impression. Clearly, the fault was all mine. This time, I felt like I’d barely scratched the surface and would love to come back for a more leisurely visit.
Anyway, we were back on the coach and en route for another game, this time in Hawick (pronounced Hau-uhk). The ground was right beside the River Teviot, a tributary of the Tweed, and a footbridge took me across the river to a park within which were a number of statues and the Hawick Museum.
The River Teviot.Steve Hislop statue.Jimmie Guthrie statue.Bill McLaren statue.
Famous local sons, Bill Mclaren was a rugby player and commentator, ‘the voice of rugby’, whilst Steve Hislop and Jimmie Guthrie were both motorcyclists, who both died in accidents.
Hawick Museum and fish sculpture.War memorial Hawick.Steve Hislop’s bikes.
The museum was one of those small places with a heterogeneous mismatch of exhibits: curling stones, a typical borders kitchen, motorbikes and myriad trophies, a natural history section, a couple of art exhibitions. I loved it.
Jimmie Guthrie’s bike – different vintage.Some of Jimmie Guthrie’s trophies. Presented by Adolf Hitler.For some reason, this really tickled my fancy. Cesi n’est pas une pipe.The Architecture of Time – an exhibition of the work of Bill Zima.
The retrospective display of Bill Zima’s art, The Architecture of Time, left me bemused, but also intrigued. I suppose it did make an impression on me; there was another exhibition next door and I can’t even remember that.
More Bill Zima art.Large sheets of very closely written text.Numbers!More numbers! Kirkby Lonsdale Colts versus Hawick Colts. Losing again.
Finally, another game and then watching the Scotland vs Ireland game together in the clubhouse. I was rooting for Scotland like most of those present, so of course, they lost.
A mammoth post to cover a single weekend; whole months have been written up more succinctly, but then this area obviously has a great deal to offer and I shall have to find some time to come back for a more leisurely tour.
Am I really going to start yet another post with a photo of Winter Aconites? Well yes. Lots of photos actually. But this is the last one, I promise. At least until next year.
And again. Is that a honeybee?Yes, I think it is.And a Drone Fly a Honeybee imitator.And a close-up of an Aconite flower.By this point, the Snowdrops were out too.Snowdrops.The daffs would be joining them soon.
Now that our visitors had left, the sun came out, of course. Sod’s law. I walked around the coast and then climbed the Knott, of course.
On the coast, looking south to Know Point and Clougha Pike.Shelducks and Crows.Grange-over-Sands and Hampsfell.Cartmell Fell and Meathop Fell.
As you can see, I dropped down to the ‘sands’, but they were still covered by a shallow layer of water. I’ve seem to have waited for months this year for dry and firm sand and an opportunity to have a proper wander in the bay.
Panorama of the Kent Estuary and the Lake District Fells. Click on the photo to see a larger image on Flickr.
Although the weather had started fine, it was rapidly clouding-up from the south.
Ingleborough and Silverdale Moss.Arnside Tower, Warton Crag and Bowland Fells.
By the time TBH and I drove to Morecambe, for the inaugural Baylight Festival, it was drizzling.
Lights and mirrors.
Neither my phone or my camera coped well with the combination of darkness and bright lights.
TBH enjoying the light show.
I think there were seventeen installations. Some were superb, some a bit underwhelming. I really enjoyed myself. It was great to see so many families out enjoying themselves on a cold, damp February night.
Don’t often see Polar Bears on Morecambe beach.
And to top it all off, we finished the evening with chips on the prom from our favourite chippie in the West End of Morecambe.
Laser lights – pretty spectacular. I’d seen them the night before from Silverdale, which had confused me a bit.My favourite of the art installations. This is a video. Click on it to watch on Flickr.
This was by far and away my favourite. It changed colours and obviously had a very long and complex sequence of movements and light changes. The video has the added bonus of a child’s lightsaber toy bobbing in and out of view!
I’m really hoping that the festival, which is apparently ‘reinventing illuminations’, will be back bigger and even brighter next year.
The John Verity Band at the Silverdale Hotel Beer Festival.
A catch-up post to cover some ‘other stuff’ from last autumn into early December. First-up, the Silverdale Hotel, know locally as ‘The Lower House’, had a beer festival. The Woodlands has long had its own beer festival, and very good it is too. The Silverdale’s festival had the added attraction of live music. I enjoyed Billy Joe the Canadian’s act, but the big draw was the John Verity Band. They’ve played the Hotel several times now and we are incredibly lucky to have them. Mr Verity has had a long and distinguished career in music, his current band play a mixture of his own songs, old and new, and some fantastic covers, mostly blues flavoured. The beer was good too! At this distance it’s two stouts that stick in my memory, a black forest gateau stout and, particularly, a cappuccino stout. Yum.
Little S the Viking. He wouldn’t look up for a photo.
By contrast, here’s ‘Little’ S at Silver Sapling, where we organised a fundraiser for his scout trip to Bangladesh and India, long-awaited and delayed by Covid, but now fast-approaching. The event was attended by lots of local Brownie groups. There was a round robin of many activities, the main attraction being viking reenactors with axes and the like.
Proper Vikings. Probably.More proper vikings.
Nextdoor neighbour BB and I were on ‘Fire-lighting with flint and steel’ followed by toasting authentic norse marshmallows. Some of the flint and steels were very tricky to use, and the weather was a bit mixed, but the cheerful enthusiasm of all of the brownies and their leaders was a real tonic, making it difficult even for a grumpy git like me not to enjoy themselves.
The Mikron Theatre Company in the Gaskell Hall.
This is the Mikron Theatre company in the Gaskell Hall in the village. We’ve seen them there several times. This show was about the weather, forecasting and climate change, with a cast of four playing all the parts and all playing instruments and singing to boot. Highly entertaining as ever.
LMF: Away from the Numbers at the Kanteena.
The Lancaster Music Festival is becoming a much anticipated high-point of my year. This year, once again, we were joined by a number of the old-gang, who booked a house in Lancaster for the weekend. I went in to town straight from work on the Friday afternoon. Over the weekend we saw numerous acts of which these photos show a very limited sample. Away from the Numbers play covers, the Jam, Secret Affair, The Who – if it’s mod, they like it.
LMF: The Uptown Monotones at the Gregson Centre.
We saw the Uptown Monotones twice, once at the Gregson on the Friday and again at the Storey on the Saturday. They’re massively entertaining live and highly recommended if you get a chance to see them. I see they are playing a few UK gigs this summer.
LMF: Ten Sheds at the John O’Gaunt.
We’d enjoyed Ten Sheds in the John O’Gaunt in 2021, so made a point of seeing him there again.
LMF: Socialising at the White Cross.
I think the White Cross was one of the places we listened to local ska band Peloton.
LMF: a meal at Mollies, with the usual suspects and nextdoor neighbours BB and G.LMF: Peleton at the Merchants.A fight in our garden.
This photo was taken on the Sunday morning of that same weekend. A pair of Roe Deer bucks were sparring in our garden, something I haven’t seen before. In truth, one of the pair seemed distinctly disinterested, and kept trying to withdraw, but the aggressor insisted on pressing home his advantage. I took a few photos, but all of them came out a little blurred.
Keswick Rugby Club.
These two photos were taken, about half an hour apart, at the end of October half-term and probably sum-up the weather that week. We were there for a rugby match for B’s colts team, played on a pitch which was a quagmire.
The same view in the rain.Welcome to Twickenham.
Early in November, B and I travelled down to Twickenham with Kirkby Lonsdale RUFC for a rugby international.
Pre-match.
It was a great experience, but a very long day.
England vs Japan.
At least this was when Engeland were still winning matches occasionally.
Art at the Storey.Mostly ceramics.Romanesco Cauliflower?
TBH went into Lancaster on a Saturday morning to catch the last day of an exhibition.
Blue bowl.
It was terrific, with lots of interesting exhibits.
Busts.Driftwood?
Finally, at the beginning of December, TBH and I went to the West End of Morecambe for a Lantern Festival. It was on a smaller scale than the one we’ve visited a couple of times in Ulverston, but enjoyable none-the -less.
A brief video – less blurred than it looks here. Click on the image to watch it on flickr.
There’s a lot goes on in our neck of the woods; nice to take advantage of it.
So, our first full day in New York – time to get out and about and see what’s what. By the time I took the photo above, just down the block from our hotel, we’d already eaten breakfast at a small but very busy sandwich bar called Toasties.
Heading back from there, we came across these very large, unusual sculptures…
Paparazzi Dogman and Rabbitwoman.
Seated next to a water feature you could walk through…
Just off 6th.
We were heading down 5th Avenue looking for East 34th Street, but on route we stopped off at the New York Central Library…
New York Central Library
Downstairs there was a small museum, accessed by booking only. We hadn’t booked, so I had the slightly surreal experience of being helped, by the man on the door, to book online, before he scanned the resulting QR code and let us in. Anyway, it was well worth a visit, because among other things it had the original toys immortalised by A.A.Milne’s Winnie the Pooh stories.
You’ll notice that there are no pictures featuring books – the public lending library was across 5th Avenue. The Central Library did have reading rooms with specific collections of books, but they weren’t open to the public.
This was where we had been heading…
Can you guess what it is?This might give you a clue.
The Empire State building is a full on tourist attraction. First you have to queue to have a family portrait taken, so that later you could buy photographs of yourself green-screened onto various views. This turned out to be a common theme just about everywhere we went in Manhattan. Little S took great delight in vying with the sales-people to discreetly take snaps on his phone of our portraits when they were trying to entice us to shell out our hard-earned on their pictures.
King Kong was one of many attractions on the lower floors. He was animated, so that, whilst TBH was posing, his face went through a huge range of expressions, which was quite amusing.
I enjoyed the time-lapse footage of the tower in construction. Astonishingly, it was built in 410 days and finished ahead of schedule.
Here we all are smiling near the top. Well, except B who is too cool to be impressed.B – still not impressed.
We got views from the 82nd and 86th floors, if I remember right. We could have paid extra to go up to the 102nd floor, but were quite content with the view as it was.
Looking downtown.
The bit of green in the foreground is Madison Square Garden, with the Flatiron building just beyond. The Hudson River is on the right and you can see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty in the distance. The sky-scrapers on the left are in Brooklyn and those on the right are in Jersey City.
The Chrysler Building. And others.And the East River.
The views are pretty amazing and I took a lot of photos, but they all essentially show lots of tall buildings, so I’ll limit myself to three here.
More tall buildings.Interior splendour.
Back on the streets the rest of the family got excited about…
Shopping.Bryant Park.
With the obvious exception of Central Park, green spaces are at a premium in midtown. This is Bryant Park just behind the Central Library. We were looking for a relatively small building which we had spotted from the Empire State Building and had all taken a fancy to. From ground level we couldn’t agree which building we had been admiring.
110th and Broadway Station.
We’d bought a week’s pass on the Metro and used it a lot. It could be confusing at times, but was generally very convenient.
110th street – a prompt for a song.
I often felt that everywhere we visited had a song associated with it. I got particularly excited about 110th Street, although if I’d remembered more than just the chorus of the Bobby Womack classic I might have been less keen to visit. Apparently, 110th street was traditionally the boundary of Harlem, and the song is about surviving in the ghetto. Today it seemed very leafy and unthreatening.
The station is at the northwest corner of Central Park. We walked diagonally across the park to catch the Metro again on East 60th Street, which given how hot it was, was quite a hike.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir panorama.Posing in front of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.The Lake. Bow Bridge.A big squirrel.The Bard.
The Mall has statues of William Shakespeare, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns – why no American writers?
Posing again.
Eating out in New York was expensive. Actually, eating in in New York was expensive. Well, everything in New York was expensive. But, we found a fairly reasonable place called the Tick Tock Diner and I discovered the delights of a Cobb Salad. Very tasty.
One way to save money as a tourist in Manhattan is to invest in a City Pass. It gives you entrance to a number of attractions and whilst it isn’t cheap, it does save a lot compared to buying individual tickets. We thought it was good value. As a bonus, a City Pass entitles you to a second, night time, ascent of the Empire State building.
The Empire State Building.Looking downtown again.
Again, the views were stunning. Sadly, my phone seemed to be overwhelmed by the lights and the many, many pictures I took haven’t come out very satisfactorily. Still, quite an experience.
On the Sunday of the Art Trail weekend, TBH and I were keen to visit ‘The Mawson Garden’. It’s far from being the only Mawson garden around. There’s at least one more garden in the village which was designed by Lancaster landscape architect Thomas Mawson, and lots more elsewhere, including some overseas. But in the village this walled garden, within the grounds of a large house called Grey Walls, seems to have become known as ‘The Mawson Garden’, so I’ll go with that. As part of the trail it was open, with art on display, although the principle attraction for us, and, I suspect, for many other visitors, was to see the garden itself.
We walked there via our Sunday route through Fleagarth Wood and around Jenny Brown’s Point.
Warton Crag and the Bowland Skyline across Carnforth Salt Marsh.Common Mallow.
Here’s an image of Grey Walls, from an old postcard, which I found on t’interweb.
Grey Walls.
The house was also designed by Mawson and was apparently finished in about 1925. It looks very different now, since the substantial grounds are now heavily wooded and there are no views of the Bay or the local hills anymore. Actually, the house was renamed Ridgeway when it was bought by Joe Foster co-founder of Reebok, but still seems to be locally know as Grey Walls.
Since access to the garden is only via the grounds of Grey Walls, we had to wait for a guide to lead us to the entrance. (The guide was R, one of our neighbours). Whilst we waited, we chatted to friends from the village about how long it was since we had previously visited. All I knew was that I didn’t know. TBH was spot on with 8 years.
Former Summer House, now a home.
I thought I’d been again since, but I can’t find any reference to such a visit on the blog, so perhaps not. Things have certainly changed a great deal since that first visit.
The pergola again.
I suspect that restoring the garden must be a huge labour of love. It’s really impressive, and I don’t think my photos do it justice.
A Dogwood apparently.
The first time we came, there was a great deal of discussion about this tree. It was suggested that it was a Judas Tree or a Strawberry Tree. Our friend’s daughter, who was home from Massachusetts, was confident that it’s a Dogwood, which are common in Massachusetts gardens apparently.
A small sample of some of the art on display in the garden…
A very enjoyable visit. I hope we get to have another look before 2030!
TBH had missed out on our walk from Cark to Grange via Cartmel and I thought she would enjoy it. X-Ray was keen to meet us for a walk, and perhaps a bite to eat, and I was pretty sure he would enjoy it too. Actually, as I recall, I presented X-Ray with a number of options and this was the one which most appealed. He hopped onto the Northern Fail service at Lancaster and we joined him at Silverdale for the short journey around the bay.
Cark has a pub and a cafe and I made a mental note that an evening repeat of this walk could start with a meal at one or the other. Cark also has Cark Hall, an imposing building which is now three dwellings. It dates from 1580 with a Seventeenth Century wing and alterations. Three hundred year old home improvements! The doorway looked really imposing, from what we could see of it, but good old-fashioned English reticence prevented me from wandering in to the garden to have a proper gander. (Historic England listing)
Hampsfell from just beyond Cark.TBH and X-Ray sat on the fish tables (apparently) outside the Priory Gatehouse in Cartmel.
We bumped into a couple of old-friends and former neighbours in Cartmel who had won (in a raffle?) a meal at L’Enclume, Cartmel’s Michelin-starred restaurant. When we spoke to them later in the week they were highly impressed. Might have to check it out, if I win a booking in a raffle. Or rob a a bank.
Cartmel PrioryCartmel Priory interior.
Inside the church there was an exhibition of painted masks. They’d been there on my previous visit, but I paid a bit more attention this time. Collectively, they were very striking.
Ironically, the forecast was much better for this walk than it had been a few weeks before. On that occasion, the showers held-off. This time, sod’s-law was in operation and it rained quite a bit as we climbed Hampsfell. On the top we were shrouded in clouds and it was very cold for August.
There’s a small hearth in the Hospice and somebody had laid a fire, it was very tempting to light it while we sheltered inside and made a brew.
On our descent, at least the cloud lifted a little and we saw fleeting patches of sunlight on the Bay. It was actually quite striking, but sadly the photo doesn’t begin to do it justice.
We came a slightly different way down in to Grange.
We were hoping to enjoy some lunch in a cafe near to the station which we used to bring the kids to when they were small, but were disappointed to find that they had nothing vegan on the menu for TBH. With a train imminent, and a long wait for the next one, we reluctantly had to abandon our late lunch plans. Maybe next time.
Beating The Bounds 