Not even a fleeting glimpse

Dec 12th 2012

     The atmospherics on the top of Pendle Hill yesterday were wonderful on this early winters day. This was our second climb to the top in the last 2 weeks to view the Snow Buntings which periodically visit Pendle Hill during the winter months, we've only ever seen them on the Cairngorm Plateau up in Scotland during the summer months. A telephone message from Terry, a keen ornithologist informed us of their location and numbers, so it was up and over Pendle again to see this winter visitor. We arrived at the right location but nothing, not even a fleeting glimpse, they'd  moved on, we'd only just missed them, so nothing remains but to go again another day.

            Even though we missed the birds we were rewarded by clear distant views on our first visit and atmospheric mists yesterday which always makes the effort worthwhile.

     A few shots from our first walk over Pendle

                                     The distant Lakeland fells

               Pendleside towns with the Pennine hills in the distance

Yesterday's visit

                       Across the Ribble Valley to Ingleborough

A mixture of valley mist and the smoke from the Clitheroe Cement Works atmospheric, but polluting.

                                         The wider scene

The late afternoon sun and the calm air made this an outing that was well worth the effort

Various shots along the east edge of Pendle hill looking south into the Calder Valley

Spawning Time Again

Wed, 5th Dec, 2012
                    In the last week in Nov.we always explore along the banks of the River Ribble and some of it's many tributaries up here in Lancashire.
          I've always been fascinated by the return of the Salmon to the rivers of their birth from as far away as the seas around Greenland and the Faroe Islands, it's something of a miracle that these fish have the ability to find their way back through the vast oceans.

Autumn thru my pocket camera lens

Sat. 3rd Nov. 2012

                               Welcome from Lancashire and our Pendle Hill which is always prominent in our local landscape. I captured this shot from Towneley Park in Burnley  in the late afternoon sunshine before the onset of a heavy shower.

                                                 
On the 22nd October we returned to the Lake District for 5 nights in our motor home on the Camping & Caravan Site on the shore of Derwentwater in Keswick

                                  

                    A perfect pitch with the views over Derwentwater

I never tire of the lake district and I've walked around the area for over 55 years. Now that the wild flowers and orchids have finished for the year there's now the autumn colours which are coming up to their best, I think it's been the best show for several years.
   On the Tuesday we caught the local bus up to Rosthwaite in Borrowdale and walked back to Keswick via  Watendlath Tarn.

                                           Upper Borrowdale

                                           Watendath Tarn

 The view over Derwentater to Keswick with Skiddaw and the passing  clouds

              Ashness Bridge... a view in many Lake District calenders

Wednesday......We walked with Shirley and Jim our friends, they joined us for a couple of days on 2 more lovely walks.

                                   Morning mist over Skiddaw

                        Through the woods around Portinscale

                                    The Vale of Newlands

                                             Sheep roundup

                                       One for our Album

                                    On the Cat Bells ridge

Thursday .......The area around Buttermere

                            A walk up Rannerdale Knotts

                                              Buttermere

                                       Crummock Water

A few of the many scenes around Buttermere, the ridge of Fleetwith Pike always dominating in the background.

Friday.....One our favourite walks, the climb up to Dale Head and along onto the tops of High Spy, Maiden Moor and back along the CatBells. The weather had turn much colder overnight and the ground was frozen over 2200 ft with the first dusting of snow on the higher summits.

                                             Frozen  Tarn

                                      The cairn on Dale Head

                    The glaciated valley of the Vale of Newlands

                                   Along Hindscarth Edge

                                             Buttermere

                                   Above Honister Pass

                           Shafts of sunlight over Great Gable

                              Dusting of Snow on Great Gable

                               Down the ridge from Dale Head

                  The ridge above the vale of Newlands on High Spy

                                 Descending off  Maiden Moor

                                Dusting of snow on Helvellyn

                           Autumn colours around Dewentwater

          And finally the sunset on Skiddaw viewed from our motor home