Good to get out again

Saturday 22nd Sept 2012
                                   We've just arrived back from Spain having enjoyed 10 days of gloriously hot sunny weather. After an early frost, today's clear cool sunny weather was too good to miss so it was off  to Ribblehead for a climb up Whernside the highest of Yorkshire's Three Peaks.

                                    Turnstone along the beach

             Also the Sanderling.... two birds that I was surprised to see

Back to our walk
   The Ribblehead Viaduct ....on the Settle-Carlisle Line

            Ingleborough one of several hills viewed from this scenic line

Blea Moor tunnel (2629 yds) The railway line travels under Blea Moor and emerges in Dentdale

                          Pen-y-ghent (distant left) and Ingleborough

                                       Greensett Moss

                                     Nearing the summit (2419 ft)

View from Whernside's ridge into beautiful Dentdale with the Howgills in the mid-distance

                                       Ribblehead Viaduct

 Two views of Ingleborough....   wide-angle and semi telephoto

                                               The walk off

                                And finally Ribblehead Viaduct

Too good to be true !

Wed 5th Sept. 2012
                          A bit of settled weather for a change to enjoy an area that I never tire of.  Arnside and Siverdale near to the N.E. corner of Morecambe Bay is a quiet area of natural beauty with wooded and limestone hills and extensive views across the estuary of the River Kent and the sands of Morecambe Bay

    The walk over Arnside Knott to Silverdale and then back along the coastal path to Arnside is about 8 miles.  Down the scree path from the viewpoint on the top of the knott I spotted some Dark-Red Helleborines under some larch trees but the flowering season should have finish by now. On closer examination I had my doubts, they were the same reddish colour but lacked the bright yellow anther so I came to the conclusion they they were reddish coloured Broad- Leaved Helleborines.  It just so happened that a voluntary warden was passing and he confirmed that the plants were hybrids between the two species.

                                  Along the coastal path

This years Brimstone Butterfly, this will hibernate through the winter and lay eggs next Spring

          The Dark-Red Helleborine on Helsington Barrow in July this year

                  The Broad Leaved and Dark-Red Helleborine hybrid

                        All the flowers growing on Limestone scree

And finally today back home in the garden a very tame young robin

                                    Weeding the Pond
On the stone seat next to the pond the young robin has taken a liking to blackberries

400 Years ago

!st Sept 2012
                    Pendle Hill standing at 1831ft dominates our local landscape here in east Lancashire. Looking north west from our towns in Pendleside the unmistakable shape of the hill is so easy recognised. Two weeks ago on the 18th August it was exactly 400 years to the day that the famous Witches of Pendle were tried and executed at Lancaster Castle. To mark this event in Pendle's history a sponsored Pendle Witch Walk was organised for the Pendleside Hospice also an attempt to set a world record in the Guiness  Book Of  Records for the highest number of witches to assemble in a single gathering, the total count just a few short of 500.The event should raise at least £30,000.
         My involvement was to record the day with other members of the Burnley Film Makers in High-Definition, later after editing it will be sold and all proceeds will go to the Pendleside Hospice. My filming location was on the top of Pendle Hill and the misty scenes on the summit all added to the atmosphere as the ghostly figures appeared out of the mist.
            Because of the filming I only shot a couple of photos on the summit.  Today we had a quick walk up and along the top of Pendle on a very windy but clearer day.

The temporary date very cleverly marked out in a polyhene material time taken to mark out about 5 hours

                     

                        Burnley Film Makers recording the event

    The mist adding to the atmosphere as the witches walk to the summit

Just a few shots of  today's walk ( We must have climbed this hill dozens of times throughout the years)