On a clear day

Tues. 25th March 2014
                    We're still out and about but because my posts repeat the same theme year after year it's difficult to put a new angle on the same locations. Yesterday was frosty early with a wonderful clear sky so we walked over Pendle Hill yet again hoping for exceptional visibility, it was OK but not as good as expected. I tried a few different camera angles and hazy distant shots to explain the views from our local hill because many people are not aware of what can be seen from the top of Pendle at 1831 ft.

                        The familiar profile from our side of the hill

The slog up the stepped Path (a route I dislike) takes about 35 minutes from the road end to the top

The view from the wall at the top of the path looking up the Ribble Valley towards Ribblehead

North East with Great Whernside in the distance in upper Wharfedale and some of the lower fells still dusted with an overnight snow shower

In the distant centre of the photo, Pen-y-ghent, the location of the Purple Saxifrage it's the mountain we visit each year in March or early April to photograph this special flower

      The path along the eastern side of Pendle which overlooks our area

         The view to the towns of Nelson & Colne the area where we live

                                         The Trig Point

To the west the sea and Blackpool Tower can just be seen on the horizon above the lower slopes of Longridge Fell

Looking more to the northwest the original wide valley of the  River Hodder (it changed coarse at the end of the last Iceage) to the left Longridge Fell in the centre Beacon Fell and to the right Parlick Hill and Fairsnape Fell in the Bowland fells

In the distance towards the northwest above the Bowland Fells the snow covered  Eastern Lakeland Fells around the Helvellyn area a distance of around 50 miles or more

Descending off Pendle Hill on the northside on a little used path towards Downham

We then turned north east along the lower slopes of the hill overlooking the Ribble Valley

In the centre .......Ingleborough with the more distant Whernside to the right

   Climbing down off the ladder stile and back to the big end of Pendle Hill

Another less familiar view of the big end of Pendle with the dry stone wall running up to and then across the top

Our summary
A bracing walk in a cool S.E.wind but an enjoyable one with the call of the Curlew and aerial songflight of the Skylark on the wind all day.

The glorious Purple Saxifrage

Thursday 13th March 2014
          What a difference our British weather can be from one year to the next. This year has been the mildest winter that I've recorded in my diaries for the last 40 years, we've just had one night with 1 inch of lying snow and that melted the following morning but it has been very wet at times.
            On Tuesday we made our annual walk up Pen-y-Ghent to find the Purple Saxifrage under glorious clear skies and unbroken sunshine. I like to compare the seasons and last year exactly to the day we had blizzard conditions up here in N.W.England. With the winter being so mild the season is well advanced compared to last year and the Purple Saxifrage wasn't in full flower last until mid- April.
      This Arctic-Alpine flower stands out in the almost colourless environment on Pen-y Ghent so early in the year and I never tire of seeing this little gem.
   I also made a short H.D. video of the walk which I will upload after the editing.

    On route up to Pen-y-Ghent from Horton in Ribblesdale  about a 6-7 miles  round trip over the summit of the mountain with an ascent of about 1500 ft.

The view looking towards the Lake District with Scafell and Scafell Pike in the centre of the range

The first sight of the flower growing on the Limestone Crags on the 1800 ft contour

The lower limestone rocky band is where this little gem of a flower survives

At their best

Friday 7th March 2014
             The snowdrops have put on a great display this year with snowdrops out everywhere. We came across this wonderful display at Linton up in Wharfedale in a private garden on Monday this week on a walk with our friends.

Pendle Hill along the Periphery

Friday 28th Feb 2014

                     Another walk over our local Pendle Hill on a lovely springlike day once the clouds started to disperse. This time we approached the top from what I call the back of Pendle ..... the Nick of Pendle. Starting from the Nick you have a height advantage but the distance from the summit is further. We've walked Pendle Hill more times than I care to remember but the periphery walk opens up views that we're less familiar with.

     The western side of Ogden Clough with the summit in the distance

                        The more familiar view towards Barley

                                    Along the Eastern side

     The Northern periphery with views over Clitheroe and Longridge Fell

                               Approaching the Refuge Shelter

                                          The Scout Cain

Clitheroe Cement Works, we could taste and smell the smoke as it drifted across the tops

Paragliding on the late afternoon thermals

Longridge Fell and Beacon Fell in the distance

The ground has sunk over the years leaving this wall dissecting this pond

The view looking up Ribblesdale with Ingleborough in the distance

The calls of the Curlew and the song flight of the Sky Lark all added to the walk of around 7 miles, a most enjoyable early spring day.

Christmas Celebrations........ but just a little late

28th January 2014
           I've just got round to editing our annual Christmas visit to the St Nicholas Night street celebrations on  the 6th Dec  in Alcester Warwickshire, the lovely old town where my daughter and family live. We love the atmosphere that this event generates so I've published it for all to enjoy.

A Day Of Contrasts

Thursday 16th January 2014

             It's been a mild winter so far with lots of rain up here in Lancashire, but no way has it been as wet as some of our southern counties which have suffered such bad and distressing flooding.
        We've had a bracing walk today up onto our South Pennine Moors, its a wild and fairly remote area and it's the nearest thing we have to wilderness but it is a wonderful unspoilt area and a site of special scientific interest. The area is covered in blanket bog and in the summer drifts of cotton grass cover the area, in a good year almost like a light snowfall. Today care had to be taken to avoid sinking into the bogs. The ground dries out as you reach the ridge where the grit stone outcrops are exposed this area is named the Dove Stones on the map.

                                        Back of Boulsworth Hill

                                                      Dove Stone Ridge

Today the only sound being carried across the moor was that of the Red Grouse 

              Looking east across the moor into Yorkshire above Hebden Bridge

                           Looking west into Lancashire towards Burnley 

After the last Ice Age the weather became warmer and drier than it is at present and forests covered the upland areas. After a few thousand years the climate changed to the wetter conditions that prevail today. This slowly change the structure of the ground and it became too wet so the forests slowly rotted and the area change into Blanket Bog which still covers the moors today.
    We found evidence of this down below the ridge were the moorland rivers have cut channels through the peat to expose the trees that once covered this area.

              The bark is still recognizable, I'm fairly sure it's the Silver Birch tree

                                Some type of lichen on growing on the peat 

Finally on a lighter note... the Snow Drops in my garden have

almost opened it's at least a month earlier than last year.

  

Happy New Year

Wed. 1st Jan.2014
          I haven't posted for at least 2 months because my years activities just seem to be a repeat theme of the previous years, but we're still out there in the great outdoors recording the changing seasons and natural events.
           I would like to share a picture that our granddaughter Victoria created of her younger cousins for her uncle (our son) for Christmas, its difficult to sing the praises of our grandchildren but we really feel that she has a talent for art.
                The photo isn't evenly lit because I couldn't position it correctly because of the reflection from the glass.

Lasts nights group photo of our friends at the New Years Eve party hosted by Pat & Joe, we all enjoyed the celebrations and hospitality......so from all of us here in Lancashire, England we wish you a Very Happy New Year.