Never Too Old

Mon.21st Jan.2013
             A good covering of snow this morning this was too good to miss, so out came our 40 years old homemade sledge again for a good bit of old fashioned fun sledging down the local golf coarse not far from our house. Loads of people were sledging and we were definitely the oldest (sledges) out today, but who cares life's too short to miss this bit of fun.

                                             Setting off

                    I prefer the old fashioned belly dive position

                                     Having a jolly good time

              Homeward bound for a cup of coffee and a hot mince pie

A winters day on Pendle

Wed 16th January 2013
                                   For the last few days the weather has turned more seasonable with a light covering of snow in our area. We're not people for sitting about so we choose to walk over Pendle Hill  this morning the  first ascent of 2013. The morning felt quite mild -2c with very little wind so we set off from Barley village for the 6 miles circular walk, a walk we've done dozens of times throughout the seasons. There's something about a walk in the snow that gives a new lease of life and lifts the spirits in the dark winter months.

        Pendle Hill viewed from above the village of Newchurch in Pendle

                              Along the ridge above Ogden Clough

A spring bubbles up near to south ridge of Pendle Hill  this is one of sources of Pendle Water which flows into the River Calder then into the River Ribble reaching the sea south of Blackpool at Lytham.

                                  Along Pendle's southern edge

                       Frost and ice crystals on the blades of grass

                                      Pendle's summit 1831 ft

Wintry scenes on the top of Pendle with the high cloud proceeding warmer air from the Atlantic spreading over from the west, this is heralding snow as the warmer air clashes with the cold continental air from the east.

    The wire fence takes on an added attraction in the freezing conditions

            Finally down the tourist path back to the village of Barley

                     

Keeping Busy

Wed. 2nd Jan. 2013
           For the first time in around thirty odd years we didn't celebrate New Years Eve with our friends because both me and my wife Audrey had caught the dreaded cough and cold that doing the rounds up in our part of the world. We assume we've caught it off our three young grandsons during the Christmas period.
      Not being one to sit around and let the cold and cough take it's course (even though I did feel grotty) I  edited another short film on one of my favourite subjects (Wild Orchids) that I'm so passionate about. I've tried to weave a message into the story line to make the film a little more imaginative Once again it features Eric one of my life long friends, he's good talking to the camera and we rarely have to shoot a second take.
       I'm not sure that this video can be viewed by some of my followers, If it can be viewed I'd been interested to hear any comments as how far it's reached on the Internet.

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