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.  

It's almost spawning time again

Wed. 30th October 2013

     October is drawing to a close and it's at this time of year here up in Lancashire when the Salmon and Sea Trout migrate up the rivers to prepare to spawn in the headwaters and side streams of the River Ribble and it's tributaries. I've been out and about in various locations to get a glimpse of these fish nearly at the end of their journey. Some will survive if the conditions are favourable but many will die after spawning, but the life cycle will have been completed.

          The River Ribble Trust has almost completed the river improvements to our local rivers which will enable the fish in the river systems to move up and down the rivers without the impedance of all the impassable obstacles that once stood in their way.

Widening the river channel in Burnley town centre to create resting pools for fish, this section will look similar to the sections already completed lower down the river.

    Improvements to Colne water and the construction of a new fish pass

           New fish pass and fish counter on the weir on Swanside Beck

The new information board at Barrowford Weir and Fish Pass

                              Trout leaping up the weir

 The largest fish that I saw jumping (not this one) was around 18 inch long , dare I suggest it could be a Sea Trout that as finally returned to Pendle Water. I haven't seen any large fish as yet in the rivers above the weir, are they ascending the fish pass?,  I'll check if there's any evidence of spawning in the gravel in the higher reaches of the rivers in a couple of weeks.

Stainforth Force on the River Ribble, a good viewing point to watch the Salmon leap up the falls

Finally a short video that gives the feel and atmosphere of the falls .I know it isn't Canada or Alaska but it's the nearest location we have to view these magnificent fish.

Burnley Rivers .....latest news

Wed. 16th Oct.2013
                  A short video clip about the ongoing improvements to Burnley's town centre rivers. Victoria Dewhurst from the River Ribble Trust who is overseeing this project gives a brief description of the latest work being carried out for the Urban Rivers Enhancement Scheme.
         This short video clip will be included in Burnley Film Makers 2013 Newsreel which will be shown to the public in November.

River Improvements Going Ahead

Tuesday 8th Oct. 2013
                       I'm still involved with The River Ribble Trust in recording the river improvements through Burnley town centre.  During the end of the 19th century the rivers were channelised through the town centre to enable the river to wash away all the rubbish etc. that was continually dumped in the rivers
      Now a more enlightened approach to our towns rivers is being applied (in most cases) and the hope is that in near future Salmon and Sea Trout will again swim through the centre of our town. To make life easier for the fish the long channelised sections of the river are being constructed to create resting pools for the fish to enable them to swim up through the river without exhausting themselves.

The river channel before the improvements (a video frame grab)

                  The new resting pools in the same stretch of the river

    Besides helping the fish, the new look is a lot more pleasing to the eye

More improvements further up the river in what was another fast flowing channelised section

Still the dumping goes on , I suspect that this SOFA has been dumped from one of the many small businesses in the immediate area 

Back to the Lakes

Wed. 2nd Oct. 2013

                  It seems ages since I last posted but with family commitments and the tendency for my posts to repeat themselves over the yearly cycle I've eased off a little.
        But last week the good weather continued so we took full advantage and returned to the Lake District  an area that I never tire of. We were based near to the village of Coniston an ideal area for accessing  the fine ridges that the Coniston Fells have to offer, so on my 73rd birthday we were up and away for a day on the tops.

The Old Man of Coniston range for the Grizedale Forest side of Coniston Water

The walk started near to the village of Torver and across the side of Torver High Common we found the Common Butterwort and some late flowering Grass-of-Parnassus.

                          Common Butterwort (insect eating plant)

         

Grass-of-Parnarnassus

                             Goat's Water and Dow Crag

               Along the ridge with Dow Crag dominating the scene

                               The summit of Coniston Old Man

Back along the ridge with Sca Fell & Scafell Pike ( Englands highest mountain) just to the right of centre

                      Looking back along the ridge to Dow Crag

                      Swirl Band nearing the top of Swirl How

           View looking NE towards the Helvellyn Range in the distance

                                       The cairn Swir

Descending Prison Band off Swirl How before the path down past Lever's Water to Coniston

Finally a well deserved pint of Blue Bird beer at the Black Bull Hotel in Coniston

           Watching the sheep which have been brought down off the fells