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Fifty Years in these Woods, and Still Discovering
There is something magical about autumn, with its rich palette of colours transforming the woodland into a living canvas. Today, I was volunteering with the National Trust in Newton Wood, building dead hedges to encourage visitors to stick to the newly improved path and give the woodland undergrowth a chance to recover from the pressure…
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Mulgrave Estate Walks: Much Ado About Very Little
We had read about some exciting new walks opened up through the Mulgrave Estate and thought we would give them a try. A chance to explore terrain previously inaccessible to the public. How generous. How progressive. Naturally, I had rather high hopes. In retrospect, perhaps a closer look at the routes before setting off might…
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Barwykerowe
Cropping the photo brings out the full breadth of the dale. Tower Beck flows from left to right through this eastern prong of Westerdale, with the village of that name perched on the rise at the far left. Barwick House stands in ruins just left of centre, while a small wood screens Kirk Syke beside…
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One Contented Pigeon
The Wood pigeon in this photo above looks like a juvenile to me, going by the missing white patches on either side of its neck. Those patches appear at around six months old, about three months after leaving the nest, and young birds also have a greyer bill and lighter grey plumage than adults. It…
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The Mushroom With a Sting in Its Milk
I took this photograph after clearing self-sown conifer saplings from a block of newly planted native woodland in Bransdale last Thursday. I am reminded of a Disney portrayal of a woodland glade. My ‘ObsIdentify’ app is 69% certain these are Lactarius rufus, the rufous milkcap. The milk and the taste would be key identifiers but…
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The “Priory” That Never Was
I am not religious, so churches appear in these posts only occasionally. They are, though, often the oldest buildings in a community to survive without conversion into some private residence. St Hilda’s Church earns an exception, because it comes with a puzzle. Locals call it “Bilsdale Priory”, and a visitor could reasonably expect monastic ruins…
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Thirty Years of Flying Stones and Gravel
The upgrading of the Public Bridleway that climbs the steep eastern flank of Roseberry Topping appears to be finished, though those boulders need time to settle before local lads discover a bowling alley. Overhead, a helicopter carries tubs of gravel from the Aireyholme Lane dump to a clearing in Newton Woods, ready for the next…
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Roadrunners on the Forest Track: The Hidden Toll of Mass Gamebird Releases
A covey of Red-legged Partridges scuttles down the dirt track ahead of our pickup, much as the Roadrunner flees Wile E. Coyote in the old children’s cartoon. A few pheasants that survived last year’s shooting season run with them. The birds show little wish to fly. When they finally lift off, after a frantic flurry…
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Sermons on the Pass: The Mystery of Boredale Hause’s Chapel
High in the Lake District, Boredale Hause is the grassy mountain pass connecting Patterdale with Boredale, between Place Fell and Angletarn Pikes. Near its crest lie the weathered stone foundations of a structure known as the Chapel in the Hause. Whether it was ever a chapel at all remains an enduring Lakeland mystery. Local tradition…
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From Bombay to Martindale: The Unlikely Journeys of Andrew Wilson
A little taphophilic dabble in Martindale churchyard. I had heard about this gravestone and wanted to see it for myself. Beneath the lichen lies the story of Andrew Wilson, a journalist whose approach to convalescence left something to be desired. Born in Bombay in April 1830, Wilson began his journalistic career in India, editing the…
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