Crooklands, Endmoor and Lancaster Canal

 Sunday 28th December 2025

Just a quick four miler before heading north tomorrow to a huge family wedding.

I have just returned from the event. There were 250+ guests, six bridesmaids, six groomsmen and best-man. A pre-wedding gathering for the two families the night before, then a church wedding, reception and evening do all to a lavish standard - quite a thrash.

Back to the walk. A pleasant trip up a non-navigable part of the Lancaster Canal from Crooklands followed by old lanes and then a steep climb on a footpath to a commanding view down to Endmoor and descent then to follow the beck back to Crooklands.

Lancaster Canal from Crooklands

Odd goings on here and the photo below. I think the local landowner must have a sense of tumour

Click to enlarge.
 There were similar notices on other gates further on

Distant view to Whitbarrow limestone escarpment, a favourite venue of mine over the years

Commonmire

On the market for £715,000. If you Google you will see why

On the other side of the road

On the steep climb to the hill above Endmoor. Looking down to the well hidden static caravan site at Stubb Farm - well evident from here but not so from lower locations

Now looking down to Endmoor. My lunch spot at the clock in Endmoor can be seen between the righthand end of the houses and the dark tree, right edge of photo

There was a bench where I had my smack and coffee. A gent from the house behind emrged and came to chat. He was off to try and view otters which have been seen on the canal at Crooklands. Quite susrprising

This and below on the clock - click to enlarge

Clockwise from Crooklands

Later that evening I was watching Robbie Cumming on Canal Boat Journeys (You Tube.) Robbie mentioned two canals he has not yet covered - The Lancaster and the  Llangollen, both of which I have coincidently walked in their entireties - made me feel quite smug.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYBODY

Christmas greetings 2025

 Saturday 27th December 2025

Granddaughter Katie organised a painting competition for us on Boxing Day.

 A Bob Ross video was played on Katie's laptop. An extensive range of oil paints and brushes were supplied. Suitable Bob Ross headgear was donned, and off we went. Unfortunately I was seated to one side and soon lost track of the video and launched off onto my own creation.

Mum and Katie made a good attempt at following the instructions and finished up with passable results but I reckon my effort owed more to Jackson Pollok

Traditional "Bombers" whilst preparing Christmas dinner
(gin and Vermouth)

Katie tucks in

BOXING DAY

It all became more chaotic and good fun as we progressed

Paint everywhere. We had paper table cloth which double up as our palette

Less said

Katie was undoubtedly the winner

Not bad from Mum

Memories of Vietnam

 Wednesday 17th December 2025

Here is my latest model completion:

The US Navy PBR Patrol Boat (Pibber) as used in theVietnam War:  1955 -1975 - wow! I had forgotten that it lasted for twenty years. Looks like Venezuela may be next?

More detail from Wiki is shown below, and for more detailed technical information Wiki has it all if you search,

The background scenery was made from a piece of clear acrylic Perspex with a photo pasted on and backlit with a small LED light running on a 2 x AA battery pack with switch to represent the sun shining low through the jungle. 

Please click photo to enlarge

Dawn Patrol - Vietnam

Patrol Boat, River / PBR or Pibber, is the United States Navy designation for a small rigid-hulled patrol boat used in the Vietnam War from March 1966 until 1975. They were deployed in a force that grew to 250 boats, the most common craft in the River Patrol Force, Task Force 116, and were used to stop and search river traffic in areas such as the Mekong Delta, the Rung Sat Special Zone, the Saigon River and in I Corps, in the area assigned to Task Force Clearwater, in an attempt to disrupt weapons shipments. In this role, they frequently became involved in firefights with enemy soldiers on boats and on the shore, were used to insert and extract Navy SEAL teams, and were employed by the United States Army's 458th Transportation Company, known as the 458th Sea Tigers.

A long way from stone axes and rubbing two sticks together

 Tuesday 9th December 2025

This is  not political or a protest.

 Just a thought from seeing this photo in The Guardian today:

Construction continues at Hinkley Point C in Somerset, England. Photograph

What could possibly go wrong?

PLEASE CLICK TO ENLARGE

Burton-in-Kendal and Slape Lane

 Tuesday 12th November 2025

At this time of year weather windows are less frequent and have to be seized when the friendly forecast on North West Tonight gives the green light At my age the thrill of deliberately setting off in wind, sleet, rain and temperature threatening hypothermia within the first half mile are over. I do have an overriding joy in exploring the outdoors but being dictated to by the whims of the English climate can be  unwelcome. My wont is to set off early, have a good walk and return in time for some sybaritic indulgence for the remainder of the day. However, setting off early means arising early, attending to the eccentric feeding requirements of son's cat, and extending the mormal tedious breakfast routine by preparing a flask and a sandwich, and above all having to put on my boots. That last exertion is hailed by many as a pleasurable preliminary, supposedly as the herald of a good day to come, but not for me - it is just a chore.

Once on the way in the car I am happy and anticipating new discoveries. That is unless I have the further faff of stopping to fuel up, or through my laziness, stopping somewhere to buy an overpriced  sandwich which at that time of the morning will be a left over from the previous day.

North West Tonight had only set the green light for the first half of the day with rain to come later, so an early start was even more necessary today.

Burton in Kendal is hardly big enough to have suburbs, but I found something akin and parked up. Tannery Lane suggested something interesting and halfway along there was the Tannery building. Research has no mention of tanning in this village, and the obviously old building seems to be used for  local authority health and social care, strange? One would have expected somethng relating to the history of this so named building.

A pull uphill on tarmac took me to the start of Slape Lane, an ancient two kilometre bridleway leading towards Hutton Roof hills behind Burton. Slape is a dialect word for slippery. The lane was sunken, not particularly slippery, just the occasional muddy patches, but with distant views of the Lake District fells through intermittent windows in the bordering hedge. That was s joy and a new significant path fairly close to home for me to discover, and without the need for repeated stops for route checking as is often the case on more convoluted country walking.

From the other end of Slape Lane it was downhill on tarmac then off on paths through the green parkland of the Curwen Estate. In the middle of this extent of green I saw a black fenced off area which at a distance looked like a small sewage treatment plant, but whatever it may have been it was incongruous in this setting. All was revealed as I came closer: a tennis court for hire. How odd. But later I found that Curwen Estate now runs the old hall as a holiday residential centre and this is one of the attractions.

A short stretch of tarmac and a trip down Sheernest Lane

"...has a history connected to religious buildings, with a Wesleyan Methodist chapel built in 1833, a Roman Catholic chapel established in 1848, and the nearby Holy Trinity Church built in 1839."

took me onto the Lancaster Canal, and pleasant walking back to Burton. I stopped on a welcome bench for my diligently prepared home made sandwich and coffee from my revered flask that has been everywhere with me including its role as a companion on most of the Munros. I opened up my birdsong identifying app and was informed of the nearby presence of a kingfisher, but no matter, despite no sighting, .it was good to know of its presence.

Tanpit building

The start of Slape Lane and...

...its viewfinder

Ok. I know it's for horse riders, but it didn't work. I had to grapple through and manipulate the catch at the risk of finger amputation. What's wrong with a six inch nail and an iron hook? This is something that didn't need to be invented, and at what cost? Happy days for the horse riders having to likely dismount anyway for this one.

Exiting Slape Lane, across the field to the road

The hill on the horizon is Warton Crag - zoom below

An unusual stile, and below from the other side

The green parkland of the Curwen Estate

Entrance to Holme village. sponsored by the WI and the local quarry owners.
The date is 2010, not sure if that was some anniversary?

Lancaster Canal

Introspection and a thousand miles round Italy

Thursday 30th October 2025

The speed at which my bird feeders are emptying at this time of year seems to reflect the speed of the passing of my time.

I have walked locally often since my last proper walk. Below are a a few photos. Whilst our locality is perhaps more attractive than many, and whilst I never take it for granted, I seem to find it unnecessary  to take many photos. When I walk locally the terrain is similar to most of my longer walks, but I don't use my walking poles. I guess I am not wishing to appear as a local wet or perhaps even aspire to be seen more as a macho adventurer. I do say to myself I am not fashion conscious, being so is a desire to display your "coolness" to the wider world.  Presumably I am submitting to my concern for how others see me on the local walks, so perhaps I am no different from the followers of,  Saint Laurent, Prada, Stussy, or Nike. 

Google has started creating links to various words that were not intended by me. I haven't the time or the willpower to try and reverse this at the moment.

Two recent observations.

 1. A further infringement of my campaign to bring back the correct "different from" to replace the now universal incorrect "different to."  Now we go further. The other evening I heard the BBC Political Correspondent, Chris Mason using "different than."

2. I look back from time to time at older posts on my blog and was mortified recently to see that one was entitled "My Life and Cameras." If I had used that satirically it may have been excusable, but I fall on my sword and self deprecatingly confess that I don't think I did. It sounds like the title of an article from the Reader's Digest, and in any case I reckon for most readers it would be as uninteresting as tapioca.  I have refrained from re-reading the post to avoid further masochism. I have no recollection of its contents. By some chance it may be more entertaining than I suspect, but I doubt it. 

On the way to Arnside Knott and below

Another Valtra tractor for Alan. I don't thnk this is the "33" he wants to see, but it was certainly a monster. It's strange attachment is shown below.

My latest model ( a bit of a problem with the bonnet cover)
1931 Mercedes SSKL
As raced to victory by Rudolf Caracciola in the Mille Miglia on the 12th and 13th of April 1931 
 7.1 liter engine. Avarage speed was 63mph, that is for a thousand miles on public roads round Italy. It must have been a terrifying and physically demanding experience.