Hawes Water (Silverdale) circuit

Wednesday 19th March 2025

Being honest with oneself sometimes needs some effort. My prime objective today was to continue with my model making. I am making a dilapidated French barn diorama to pose my Achilles WW2 tank accompanied by a heavy lorry which has arrived to re-fuel the tank as they press on from D Day and Normandy. The construction has reached an absorbing stage. However, the clear blue sky and at last warm sunshine cried out for a walk. See the quote from Wind in the Willows on the side panel of this blog. This all sparked off debate in my mind. The brief opportunity for a good walk contrasted with the model making, which would still be waiting regardless. After a mind game tussle honesty favored the model making.  As it happened I progressed with making 1 to 35 scale bricks and I still had time to set off about midday to drive a short distance from home for a most enjoyable little walk. I don't suppose honesty always pays off, but this time I was well rewarded.

Hawes Water, the one near Silverdale, has had many visits over the years and  it has always had an air of mystery for me. It is not possible to get an overall view of the lake from any vantage point, nor can one get near to the shore which is surrounded by reed beds.

From: hawes-water

"Hawes water is the largest pond in the AONB. In fact, despite its modest size, it is the largest natural water source in the whole of Lancashire. It is a 12.5 metre deep depression where the limestone has collapsed, forming a sinkhole or ‘doline’. It is lined with a sticky layer of calcium carbonate called ‘Marl’ which is covered in peat and the distinct clay formed from this geology has been used for local pottery. "

We also have our own Loch Ness type myth:

 A giant eel or snake is said to have lived in the lake and sometimes to have taken lambs.

Anti-clockwise from P

Trowbarrow - a regular climbing venue in times past!

Hedge laying to make an impenetrable hedge. They regrow from not being cut right through

End of tarmac continues with this path to Hawes Water

My Lumix camera is hors de combat.
 Either me or my my unergonomic iPhone have decided to try and empty Hawes Water

At my last visit only a few months ago there were just stiles on either side of the track. Now we have all this infrastructure. The money may have been better spent filling a few potholes?

Millhouse Gill (Middleton Fell)

 Saturday 8th March 2025

Part of this walk was included in the story of the Roman Milestone in July 2020

 click if you want to view

There are a number of steep sided gills that run east/west from the Middleton Fell complex which fascinate me but access is limited. Browsing the map it seemed that Millhouse Gill would be accessible. After weeks of shivering cold misery at last spring has made a temporary appearance. The forecast was warm and sunny and off I went.

From my Roman Milestone visit I knew I could park in the church carpark, the church being mo longer in use. My aim was to ascend enough distance to be able to see into the gill and actually get onto some wilder country instead of plodding round farmer's fields but with my breathless affliction I knew that would not be easy.

Apart from my own liberation from the winter weather motorcyclists had also taken advantage and they were out in force, but after only a hundred yards I was away from the main road.

There is an attractive cul-de-sac public road leading to Mill House, so no access problem so far.  Where the OS map shows the end of the public road I suppose the entrance to Millhouse is mow private although there is no such indication and a public footpath continues into the property before turning off right after about thirty yards, and just before the  wall that is within the booundary of the access land.   Looking very carefully at the OS 1:25 it seems the boundary for the access land includes the high wall but this is now blocked by a high padlocked gate with the track quite obvious on the other side leading off into the  uncultivated fell side. 

Looking at this  Middleton Fell access area stretching five miles from north to south, there are only three access points on the western side, one at the northern tip, and one at the south, and  one in between, and debatably none on the eastern side. 

The CROW Act of 2000 designated many large areas as access land for the public. However, often there is no public right of way to enter many of those spaces, or  they are so infrequent as to make much of the land in practical terms inaccessible, so it is all a bit of nonsense.

I do not like to trespass if I can help it but I had come this far with the specific objective of exploring Millhouse Gill (on access land) as far as my physical limitation would allow. I found a gate from the property through some marshy land leading to another gate out onto the access land but putting me on the wrong side of a wall. I followed that until another gate lead to  the track skirting the northern edge of the gill. I found a good spot to sit and have my sandwich and coffee looking down into the gill and with extensive views in all directions. All was peace and quiet and I lingered there for over half an hour before returning to Millhouse and continuing my circular walk.

At Low Fellside the public footpath skirted the property but I was hailed by the owner and he kindly offered to let me take a shortcut through his property. We had quite a long and enjoyable conversation. He told me that since the extension of the Lake District National Park he sees many more visitors who are not really walkers driving cars up his private road, leaving litter, and wandering over his private property. On a brighter note I wish him well on his forthcoming plan to walk the West Highland Way.

I was glad to be able to see some of Millhouse Gill but it would have been so much better if I could have followed it further, but I suppose at 85 I should be thankful to get as far as I did.

On my drive home, just after passing the hundreds of motor bikes at Devil's Bridge, their traditional weekend pilgrimage venue, I had to make the right turn onto the A65 . I had to wait ages for a gap.  I think the whole world had turned out to welcome this spell of good weather. Eventually the traffic from the right gave me a chance but then a line of eight motorcyclists approached from the left to turn right onto my Devil's Bridge Road. The leader kindly stopped the whole line and politely waived me through. We need more of that and obliteration of Orange Man and P. Can't the former comprehend that the latter will do him over?

Parking at the church carpark just the other side.This dales road is iconic motor cyclists heaven

Millhouse Gill is the obvious cleft centre of the photo

Holiday cottages proliferate everywhere these days

Pink string!

Approaching Millhouse holiday cottages

"Entrance" to the access land is only a few yards beyond that far left turn of the path

So much for the CROW Act

After finding a way through a couple of gates I was now on the wrong side of the wall.
I was able cross near the distant bend through another gate

I had my snack and a highly pleasureable sojourn to the left of this photo

Looking up the gill from my rest stop

Back at Millhouse cottages. The blocking gate is just out of shot to the left. 
Note the "camouflaged" footpath sign against the cottage wall.

This and the next two.
 The line opened in 1860, and ran from Clapham, through Ingleton, Kirkby Lonsdale, Barbon, Middleton-on-Lune, Sedbergh and Lowgill, before joining what is now the West Coast main line, just south of Tebay. There was once a station at Barbon – we will pass the site later in the walk.16 Dec 2023

Bentham Footpath Group

https://benthamfootpathgroup.co.uk › barbon-beck-and...

Looking back up to Millhouse Gill

Blue route as I originally plotted.
Top red shows my diversion to gain the access land.
Bottom red shows shortcut offered by proprietor of Low Fell Side

Red, my diversion. Blue as originally plotted

Detail of proximity to access land. Note public footpath extending beyond road into property.
Red line shows my solution.
Thin blue line shows my original plot.

.

iPhone as a camera. No thanks!

 Thursday 6th March 2025

I am still walking with Pete on Thursdays although during the winter it has been too cold or too inclement for Pete and we have just gone to Café Ambio without walking. However, today was glorious and almost warm and we walked  very steadily about half a mile each way at Mill Side under the eye of Whitbarrow. At age 90 Pete is in good heart and we enjoy our post walk retreat to Café Ambio.

I took some photos with the iPhone to give it another try. Whilst I have to admit the quality of the photos is better than my Lumix there is one problem that I just can't live with. The finger slider which selects Photo, Pano, Portrait, Slo-Mo etc. has s life of its own. So often it has moved on, blown by the wind I suspect, and that is only discovered after you think you have taken a photo. This is an egregious design fault. There should be some way of locking it, but despite trawling the Internet I don't think there is. That problem alone is serious enough for me to have no intention of changing to the iPhone as my cameras of choice.

iPhone as a camera

 Tuesday 4th March 2025

I am dithering about changing from my Panasonic camera to use the iPhone instead

After finding I could change photo extensions from iPhone to JPG in settings that meant I could download to my iMac computer and edit away.

To test I have just come back from a little walk on Arnside Knott to take some photos.

On downloading I found two of the photos I thought I had taken were not there. I realise that was because I didn't hear the shutter release when taking the photo. I found how to increase the volume so that is now solved.

But, two of the photos I took turned out to be in Movie mode and for the moment that is a big problem. The sliding control for photos, videos, slo-mo etc is far too easy to move, almost of  if its own choosing, and having to look and check every time is an irritating faff. I have done an Internet search but there doesn't seem to be any way of fixing the phone in Photo mode, unless anybody can tell me differently.

I have to say that the quality of photos is better than those from my Panasonic Lumix TZ80 . Other than two photos that I cropped a little they are all un-edited. I would like to continue with the iPhone and intend to persist more and see how it goes.

Click photos to enlarge

Wyre Way (part) and memories of BBC Home Service

 Sunday 2nd March 2025

I devised this route from my addictive map browsing. There was a car park cum picnic area marked as a good starting point for a walk, half on previously untrod paths. The second half being part of the Wyre Way I have walked before.

The car park accommodates about sixty cars and it was jammed and thronging with folk  I couldn't park. I panicked and anticipated an attack of enochlophobia and  drove straight back out. There seemed to be nowhere else near to park so I returned and managed to squeeze into a space. It seems that a dog walking event, something to do with horses, and one other event had all coincided.

I marched off on tarmac taking me over the M6. I thought but was not surprised, from the deafening noise, that WW3 had now started. That remained to a lesser or greater extent throughout the walk. I was reminded of a regular radio program we listened to back in the 50s and 60s called In Town Tonight, it was probably on The BBC Home Service? The introduction, "Once again we stop the mighty roar of London's traffic..." remained with me as an earworm forever. Oh! That also now brings back memories of Dick Barton, Special Agent, and then Radio Luxembourg with "The H. Samuel Everight strapped to the wheel of the Royal Scot...", and Horace Bachelor of Pools fame hailing from Keynsham, and many others,

I branched off on what's shown as a lane on the OS map but proved to be a well tarmaced road leading to a high class conversion of farm buildings. Here posh wrought iron fencing and an air of security anxiety prevailed, while the public footpath lead through the middle, I suspect to residents annoyance, to a narrow uninviting ginel lined with contrasting plebeian breeze blocks for we common folk.

Further pleasant walking followed through fields with distant views of the northern end of the Bowland hills, and then woods with peasant ambience, but with occasional muddy patches on a good footpath. The now more distant roar of the M6 was competing against loud twelve bore shooting, uncomfortably near, as the pheasant killers enjoyed themselves for over an hour.

Street Bridge spans the lively Wyre as it escapes forcibly from the Bowland hills not far distant. Here I linked up with the Wyre Way and followed that  back to the car on good paths, mainly through woods with snowdrops and early daffodils abundant. Despite all the cacophony I enjoyed this little four miler circuit at the official start of Spring, but I look forward to what I anticipate each year when the wearing of gloves is unequivocally not obligatory.

Posh security conscious conversions.
 The footpath goes through the middle, I guess much to their annoyance, leading to...

...the narrow ginel lined with breeze blocks exiting right of the ostentatious gate

Distant Bowland hills from whence the Wyre flows

These sumptuous moss covered boulders made my day.

There were a few muddy patches but not enough to spoil the walk

The Wyre at Street Bridge

Street Bridge

Welcome!?

Under the M6. Not sure what these sheep were doing on the edge of the river

Snowdrops and early daffs. A good finale photo

I used "tracking" for the first time on my recently acquired Apple Memory Map version..
The walk was anti-clockwise from the car park. The pink line is as I plotted beforehand and the blue is the track from MMap. Note what I think is a recent diversion for the Wyre Way from the south-east corner of Wyre Lake