Photos furnish a blog

Thursday 31st October

Today we bowed to previous wet weather and devised an all Tarmac route.

Heavy rain arrived after fifteen minutes, and we consulted the map for a shortcut. Fortunately weather improved, but rain threatened for the rest of the walk, and that was not conducive to prolific photography, but three opportunities arose.

A combination of light, composition and subject impressed me for picture one. 

An  addition for my folder “Relics” appeared which was a contrast to broken-down farm machinery, and sparked inspiration for a possible Photoshop painting.

Bendrigg Trust minibuses are often seen in our locale, but I  never bothered to enquire further. Today we came across their headquarters in the middle of nowhere (see Bendrigg Lodge halfway down the eastern side of our walk on the map). A nosey round their website
http://www.bendrigg.org.uk  was interesting. A strong sense of dedication and altruism comes across. 

“The Bendrigg Trust is a residential activity centre specialising in high quality courses for disabled and disadvantaged people, of any age or ability”.

The rest of their website is worth a look, particularly their history and funding details. It is a charity, and not a fortune making enterprise - it relies on donations to counteract its operating deficit. They have been established since 1977 and seem to be a hearteningly good organisation.

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A sample of routes drawn with different colours/opaqueness/line format.
If lines are made opaque they obliterate detail on the map.
Suggest click to enlarge if interested - any suggestions on best format welcome.

Bits and pieces

At a 12 month, (actually 17 months) knee follow, a new surgeon ordered a blood test, scan and x-ray.

Results demanded a fluid sample from the knee. A quick appointment was promised.

After two weeks I telephoned about the appointment. After an hour I had used eleven telephone numbers. The appointment system had blundered.

The new surgeon had re-referred me to my original surgeon, Mr P, who said last week that the scan and the fluid sample were pointless, and surgeon number two didn’t know what he was doing - his actual words!

Mr P ordered an x-ray because he did not have the previous test results, only surgeon number two’s letter.

After the x-ray I was outspoken, which prompted Mr. P to spend half an hour analysing the x-ray and detailing his reasoning, concluding: the joint placement is sound, my pain and discomfort is not unusual, there is no infection present, and as I am able to walk six miles* the operation has been a reasonable success. He saw no point in further investigations. Mr P assured me that if anything needed doing it would be done and I could come back anytime if I had further concerns, and he put me on another twelve month follow up.

I was worrying about further surgery, but I’m now prepared to make the best of it, and already I believe I am benefiting psychologically.

* I was walking fifteen miles backpacking during the summer, albeit with continual discomfort.
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Three recent outings:

Great Mell Fell and Little Mell Fell ten days ago (two Marilyns west of Ullswater). The weather was so bad no photos were taken.

Thursday 17th October - a walk in the Lune valley with Pete and another Pete.

Friday 18th October - Hallin Fell, (one Marilyn, eastern shore of Ullswater).

One for my "signs" collection. All that work in stone before checking the spelling, unless of course there is a sight on the site

Clay being transported from the hillside to Claughton Manor Brickworks in the valley

Quarry House Farm - under renovation -a remote and windswept place to live

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Ullswater north from Hallin Fell

Ullswater south from Hallin Fell

Boredale and Boredale Hause from Hallin Fell

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Katie update:

from a visit to Wray Castle at the north west end of Winderemere. National Trust have opened all the rooms to include very informal activities for kids - well worth a visit if you are stuck for something to do with the offspring.

With Uncle Will

Moi - Katie was allowed free range with the camera - this is arguably a better effort than the ones of ceilings and floors

K. showing signs of following Mum's footsteps as a teacher

Barton Grange to Barton (Lancaster Canal)

Devising the route for our canal walks can be tricky.

Returning by the same route has always been a disappointing compromise on any walk for me.

We do have a time constraint in that Pete needs to be back in Arnside by 3:45 pm to rendezvous with his wife Liz at her painting class.

Preferring a circular route I try to finish walking the canal part at a road accessible by car so we can continue next week from the same place. This week I plotted two possibilities, the shorter via Cross House (see map) which didn't leave the canal at a road, but was a bit shorter than our normal distance, and the longer finishing at a road, and more than our normal distance. We opted for the latter and also added a longer finish. That resulted in us walking 9 miles compared with our usual 6.5 or so, and we both felt the difference. Having done walks on consecutive days (see my previous post) my knee was protesting, and ominously, so was the one that was not replaced. On top of that we didn't have time to go to the café for our customary brew afterwards. The café of choice at the moment is "No. 17" in Milnthorpe: superior coffee, waitress service, comfortable leather armchairs, and no riff-raff.

The forecast was for rain "later in the afternoon". The first specks appeared on the windscreen as we got back into the car.  Forecasts are getting better these days.

This and below: the marina at Barton. This is part of a huge, recently, purpose built garden centre called Barton Grange - an old Preston family business originating further down the road where they also own a posh hotel

Aqueduct over River Brock.
 The source is in the Bowland Hills.
 The only remote interest gleaned from Wikipedia, is that in its brief 15 km  length before joining the River Wyre, it has 22 tributaries

Guys Court Thatched Hamlet. An unusual, pub/eating place/shopping experience not far from Preston where my daughter arranged a surprise 60th birthday party for me (now many years ago). I thought we were just going for a meal and when we arrived there were about thirty of my friends there - 'twas a right good do.

The canal borders onto land owned by Myerscough College (Agriculture and Sport).
This is their golf course

More residential scenery. The photo reminds me of France, but that ambience didn't prevail on the spot

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KATIE UPDATE

I just received this little video from daughter Jill. She called it:

Teacher Training

 CLICK HERE    Katie

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I'm not sure who all my readers are, but for those that this may be relevant to I have  sad news of the recent death of Pauline Broadley. Funeral is on Monday at Nab Wood Cemetery, West Yorks - 10:50am.

The Grisedale Horseshoe - a story of underestimation

Thursday 15th Sept.

Why I thought this would be a steady walk I do not know.

The start: Patterdale Hotel (parking £4.50) -  I spent my honeymoon there in 1970, and  last year’s Lowestoft, to supposedly, St Bee's Head walk ended there when I hobbled from Nan Bield Pass after cutting a vein in my leg. Today, therefore, the scene was set with mixed emotions. 

The Wainwrights of Arnison Crag, Birk, and St Sunday Crag, were followed by descent to Grisedale Tarn from which rises alone the delightfully situated Seat Sandal. Descending from Seat Sandal I was tired, and both knees were moderately painful. The constructed stone stairway up Dollywagon Pike was sapping in warm sunshine. I abandoned the visit to Nethermost Pike and retraced steps, literally, down Dollywagon.

Nearing the tarn I suddenly experienced excruciating cramp up the inside of my left thigh.  I stopped in agony much to the concern of some passers-by, who I reckon were terrified at the prospect of rendering assistance, without, I suspect having requisite knowledge. One of them helpfully suggested  I was lacking salt, but was unhelpfully unable to provide that commodity, so I bravely assured them I would be alright, although I was not convinced of this in my own mind, and they hurriedly continued on their way, I guess with much relief.

I managed to restart, but cramp recurred several times, and now in both legs. I found that continuing to walk suppressed the pain, but it was like curing a wart with a blow lamp. It seemed a long long way down the rocky Grisedale path, but I arrived, for the second time in recent history at Patterdale Hotel as the wounded hero.

I Googled “cramp” to find it is  a mystery to the medical profession, as are most things I seem to consult them about, but it may be due to “over exercise of muscles”, “dehydration” (I rarely drink much on the hills), and then a list of more disquieting causes including “pregnancy” and “cirrhosis of the liver”, the former I was able to rule out, but the latter was more worrying.

A route plot on Memory Map revealed a distance of 11 miles, and 4156ft of ascent - that would put many Munro days to shame!

Ullswater from Arnison Crag

Grisedale Tarn from St Sunday Crag with Seat Sandal above the tarn. The flanks of Dollywagon can be seen on the right

On Dollywagon - Striding Edge runs behind my back. Twenty minutes later I was in agony, but this pic indicates it had perhaps already started?

Harter Fell and Green Crag

Thursday 1st September.

Two more Wainwrights climbed: Harter Fell and Green Crag. For my overseas readers these hills ("fells" in the nomenclature of the Lake district) are situated in our Lake District National Park and are about an hour and a half's drive from where I live.

The "Wainwrights" is a list of 214 peaks in that park described by one Alfred Wainwright in the 1960s. Wainwright was an eccentric fellwalker who published a series of hand written guides incorporating his own unique system of quasi three dimensional drawings depicting routes of ascent for the hills, and these became classics. Ardent walkers now strive to complete their own ascents of these peaks.

A sample page from a Wainwright guide

The knee is till giving me problems although not as bad as it was on the Newlands Walk (see my previous post). This walk was only about six miles, but there was some rugged pathless terrain.

There is little else to report so let these pics speak for themsleves - it was a hazy day and not ideal for photography.

Colourful crag halfway up the ascent of Harter Fell

Green Crag, my second summit from Harter Fell summit. The terrain in between was very boggy and hard going

Getting closer to Green Crag

38 “All is fair to the eye on Whitbarrow.” A Wainwright – circa 1973

My recent revisiting of Whitbarrow intended to capture photographically the essence of this limestone plateau. I was reasonably satisfied with the results, but then decided to see what Wainwright had to say in his final volume of Lake District guides “The Outlying Fells of Lakeland”.

AW defines his aims on the front cover of Outlying Fells.

This was apparently written when AW was feeling his advancing years which he seemed to accept stoically and with laconic humour. Outlying Fells is my favourite of his Lake District series containing more of his characteristic witticisms than the others, and it can be treated as a read rather than a guide.

As for my own attempts to encapsulate the merits of Whitbarrow, AW’s drawings and writings demonstrate that his tools more than compete with photography, although he did later successfully collaborate with Derry Brabbs the photographer and in particular with the excellent Wainwright in Scotland.