Cowmire Hall and hedgerow flowers

Thursday walk with Pete.  12th July 2019 - around Cowmire Hall - SD 427 887

Showers were forecast but we were not daunted. Our fortitude paid off. We walked in the dry. We  now often repeat parts of previous walks and Cowmire Hall has featured here before. Whilst its architecture is harmonious within the locale it is unusual in having three storeys which reminds me of a story about my father. He was a professional property and rating valuer and often appeared in court on behalf of clients with rating appeals and the like. Father was being cross-examined by a clever London barrister.

Barrister
"Mr. Robinson, how many floors does the property have?"

Father (who we suspect hadn't actually visited the property)
"Not as many as your argument on behalf of your client.'"

Uproar!

Cowmire is yet another venue for the present fashion for producing gin with endless different flavourings - unfortunately they only sell it to retailers by the case and there is no tasting facility so once again we passed by.

On a linear walk we go one hour there and one hour back. Today we had options of road junctions and branched off on one then returned and still needed more time, so we set off another new branch and then another. Calculations for estimating turn round time became complicated, especially for me who wrestles with problems of spatial awareness - not good for one who spends lots of time interpreting maps (especially when walking south.)

Pete is as good as anybody I know who is not an out and out expert at identifying wild flowers, usually including their Latin names, but he was stumped by two hedgerow flowers we encountered. I suspect they are not all that rare, but  we would be grateful if somebody can provide identification.

Cowmire Hall

A good showing of easily identified Rosebay Willowherb

The old county boundary between Lancashire and Westmorland

Identification please for this and one below - both located in a hedgerow

Our complicated wanderings messing up our time estimation.

The ex Lancashire/Wetmorland border sign was photographed at the bridge on the road just above the "d" of Bridge in Bridge Ho. bottom left of centre

Trig points OS Sheet 91 - Hardberry Hill and Raven Hills

Monday 8th July 2019 - Raven Hills - NY 966 277 and Hardberry Hill - NY 932 288


Raven Hills was one hour each way from the road above Middleton in Teesdale. This is a nondescript hill with hard going through heather beyond the field intakes. There was a fine view of Selsett reservoir from the summit.

A fifteen minute drive took me to the start for Hardberry Hill. The landscape there is full of old mine workings. Hardberry was more interesting than Raven. I found an iPhone a few hundred yards from the summit. The phone is working but there is no service provider and it is password protected. I have posted the find at all locations I can think of.

Selsett  reservoir from Raven Hills

Old mine workings near Hardberry Hill

Hardberry Hill

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TRIG PILLARS

On my recent ascent of Meldon Hill - NY 772 291 I found the trig pillar demolished and had the following correspondence with Ordnance Survey:


I am a keen fell walker and highly value the services provided by yourselves. Yesterday (18th June 2019) I visited Meldon Hill - NY 772 291. The trig pillar has been reduced to rubble and the surveying star is lying forlornly by the side. I wonder why and how? It would take considerable effort to achieve this, especially without the aid of mechanical equipment, and if it had been done as a matter of policy I would have thought the mess would have been tidied away. I would be interested to hear your comments.Ord. Survey.

Hello Conrad,

The Technical Team have confirmed that if we are going to destroy a pillar it is cleared away completely, so in this case it looks like a case of vandalism.

I have also let our Cartography team know to remove the symbol the next time the paper mapping - Explorer and Landranger - for the area is reprinted. There is no planned revision date at present.

Thanks for your understanding.

Kind regards

Linda Prentice 

Customer Service Adviser, Customer Services

Hi Linda Prentice,

Thanks for your reply. I know that triangulation pillars are no longer used but they provide interest and pleasure for outdoor types like me which is demonstrated by my current project to visit them all on OS 1:50 Sheet 91. I have already done the same on 97 and 98. So I am saddened to read that your policy is to delete them from the map if they are removed one way or another. I understand that it would be misleading to have a symbol for something that didn’t exist, but perhaps you could have a different one for “ex-trig points?”

Regards,Conrad Robinson. 

iPHONE FOUND

8th July 2019

Today I found an iPhone near Hardberry Hill - NY 932 288.

I have posted on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/conrad.robinson/timeline?lst=100006877236537%3A100006877236537%3A1562601353

If this link works please share, otherwise do the same if you can find me on Facebook. I'm not sure how it works for this sort of thing.

Birkett Fell - Bowland

Friday 5th July 2019 - Birkett Fell, Bowland - SD 669 480

Bowland Climber has been re-exploring the Bowland Fells recently. We have both walked over this terrain during a twenty year or more period, BC more than me, but both our memories have dimmed, and certainly for me no records kept. I recommend to anybody younger to keep records - you will value them later in life.

BC had ascended Birkett Fell some years ago - he even remembered struggling to find a couple of stones amongst the thick heather to make a mini cairn on the high point.

We started from Dunsop Bridge, reputedly the centre of Great Britain:

"Ordnance Survey have declared Dunsop Bridge as the official centre of the United Kingdom. The village phone box commemorates this fact and was unveiled by the famous explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes on 29th June 1992."

That sounds definitive, but just you look at Wiki:

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_points_of_the_United_Kingdom

It is much more nerdy than you would believe including heady stuff about CENTROID LOCATIONS - have fun.

A line of elegant, majestic tapering pine trees lead into the parkland of Thorneyholme Hall alongside the River Dunsop. I have never seen that species of pine before and they are impressive.

A snippet from some stuff about Thorneyholme Hall made me chuckle:

"St. Hubert is the patron saint of hunters and the Forest of Bowland was once a Royal Hunting Forest. According to legend St. Hubert’s conversion to the Catholic faith took place on a Good Friday when, while hunting a stag, he saw a vision of a cross between its antlers and heard a voice telling him to seek instruction in the Christian faith."

I think he must have been on the wacky-backy  or something stronger?

The gentle saunter alongside the pretty River Dunsop belied what was to come. After climbing on a good path away from the river we cut off, beelining for our summit. The going was steep and knee deep amongst huge grass tussocks, bilberry and heather. At the summit BC was pleased to see the two stones he had placed there a number of years ago.

Birkett Fell is unusual in having a covering of surprisingly large beech and other species twisted and gnarled into weird shapes - seen from a distance one understands why it has been referred to as the Jockey's Cap.

BC's previous visits had taken a path through a wood after our summit. The wood had been almost completely wrecked with trees broken and splintered off at varying heights and lying in random directions making it impenetrable - it reminded me of Paul Nash's war paintings - there must have been one heck of a storm to wreak that destruction.

We had difficulty in finding an alternative route involving "modification" of some wire fencing.

After exiting the wood we found a sheep with its horn stuck in a metal gate - there was no way it would ever have extricated.  I perilously climbed the gate so I could lift the sheep's rear while BC manoeuvred the horn, then the sheep was off with a bleating "thank-you." It was only then that I noticed a ladder stile right next to the gate.

Next we encountered a farmer digging a drainage ditch with a tractor from which he dismounted eager for conversation. He got my prize for "Biggest Moaner of the Year'" Everything was wrong and denigrated in an irritating whiny voice: off-comers buying local land, The Duchy Estate, Chris Packham, the decline of sheep farming, previous occupiers of his farm, and other subjects I can't remember - once he got going he was on a roll and it took us a while to get away and find a spot to munch, drink, and recover.

The rest of the walk through this  excellent countryside finished with a pleasant chat with a girl awaiting a rendezvous with a Duke of Edinburgh party. To fomish BC treated us to a welcome cuppa at Puddleducks Tea Room in Dunsop.

The unusual pine trees in the Thorneyholme Estate

Always a pleasure to see sheep dogs in action but not easy to photograph - this one was moving at great speed and just flitted across the viewfinder

The River Dunsop looking back to the village. Sand martins were nesting in the bank

Aqueduct now opened as footbridge. From here we headed off uphill

This tree was growing from the top of the fence post. We wondered what the outcome would be

Much steeper than it looks on the ascent to Birkett Fell - hard going

BC pleased to see his previously constructed cairn still intact

From the summit

"Modifying" the wire fence

A full 20 x blurry zoom back to  "Biggest Moaner of the Year'"

Giddy Bridge - just off our route

Trig points - OS Sheet 91 - Cronkley Scar

Tuesday 2nd July 2019 - Cronkley Scar - NY 842 287 - 544m

Some of my friends do not wear a watch. I do. I enjoy the exactitude of synchronising with the on-line clock - am I obsessed with time? Well, its apparently exponentially increasing passage becomes more noticeable as one gets older, and I have a guilty feeling if I'm not using it to best advantage.

I rarely need an alarm clock. I have  a digital clock radio on one side of my bed (can be read in the dark, but not in daytime) and a traditional tin analogue clock on the other side (can be read in daylight.) Even though I usually wake up for a specifically needed time I set the iPhone alarm (just in case.) I have a dread of the thing startling me and having awoken anyway I hasten to turn it off before it clamours. These trips to the far reaches of Teesdale start at 6:00 am giving me a leisurely hour to breakfast and depart for 7:00 am. Despite that luxury, today, when I arrived at the lay-by car park near Forest-in-Teesdale I found I had forgotten my wallet with cash and cards. No matter, I had food and ample fuel, but I did  feel vulnerable.

I chatted enthusiastically about fly fishing with a chap parked with a motorhome. He was looking forward to fishing the River Tees for wild brown trout - I used to fly fish myself. He said I could call in for a brew if he was there when I returned, but he was still away as I arrived back five hours later.

An unsurfaced farm track lead downhill from the main road and then irritating footpaths and gates took me to Cronkley Bridge over the Tees - the key to gaining Cronkley Scar. The river is wide and fast flowing here and the bridge is essential.  From now on the walk was bliss. I coincided briefly with the Pennine Way for the second time in a few days and that nostalgia welled up again.  A husband and wife came from the opposite direction walking the the PW. They were eight days out from Edale and camping. They were obviously experienced and seemed to have the smallest packs for backpacking I have seen anywhere. I suppose they have the advantage of sharing; for example one carrying cooking stuff and the other the tent and so on.

A long steady climb on cropped turf, and then a more eroded and rocky path took me onto the plateau of Cronkley Scar. The trig point is well off the main path over rough moorland. From the spot height (547m) marked on the map (small cairn) I could see the trig several hundred metres away. It looked further. Some optical illusion gave it an unfamiliar elongated shape, but when I arrived it was the standard item. I had to work my way round the pretty little tarn and its surrounding marshland. Many black headed gulls were circling above me with a squawking demented racket and casting rapidly fleeting shadows on the ground.

After trekking back to the ridge path I found White Well. Here a stream emerges from under a rock. I wonder at the amount of water retained to continuously feed such a feature when there is only a small amount of rocky land a few feet higher on the summit plateau.

The predominant  rock here is Whin Sill providing an attractive distinctive ambience, and of riveting interest to geologists.*

There is a grand view of upper Teesdale as one drops off the edge of the plateau which is enhanced, for those who know, by the knowledge of Cauldron Snout waterfall hiding round the corner from Falcon Clints.

Once down at the Tees I sat on a boulder for my coffee and sandwich listening to and watching lapwings and curlews, but sadly not in profusion. This short walk, because of its outstanding scenery and favourable weather deserved more than a quick dash and I took longer than usual for my snack break.

The return alongside the Tees was idyllic but as the valley narrowed and the path skirted under the steep slopes of the scar it became quite bouldery and tricky in places, and its close affinity with the edge of the fast flowing river gave it it an added sense of adventure. I often heard the high pitched call of the sandpiper and then managed to get a full zoom shot of one as it flitted onto a rock in the river - they don't stay around long! It was soon off displaying the flashing white trailing edges of its wings to seek the next rock for a quick visit, in more of a hurry than me.

What an excellent walk.

* Thanks to:https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/GeositesHadrianFigure 6. Cronkley Fell, Teesdale "The Whin Sill here forms the conspicuous flat-topped Cronkley Fell. Soils derived from metamorphosed limestones and shales on top of the sill, exposed on the summit, carry a rich variety of rare Arctic Alpine plant species, for which Teesdale is internationally famous. " "Since its true nature was first recognised ,the Whin Sill has been, and continues to be, an important subject of research and has spawned an enormous technical literature. Today it is recognised as a complex suite of sills and associated dykes, collectively referred to as the ‘Whin Sill Swarm’, which underlie no less than 4500 km2 of the region."

From the car park. Cronkley Scar is at the far right. Ascent is up and a bit behind the ridge above the farm

The farm track leading to Cronkley Bridge

Guess what? Cronkley Bridge

On the way to the plateau - then it became more stony

Zoom to trig - perhaps half a km. away - the shape is strangely elongated, but normal when you get there

This tarn gave added charm to Cronkley trig point - they are often less picturesque

Black headed gulls wheeling and shouting - click to enlarge

White Well

Upper Teesdale. The Pennine Way follows the river round to Cauldron Snout and then on up the dale

Looking back the other way with Cronkley Scar on the right where my path became  rocky and excitingly close to the edge of the river

My sandpiper. Full zoom, then severely cropped, so definition not too bad considering all that

Whin sill

Ignore purple route and green down side of Cow Green reservoir from my Meldon Hill walk a few days ago. My start and finish at road top right - clockwise

A walk with Katie

Sunday 30th June 2019

I can't believe granddaughter Katie is now seven. On Sunday her mum was toiling under pressure with GCSE marking, so I was off with Katie for a walk. A modest three miler around the paths and lanes in the little hills south of Ings was perfect. I have previously posted about this area, and the rocky summit with a spot height of 249m and a view of a secret tarn was to be our focus towards the end of the walk.

Straight from the car Katie was walking along the top of a partly demolished, rickety dry stone wall with the agility of a circus performer. I had to intervene before damage was done to either K or the remains of the wall. An undulating turf path lead us into a spooky wood - sadly no Gruffaloes were seen. After some uphill roadwork we were onto paths with Katie leading the way much of the time and full of chatter. Back on more tarmac we were taking advantage of a weathered seat in long grass when a small group came by and volunteered to take a photo of us both together.

At a farm we came across a lady and daughter harnessing a small pony. I was asked to stop using my walking poles - their tapping noise on the tarmac had spooked their timid beast - well that was a change from being frequently accused of inciting dogs to savagery by wearing a hat.

We ascended our hill. K was onto the rocky top well ahead of me. A strong wind nearly blew her over, but with hair streaming she was shouting with glee and  waving, full of fun, then the hat I had lent her blew off causing even more laughter and a wild chase for its retrieval.

We descended fifty feet and hunkered down behind a wall for sandwiches and cake. Whilst I had no doubt Katie was enjoying herself I was still  surprisingly pleased when she said "Can we go back to the top again?" Well that made my day and off we went for our second visit.

As I picked my way back down over the pathless terrain to the road Katie was way ahead imagining I guess that she was crossing a giant's garden or whatever.

Back on the road we found one of those helium balloons on a wall. Katie recognised this as litter and told me we should take it away with us, but first it needed deflating - she took it to the road and with great delight jumped on it making a satisfying loud pop.

As we descended we were anticipating seeing the car below and I was teasing Katie with the possibility that it wouldn't be there. The suspense mounted and the car only revealed itself from the folds of the landscape in the last fifty yards.

Café Ambio (the one at Ings, not the auction mart one where I go with Pete) provided more cake and drinks to round off a jolly adventure.

PLEASE CLICK FIRST PHOTO TO ENLARGE AS SLIDESHOW

Practising heel hooks

Katie has shown from the start an interest in drawing, painting and artwork in general. I have shown her the basics of Photoshop Elements on several occasions. Back at my house she asked to play on Photoshop. I opened a blank page for her and left her to it and she produced the picture below with no input whatsoever from me.

PLEASE CLICK TO ENLARGE - looks like she may have potential as a film critic as well