We had arranged to meet up with
Roger and Ann Hiley, and Holly and their lovely 5 month old puppy
Harry, at Whinlatter Forest Park for a short walk. As it was our
"day off", we chose one of the forest trails rather than
head for the fells behind the Visitors Centre. |
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Whinlatter Forest Visitors Centre |
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The Badger Sett Maze outside the Visitors Centre |
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A third size scale model of an Osprey nest outside
the Visitors Centre |
| David obtained a Trail Guide from the Visitors Centre,
and we chose the Red Trail, which is 1.5 miles long, and seemed a
good option. We had followed it in reverse last September without
a Trail Guide, but had got lost (!) and today we intended to put this
right!!! |
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Whinlatter Forest |
| We started out ok, with Red Trail
markers at regular intervals. The inclines are not too steep, but
judging by the looks of puzzlement I got from Holly and Harry, they
were obviously not used to walking at my snail's pace. |
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Holly and Harry wonder why we are so slow! |
| It was not long, however, before we
had lost the Trail. Roger and David had their own ideas as to where
we went wrong, but either way, we were no longer on the Red Trail.
Not that this mattered, as we had good views and were in excellent
company. We all agreed that it is much more difficult to find your
way through a forest than across the fells anyway!!! |
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The Vale of Keswick from Whinlatter Forest |
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Holly admires the view of Bassenthwaite Lake, but
Harry is more interested in the stick |
| The path back took us above Whinlatter
Pass, which gave us good views towards Grisedale Pike, which we intended
to have another crack at on Saturday. |
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Hospital Plantation and Grisedale Pike |
| Along the way, we stopped and admired
the plants and butterflies we saw. The weather had been somewhat overcast,
but it was improving all the time. |
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Orange Hawkweed |
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Painted Lady |
I spent a considerable amount of time trying to photograph
a Painted Lady nectaring on the Orange Hawkweed, but with no success
at all. Every time I got close, the Painted Lady flew away.
In the end Ann said to me that if she saw a picture on our website
of a Painted Lady on a plant, she would know that I had been playing
with Photoshop! |
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Is there digital trickery going on??? |
We may have got lost, but we walked
a nice circuit of more or less the distance we had planned, and
arrived back at the Visitors Centre without any difficulty. Perhaps
David and Roger knew where they were after all?!
Back at the Visitors Centre, the sun was now
out, and we sat on the balcony outside the Siskins Cafe, where we
had some delicious paninis. All the time we had our lunch, the dogs
were laying down, out of the way. We knew Holly from January, and
knew how well behaved she is, but we were absolutely amazed at how
well trained little Harry was - I have never met a 5 month old puppy
that was so good. He did everything he was told on the way round,
and never made any fuss at all at the Cafe and Visitors Centre. |
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Holly and Harry taking a nap while we have lunch |
| After lunch we checked out the live
webcam and listened to the wardens talking about the Ospreys. |
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The live Webcam from the Osprey Nest being broadcast
at the Visitors Centre |
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Roger and David learning more about Ospreys, while
Harry and Holly take another nap |
| After looking round the gift shop
it was time to say goodbye to Roger and Ann and the dogs until our
next trip. |
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Roger, Ann and David with Harry and Holly at the Osprey
Sculpture |
| By now the weather was glorious, and
we stopped briefly in the lay-by at Whinlatter Pass to look at the
views towards Bassenthwaite and Skiddaw. |
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Bassenthwaite Lake from the lay-by at the start of
Whinlatter Pass |
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Skiddaw from the same lay-by |
We then stopped at Keswick for
some provisions in Booths and a visit to George Fisher's for a pair
of Salomon fell-running shoes for David. Being the eternal optimist,
I bought a pair of Montrail fell-running shoes that were reduced
(oh, the wonders of having size 3 feet!!!), though I cannot see
them ever being used for their intended purpose. Instead, they shall
probably have to contend themselves with an occasional lakeside
walk.
When we got back to Castlerigg Farm the sun was shining, it was
hot, and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. After a rest, I could
not resist a walk across to Castlerigg Stone Circle to have a look
at my beloved Blencathra. We had visited the Stone Circle once before,
but it was a misty and rainy day and Blencathra was hardly visible.
There is a lane behind Castlerigg Farm, which takes you out to the
main road, which you cross to get to Castlerigg Lane. |
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The lane behind Castlerigg Farm with Clough Head behind,
and some gorgeous lambs on the path in front |
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Blencathra from the lane behind Castlerigg Farm |
| Castlerigg Lane is a single lane road,
and it was full of wild flowers of summer, and the meadows looked
lovely, one of them having a little pond with mallards. |
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Dog Rose by Castlerigg Lane |
| The lane goes on a bit, and I was
just beginning to wonder if I had made the right decision in walking
over here, when I came to some stepping stones over the dry stone
wall, leading into the field with the Stone Circle. The view that
greeted me made me realise that I had made the right decision! |
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Blencathra from Castlerigg Stone Circle |
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The Helvellyn Range from Castlerigg Stone Circle |
| After enjoying the sunshine for a while, I re-traced
my steps back to Castlerigg Farm. |
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The Central Fells, with Walla Crag to the right, from
Castlerigg Lane |
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Clough Head from Castlerigg Lane |
