A break in the Lakes

As a birthday treat for my other half we spent 3 nights away this weekend so we could spend a bit of quality time in the beautiful Lake District. Not exactly the other side of the country for us but we found a little cottage far enough away that it made it more of a worthwhile stay. Not so close that we felt we could just pop home! It was a break of many firsts, a first having to explore the minefield that is dog-friendly accommodation, a first up a mountain with a certain blonde German Shepherd, a first nose touch with a donkey...for the dog, not myself who has been nuzzled by a donkey once or twice before...in a friendly way you understand! Anyway moving on...

So we stayed in a little place not too far from the motorbike honeypot that is Hartside, in the Eden Valley between the Lakes and the North Pennines. Sleepy quaint villages full of red sandstone houses and reddish drystone walls. Now normally we prefer to camp this time of year but as I've mentioned, this was a treat and for a good price I can manage that every now and again! Tip if you do want to stay up in the Lakes during the summer period, look for places a few miles outside of the National Park itself, we were about 20 or so miles out and it was worth travelling that bit further. Plus you escape all the touristy craziness during holiday season...oh and the hiked-up prices!

Gorgeous cottage just about big enough for the two of us and a large hairy dog. Admittedly Toby's shedding of hairs on a par length-wise with my own was always going to be a worry in someone else's house, we contemplated taking our own trusty vacuum cleaner but in fact forgot...fortunately the vac provided at the cottage coped admirably with the accumulation of blonde fur, thank goodness!

Toby teatime yet?

Our main aim of the trip was to conquer Helvellyn, the third highest peak in the Lakes, behind Scafell and Scafell Pike. Now despite living oop north all my life I am ashamed to admit I'd not been up a single peak in the Lakes! I've camped, walked between peaks and looked longingly at many a ridge but not actually got to the top of one. I spent many a weekend up Welsh mountains while studying at Aberystwyth uni a few years back (plug for the cracking Expedition Society!) and a couple in the Yorkshire Dales but the Lakes just hasn't happened for me. Until Friday! Weather looking a bit cloudy but with a very bright forecast ahead we set off in the old Landy to find a hopefully safe place to leave it. We arrived at Thirlmere, the reservoir in the valley below Helvellyn, and found a little car park we'd scouted on the OS map. We were however somewhat taken aback to find out we needed to fork out £7...in POUND coins!...for all day parking! Now I know we're from Yorkshire where all are renowned for being tight with their dollar but SEVEN POUNDS??? Daylight robbery doesn't even cut it. And who carries that many pound coins with them anyway? After a well deserved rant and shaking of fist we both speedily came to the conclusion that this just would not do. I'd spotted a campsite just down the road that we'd passed a couple of minutes before and suggested we see if the farmer would be happy for us to dump the Landy in a quiet corner for a small fee. Sure enough he was more than obliging and everyone was happy.

Satisfied we embarked on our mountain climbing. Got lost within 10 minutes of starting due to a re-routing of a path we'd picked on the map but it didn't deter us for long and after a friendly point in the right direction we were off on the right track. Straight into a field with a horse and donkey!

Friendly Eeyore

The footpath very quickly gained in elevation, i.e. bloody steep! Bit of a shock to the system this only being our first mountain of the year...and yes we're already halfway through, it's not the best track record! Best mention we hadn't actually got on to Helvellyn by this point...Cue much panting in heat despite it only being half past 10 in the morning and rather a few stops and starts...Toby was more than happy to lie down at every opportunity, despite him having double the leg power he is just a little more hairy than us so we let him off. We had to stop so often to fully enjoy the incredible views behind us you see ;)

Sheepfold

As we emerged from the bracken covered hillside we spotted our first hardy Herdwick sheep of the day, delightfully fuzzy creatures, only found on Lake district fells. And their even fuzzier lambs, like reverse pandas...black with endearing whitened eyepatches and muzzles!

Watching Toby very closely!

After a delayer/relayer/delayer and a sandwich munch we finally reached the top of the saddle between Stybarrow Dodd and Raise where the sun and blue skies joined us, fantastic! The views across to Glenridding were gorgeous and we still had a fair climb ahead. But having gained a lot of height up the steep bracken hillside I was relieved and surprised to hear we were actually more than halfway, woop!

Me in my "natural habitat" behind a camera according to Chris!

Toby at this point was one very happy dog, he'd already found a paw-spa (a.k.a BOG) and was surrounded by sheep...what's not to like in Tobyland?

I call these Toby's foxy gloves!

Once we'd got to the top of Raise (883m above sea level) we were then treated to yes more incredible sunshine and racing fluffy clouds, feeling very lucky indeed. The peak of Helvellyn was naturally obscured by cloud, well you can't have it all, but Striding Edge was coming into view every so often. Still on our to do list but having the dog, who is notably clumsy, we thought it would be a bit much for his first mountain. That and the fact the chap who owned our cottage was enthusiastically telling us how five people had already fallen to their deaths this year alone...including his next door neighbour who was a well experienced hiker. Scary and very sad. We safely looked on from a distance at how tiny the people braving it looked and wished them well. One day hopefully we'll master that challenge too!

Striding Edge

Not far to go now, cloud and wind awaits! It was already blowing hard up there, my eyes were streaming like mad...

Path into the clouds

I might as well mention at this point just how pleasantly surprised we were with the lack of people we met going up and down Helvellyn. Those that know me will probably say I'm quite a sociable person but when we're out walking I love the feeling of having the place to ourselves. Just passing the odd hiker suits me very well indeed, trundling behind crowds of people all trying to reach the top at the same time does not do it for me in the slightest, and I'm sure I'm not alone. Another top tip, climb mountains on weekdays! Probably went without saying really...yes moving on then.

Although we did happen upon one very friendly chap who proceeded to rant about a £4 car parking charge at where he'd left his car...not just us then! He was suitably appalled at our finding an even more expensive place up the road, SEVEN HUNDRED PENCE!

The last view just before the top before becoming fully shrouded in cloud...

So yey, we did it! Helvellyn, 949 metres asl, good stuff. Felt higher, feel the calf burn, feel it! We tucked in behind a shelter, ate the rest of our lunch and started the descent. Out of the cloud and into the sunshine again, I'd got chilled very quickly and had to dig out more layers despite having only stopped for 10 minutes or so. Luckily we were prepared but then I do get cold easily, blessed with female lack of circulation....

Soon warmed up though once moving again after repeatedly being told off by Chris for taking pictures and freezing my hands in the process...owt for a picture...always worth the pain. I have a terrible memory, hence the need for lots of pictures...and a blog for me to fill in the good times!

Looking down onto Thirlmere

 Toby soon got bored of map-reading, kisses clearly more fun!

And more views, good old splash in a waterfall to cool down.

Bliss!

So we had our route all planned, a nice easy permissive path back to where we were parked up, nice and eas....oh, what's that United Utilities? Timber harvesting you say? Closed permissive path to walkers you say? Ah. Now that's not ideal...Options... walk along the advisably dangerous A591 (no pavements and busy) or add another 6km to our walk when we're already ready for bed? Tried the road, got about 10 steps down it and thought better of it...Extra 6km it is then. Oof!

A nice easy path, or so we thought, following the edge of Thirlmere... Nice for a bit...then becoming increasingly more overgrown with very tall bracken and bramble...not so fun when you're tired and hot at the end of what has been a brilliant but loooong day.

After managing to stick with the path for a fair old way we decided to just head onto the quiet road running parallel to save time as it was starting to get a tad late in't day for such shenanigans. We'd got a little tired of this, especially as Toby had found yet another bog and had no choice but to repeatedly run back and forth in front of us on a very narrow path between bracken meaning progress was not as quick as we liked! Not that our legs could really propel us much faster at this stage...

There is a dog in there somewhere...

Pig and muck springs to mind...

Beautiful views of Thirlmere to keep us going

Eventually we made it back, 12 miles walked and a total of 1177 metres climbed...WHAT a day! Very achey and ready for our tea we sank into comfy oblivion and watched the Bourne Legacy, very good film if you're partial to an action movie!

Suffice to say our next day was a lot more laid back, socialising Toby in the dog-friendliest town of Keswick, market stalls and walking shops...and many many dogs! Great fun and a very happy much needed little holiday :)

Speak soon!

Meg x

A bit of a summer catchup...

So I got a shock yesterday when I realised a whole two months have passed since I last blogged, shocking behaviour! But then to tell the truth, it really has not felt in the least like two months have passed, the Summer Solstice has been and gone and the newt survey season was over in the blink of an eye . . . However, the time has not been wasted, plenty of sunshine and a few frolics in the sea, spot of camping, a botany course, bird ringing, a wedding (huge congrats to Mr & Mrs Curran!), dog walks, snippets of photography here and there and a even a couple of commissions thrown in the mix. I suppose that might explain where the time went!

Now where to begin. Well being an ecologist has many many pros at this time of year, generally surveying in good weather and stumbling across unexpected wildlife shenanigans, travelling a bit and getting lots of quality time spent in the car racking up those miles - good old Stella! Makes you think, this time last year I was still racking up the miles but all on two wheels with multiple outfit changes a day (think the most was 8 in one day) whilst bringing home far too much of the wrong sort of nature when the weather was good . . .

Many ex-bugs . . . :/

I still have my beloved Thump, she is just about to get re-insured for another year and I have every intention of making the most of her! An inspirational photo to get me back into the saddle asap . . .

My Suzuki SV650 at Bealach na Ba last year

Reptile surveys, breeding bird surveys, newt and bat surveys (bats and reptiles still ongoing), it's been a great couple of months. A couple of lizards kindly hung about long enough for me to get the camera out and ready, look at these beauties, common, or viviparous, lizards.

We also found a whole hoard of tiny toads, never tire of these critters!

And a frog!

Up bright an early for a breeding bird survey last month, I and a colleague came across a pair of young fox cubs playing with a bit of old meat. We saw them from a fair distance and as we were downwind tried to keep out of sight, while recording birds, until we could get closer. Bold as brass they were until a sudden movement sent them scampering into the hedgerow. Such a memorable moment! On that same survey I almost trod on a very large adult grass snake basking in a field margin, it took a few seconds to fully slither off it was so long, and my first proper sighting of a fully grown snake in the UK. Stunning! Obviously I didn't have my camera on me for either of these spots but then I think there's always the danger that you can spend too long taking the time to get the right shot and not drinking in the moment of the subject in question, so I didn't mind on this occasion!

And while we're on the subject of birds, my ringing sessions are not as frequent as to be expected with the workload at this time of year but getting in the odd bit of bling here and there . . .

A juvenile Rook, rugby tackled . . .albeit very gently . . .

A female Goosander found in a barn owl box

And this beautiful lady Tawny owl, my first :)

Whilst walking the dog last week I came across what I thought at first was an orchid, on closer inspection I realised it wasn't an orchid but I still hadn't a clue what it actually was. Turns out, after asking more knowledgeable folk, it was Thistle Broomrape, a parasitic plant on creeping thistles which doesn't photosynthesise and appears to be almost entirely endemic to Yorkshire. These particular specimens were on a reserve designated purely for it's flora, pretty lucky really. And actually rather rare, a nice find indeed.

 In other news, I can show you my latest commission now it has been received by its new owner. A pair of gorgeous dogs, a Border and a Bearded Collie. Owen the Border unfortunately passed over Rainbow Bridge while I was on with this drawing which is so sad but I hope this piece of work is a special momento and brings a few happy memories every time it's looked at. It's not the first time the subject of a portrait has met his/her time whilst I was in the middle of the drawing process and it can be quite upsetting but having them captured in pencil can hopefully give a lot of pleasure and help fill that void every four-legged companion leaves in our hearts. Rest well Owen pup. 

Owen and Ellie

And then there is of course Toby, our lovable liondog. He's had his first full dunk in a river, his first day at the seaside and a night in a tent whilst camping in the gorgeous Yorkshire Dales. All of these experiences are linked with water . . .something Toby enjoys immensely, despite his not knowing how to swim! You, along with many others, may be surprised to hear that but swimming doesn't come naturally to some dogs. Labradors and other retrieving breeds are like fish in the wet stuff but our Toby, with his masses of fluffiness gets a tad bogged down when he's fully wet..much to our amusement when he got his first dunking, after we realised he could get out of the water and we weren't going to have to rescue him! This pic was taken after his first couple of shakes out the water...a shadow of his former self . . .!

Bedraggled

He clearly wasn't put off by his shrinkage as he proceeded to bounce around in a mad 15 minutes fetching sticks and careering about like a lunatic, didn't much help our helpless giggling :D

A couple more pics . . .

First taste of salt-water . . .YICK

Black Beauty theme toon anyone?

Sandy grins

 And when he's not getting clean in the water . . .he's just as happy as a pig in . . .

. . .black peaty puddles!

Much laughs with good friends, four legged or otherwise, happy days :)

Until next time, 
Ciao!

M x

Spring's a sprung!

Life seems to have turned into even more of a rollercoaster than usual since we got Toby, certainly not a bad thing! Feels like we've had him years already, he's a cheeky little boy with a penchant for gloves, socks and anything he can nick out of a waster paper bin that he thinks will get a reaction! He's not reached full maturity yet in German Shepherd terms, though he's not far off. Still very much a puppy!

So this weekend seeing as Saturday was the Spring Equinox, myself, a friend and of course Toby went for a drive into the Yorkshire Dales for a lovely walk starting at Horton-in-Ribblesdale, middling at Helwith Bridge and up the side of Pen-Y-Ghent, one of the famous Three Yorkshire Peaks. Toby is being eased into this country bumpkin lark having come from a city background and so stiles are a seemingly new concept to him. When he first arrived, jumping over anything seemed fairly alien but he's cottoned on quick! A couple of stiles en-route looked something like this... >>>
Now anyone who goes walking with dogs will know how awkward it is getting dogs over this design of stile, I expect border collies can jump in one leap but, as I've experienced with Madam Maya the Malamute, some dogs just ain't going to make it. Regardless of managing to walk up normal stairs, these stiles are just not cutting the mustard...The first one we encountered involved me picking up Toby (all nearly 32kgs of him!) and bundling him up the stile in a less than graceful fashion. At the next one of these stiles there was a gate next to it but the entrance was blocked by farm machinery...my friend was trying to coax Toby round the back of it and down the side of a wall to get through the gate but he was just looking at us daft. As I realised I was going to have to go back over the stile and lead him round Toby then instead decided we'd faffed about far too much and simply scaled the 5ft dry stone wall...the biggest jump I've seen him manage yet! #Proud moment# All this exercise was clearly paying off and building up his muscles as he wasn't fit enough to manage a large jump like that a few weeks ago!

Anyway I digress...A few photos from the walk, taken from my phone so my apologies for the quality!

A beautiful white stream...

Last time we did this walk this stream was frozen so it was hard to see it's true colour. Little did we know it was full of creamy limestone deposits resulting in gorgeous crystal clear water flowing into the River Ribble.

View of Pen-Y-Ghent

Toby enjoying one of many stiles!

The River Ribble

Swaledales

Panorama and a Tobydog

Lovely views were had of dipper, curlew, oystercatcher and soaring buzzard. A stop off in Settle on the way home for a cheeky bag of chips to keep the hunger pangs away, a cracking end to a lovely day out.

On Sunday, with such blue skies overhead, I thought I'd bring out my old faithful motorbike for a spring clean. I managed about 15 minutes of scrubbing before getting bored, I was never one for making her sparkle, as she only gets mucky again! I'm afraid I'm a firm believer that life is too short for cleaning and bikes are made for riding after all! Instead I grabbed my camera as I couldn't resist a photoshoot. Toby was obliging as usual...

My lovely Thump, slightly cleaner!

Enjoying the sun, tis hard being a dog!

Pretty and he knows it...

Smiler!

So lucky to own these two beauties!

Then of course the word on everyone's lips on Friday had been the eclipse, it was pretty cloudy here for the duration of it, these were the shots I managed but nothing to shout about I'm afraid!

In other news, I am drawing quietly in the background, a couple of commissions are keeping me occupied. A spot of bird ringing is being managed in and among work days which is grand. With any luck I'll be close to getting my C-licence by the end of the year, if I can get the ringing time in!

The ecological survey season is just around the corner and I will have more than enough to keep me busy in that department so it's lovely to be able to make the most of my spare time walking and drawing before life becomes the hectic ball of fun that comes with surveying great crested newts, bats, otters and more! I love having the excuse to be out and about when nature is waking up. Nearly stood on these two on one dog walk...

Ribbety giggedy

Snowdrops and crocuses

I've rambled on long enough this morning but lots to catch up on! Until next time, I shall leave you with this two headed daffodil, it sprouted just the other day :)

Enjoy your start to spring all, can't believe it's nearly Easter!

Meg x