Mawbray in a gale

It was only breezy at home ....the same could not be said about Mawbray, where we had to abandon the walk as the poor dog was getting sand blasted!

Mawbray with the sand being blown around and a spectacular sea. 

 Most birds were out at sea rather than on the beach today...oystercatchers and curlew.

From Ullscarf - atmospheric views!

Some more views from our Ullscarf walk....cloud rolling in, out and around....

Ullscarf from Thirlmere

Yesterday it seemed like it was going to be a really nice day (weatherwise). The top of Skiddaw was well clear of any cloud, so we headed into Central Lakes....approaching the northern end of Thirlmere a wall of black came into view and we entered cloud. Parking up on the side of Thirlmere at the Dob Gill car park we ascended through the forest. What a really nice path up to Harrop tarn! We then followed the signed bridleway towards Watendlath. To be honest we didn't see much - thick cloud, so we were relieved to reach the fence that runs north-south over Standing Crag. We then followed the fence towards Ullscarf. With such poor visibility, we had to use my NGR ap on the phone to find exactly where to head off to the summit of Ullscarf which on the map should have been easy to find - by following another fence - but that fence was beyond decay and hardly noticeable. The extra time spent though, dithering about where exactly we were, allowed some of the cloud to clear, so we could see the summit and we got some very atmospheric views over surrounding fells. It was interesting having some visibility on the way back and good to get views of Standing Crag and Harrop tarn. A great walk that would be good to repeat in the summer.

The woodland, Dob Gill waterfall and Harrop tarn,

Superb Cladonia and Peltigera lichens.

Top - the general view most of the way up ....and Rocky having fun! 

Ullscarf summit - Rocky's 141st Wainwright.

We had views on the way down! 

Force Crag mine

Not a promising forecast so a quick walk up to Force Crag mine from Brathwaite. Not much out of the usual ...a few nice fungi and bits of rust.

Looking back over Braithwaite and Keswick at the start of the walk.

Fungi including Jew's ear fungus and yellow brain fungus. 

Approaching the mine.

The mine and waterfall.

Details....

Making oil paint using charcoal

For my Christmas present Tom kindly experimented with trying to make oil paint using an ironstone nodule, with a degree of success. We then played around today using charcoal from the fire and refined the methods to successfully make our own oil paint....now to diversify the colour range!

The piece of wood from last night's fire and using the pestle and mortar to pond it to a fine powder.

Grinding a piece of spare glass with sandpaper before placing the powder and adding cold pressed linseed oil - the mixture was then well and truly mixed and ground by using a muller - or in this case a flat-bottomed glass.

The oil paint was then put into tubes for later use. 

Using the charcoal paint - I added it to a little cold wax medium to make a less concentrated paint. 

For Christmas Tom had given me a small sample of ironstone paint which I also added to a small amount of cold wax medium....and below.

Cobalt Crust Fungus ....north Cumbria

Using a piece of wood with cobalt crust on it, my mother decided to have a go at propagating this beautiful fungus.

 The original piece of wood, with cobalt crust on it, was found in south Wales and was brought home to north Cumbria.

She explained how she did it: I took a length of undamaged wood (a thin branch) and cut it into three shorter lengths. I then drilled a few holes into each length. A few scraps of blue-stained fungus infected wood, were then put into each hole and the holes were filled with melted beeswax to seal them. The logs were kept outside in the damp and in the shade. In the autumn one of the logs began to show a bluish spot or two which have now spread into an unmistakable patch of cobalt crust!

This was beautiful to see and given the rarity of this fungus quite exciting! It is uncommon in England and Wales and very rare in Scotland and Ireland.

The new cobalt crust ....and below. 

Cobalt crust distribution Click for link

A damp Christmas eve walk - Merry Christmas!

On Christmas eve we usually go up High Pike and then looking for trilobites in the Drygill shales. Not this year - it was rather dricht! So a walk round the block from home and the challenge of taking enough decent photographs to blog ....

Merry Christmas to all and I do really appreciate seeing that people do read my blog, so wherever you are I hope you are well x

Spectacular views! 

Misty moisty berries and a mouse's Christmas table!

Catkins, ivy, ferns and candle snuff fungus.

Ivy berries.

A variety of lichens.

A colourful patch of wall. 

Greystoke Church

Typically I didn't read up on this 13th century church before visiting it ... apparently there was lots more to see than I noticed! Lesson learnt!

The church has been there since 1255 and even then was richly endowed, as the local nobility contributed generously to its upkeep. The 14th Baron of Greystoke added two chantries in the 14th century for saying masses for the victims of the Black Death. When the screens between the chantries and the nave were removed, during the reformation, the church's nave was considerably extended. The tower of the church was used by the village when seeking refuge from the Scots. Various items in the church are mediaeval and the choir stalls including carvings of  a pelican and dragon ....must go and look more closely!

The great east window was spectacular! Apparently it was removed during the time of Cromwell and was rather hard for the restorers to reconstruct!

Outside the churchyard is managed for wildlife as well as people.

The church with the eastern window - inside and out on the right hand side.

The reconstructed mediaeval glass of the eastern window.

Detail of the northern and southern windows ...there are none on the western facade. 

The old tenor bell and a sculpture of Christ by Josefina de Vasconcellos. 

Details...

External detail.

The churchyard...a few areas are left overgrown and atmospheric, while the rest is mown.

A wander round Greystoke, near Penrith

While Tom was at a meeting in Greystoke, I had time to kill and so went for a wander around this pretty village. 17th century cottages are evident and the market cross, on the village green, dates from the early 1600s. There has been a church since 1255, which was extended in the 14th century and is well worth a visit. Apparently the local pub is worth a visit too!