Sizergh's swans

The lake in the gardens behind Sizergh Castle is home to a pair of mute swans. They have built a nest on the island in the lake and one of the pair was on the nest, though I couldn't see if there were eggs laid. The other (I presume the male) was gliding around, feeding. Swans usually mate for life and use the same nest year after year, rebuilding it as necessary. Both take turns to guard the nest.

I was on a raised terrace so perhaps the swan didn't spot me. At any rate, for once, I got decent photos. Swans usually turn their backs and hide their heads as soon as they see me! What was captivating was how clear the water was, so that I could see the bird's head under water and watch how it was feeding. Fascinating. 

Sizergh Castle's gardens

Sizergh Castle has extensive gardens within a larger estate. When I was there at the end of March, winter still had the UK in its grip, and there were only the first signs of spring, with the small Lakeland daffodils coming into bloom. In a few weeks, once the weather warms up a bit, I imagine the grounds will be much more colourful as spring bulbs start to flower and trees burst into blossom.

At the side of the house there's an interesting limestone rock garden, which had some early narcissus and winter flowering heathers bringing a little colour. Later, it will be much brighter, as there are some acer trees, over 100 years old, that will have gorgeous russet leaves.

Sizergh Castle

I've joined The National Trust, so I aim to visit as many sites as I reasonably can this year, making the most of my membership. I started by visiting Sizergh Castle, not far from Grange over Sands. It's a substantial medieval house, set in rather beautiful grounds. It has belonged to the same family, the Stricklands, since 1239. The family still reside in one wing of the house and, apparently, still use the state rooms too, when the house is not open to the public.

The square tower on the left of the photo above is the original medieval (1300s) solar tower. The house has evolved around this over the centuries, as various generations have extended and altered it to suit their purposes. The house contains fine Elizabethan oak panelling and has furnishings reflecting styles from Elizabethan through to Regency and Victorian. The whole house contains many family portraits and more recent photographs, which makes it feel very personal and welcoming.

During the Tudor period, the Strickland family were very wealthy. Catherine Parr (who became the 6th wife of Henry VIII) and who was a relative of the Stricklands, is though to have lived here after the death of her first husband. When I visited, there was an exhibition of letters written by Cecilia Strickland (1741-1814) who owned the house in the 18th century. Her husband died and she fought to keep the house for her son's inheritance, despite her own ill-health and an ongoing struggle to afford to maintain the buildings. It was rather moving to read her letters; she sounds to have been a very strong and determined woman. It's lovely the way the National Trust these days works so hard to make history relevant and illuminating. I really enjoyed my visit.

Ducks

A selection of ducks that came near enough to the hides for me to photograph:

At Leighton Moss there is large population of teal. They are small dabbling ducks; the males have very attractive plumage and the females are rather less showy, mottled brown. Some breed here but many are winter visitors from the Baltic and Siberia.

For many years I overlooked and could never identify the duck below: a (male) gadwall. I've got better at spotting them lately. They are not especially common, only about 1200 summer breeding pairs in the UK, though more overwinter here. From a distance they just look grey but seen close up they are actually rather pretty, with nice faces and subtly patterned plumage.

Below is a very elegant duck, a male pintail, with a sweep of white up its neck and the characteristic slim, pointed tail feathers. They were right over the other side of the scrape so my photo is enlarged and heavily cropped and thus a bit grainy.

Moorhens (not really ducks) are quite common but lovely to see, darting busily about. The males, close up, have attractive subtle colourings with a grey-blue belly and brown back. Their red and yellow beak is distinctive. 

Swan Lake

Leighton Moss RSPB reserve had a large number of mute swans, huge and beautiful birds. The reserve's conservationists appear to have increased the number of small islands in some of the pools, to provide nesting sites. Some cormorants (and gulls) were roosting there too. The duck in the foreground with its head submerged is a wigeon, rather an attractive duck with a blue beak.

Egrets

Hello... What's that, creeping through the reeds? Wow, it's a great white egret. They are uncommon in the UK, though more have been seen lately, overwintering here from Europe. I only saw this one and another flying, though I was told there were three on the Leighton Moss reserve. As big as our native grey heron, they are white with a yellow bill and black feet.

Rather more common are little egrets, first recorded here in the late 1980s. These are increasing in number and are now breeding in the south of England. In the photo below, I captured both the great white and a little egret, showing the big difference in their size. (The ducks in front are shovelers, with that very heavy bill that gives them their name.)

Little egrets have black bills and legs but yellow feet. The photo below shows its plume rather nicely. My lens isn't really long enough for bird photography. There were several chaps with cameras and huge lenses in the hide - but I can't carry all that around!

Leighton Moss

The area around Arnside Knott, across the water on my photo yesterday, is Arnside and Silverdale, designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, but often overlooked in favour of the nearby and much better known Lake District National Park.

Tucked away within Arnside is one of my favourite places, the RSPB reserve of Leighton Moss, a huge expanse of wetland, reedbeds and woodland. It has a very attractive visitor centre and café, which has been much improved over recent years with landscaping and planting to the rear, designed to attract insects and birds. On a sunnier day, I would have enjoyed just sitting out there. There is a bird feeding area, visited by lots of small birds.

I was keen, though, to walk the paths to the many hides among the extensive reedbeds. It never fails to disappoint, and there is always much to see, both common birds and rarer species. There are usually marsh harriers here, gliding over the reedbeds - such a thrill to watch.

A recent development has been the construction of a tall viewing platform, giving panoramic views over the whole reserve.

Wide open spaces

At the end of March, I enjoyed a weekend away at an hotel near Grange over Sands. It is on the coast immediately south of the Lake District, on the northern edge of Morecambe Bay. Morecambe Bay is a vast expanse (120 square miles) of salt marshes and shallow mudflats, sometimes covered by the tide and sometimes exposed. It attracts many wading birds and is an important wildlife habitat. It holds rich cockle beds too, which have been fished by locals for generations. It's a very dangerous area to explore on foot. The incoming tide rushes in unpredictably and alarmingly fast; for centuries the area has had royally appointed local guides to assist people to cross. Nowadays they conduct guided walks, often to raise money for charity.

The photo above is looking east across to the area called Arnside and Silverdale. The prominent hill to the right is Arnside Knott. The picture below is looking in a more south-easterly direction and you can just see Ingleborough, one of Yorkshire's famous 'three peaks' in the distance. There is also a hot air balloon soaring over the scene. It was a beautiful day with no wind so it would have been ideal for a balloon ride. These wide open spaces are a real tonic for this valley-dwelling girl; my spirit seems to breathe and expand!

Resurrection power

Christ is Risen!

He is risen indeed! 

Alleluia!

On Easter Sunday I am always glad I live in the northern hemisphere, where we are just moving into Spring. Everywhere you look there are signs of new life: daffodils dancing in the breeze, little lambs in the fields, a gentle greening over everything. This year it's all happening a bit later than in some years, as we've had such a cold winter. I did, however, find this hillside covered in beautiful daffodils, a wonderful reminder of the resurrection power coursing through the natural world. 

Happy Easter to those who celebrate it, happy Sunday to those who don't. May you all have chocolate anyway!  

Devil's Bridge

It hardly feels like a year ago since I was at this spot before, but it is. You may remember my photos of the two bridges at Kirby Lonsdale. The older bridge in the foreground is known as Devil's Bridge. It's a convenient stopping off point on the journey from Saltaire to Cumbria, with a refreshment van should you be in need of a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich. The weather, which had been dull and drizzly, perked up a little so I decided I'd stretch my legs and follow a short walk along the riverside that had been recommended by a friend.

Grange over Sands

Grange over Sands is a small, quiet and quaintly 'retro' seaside resort on the north coast of Morecambe Bay. A fishing village until Victorian times, it grew with the coming of the railway, when many of the towns on the north-west coast became get-away places for factory and mill workers in the fast-expanding northern cities. In Edwardian times, wealthy businessmen built fine houses, hotels and gardens here. These days it's a popular place to retire to and also a centre for those exploring the nearby Southern Lake District. This is its main street, although it's a sprawling ribbon of a place with public gardens and promenades along the edge of the bay. I really liked it, it's 'different'. I am mildly amused that the local tourist info site displays a photo of the railway station. (Clearly it thinks it's the most attractive feature!)

Morecambe Bay

This is part of the vast expanse of Morecambe Bay, a huge area of intertidal mudflats and sand, formed by the estuaries of several rivers that flow into it. On the northwest coast of England, just south of the Lake District, it is an important wildlife site with abundant bird life. Traditionally the bay is also harvested for cockles (shellfish). Being so flat, the tide goes out a long way and then rushes in unpredictably (as fast as a horse can gallop, they say). The bay is also full of quicksands and can be a very dangerous place. In 2004, a group of illegal Chinese immigrants, harvesting cockles for a pittance, were cut off by the incoming tide and at least 21 men, women and children drowned. It was a terrible tragedy, very sad. It seemed they didn't understand the dangers and had misjudged the tides.

There has been an official post of 'Queen's Guide to the Sands' for centuries, since the lack of transport and the inaccessibility of the surrounding area meant people used to need to walk across the bay. They had to be guided by someone with intimate local knowledge. Nowadays the guides accompany people walking the bay to raise money for charity.

My photo is taken from the north shore looking southeast. Through the haze you can just see the village of Arnside (see here) across the bay (below the flying geese).

Sheer indulgence

I met friends in Cartmel and we wandered into a coffee shop, just intending to have a drink. Then we spotted the meringues and they looked so wonderful that we all decided to enjoy one! I had a rosewater meringue - pink and tasting of roses, which sounds horrid but was delicious. I could have had ginger or hazelnut too. I tell myself that there is a lot of air in a meringue... (but who am I kidding?)  The reviews on TripAdvisor suggest I am not the only one who rates the meringue - see Cartmel Coffee. It was a really pleasant, modern café too, with a relaxed seating area as well as standard tables, and bookshelves and newspapers to browse if you really wanted to chill out.

A postcard from Cartmel

As you can see, Cartmel in Cumbria is a pretty little village (though overrun by cars - I thought Saltaire was bad enough!) The river Eea runs through the village, past historic buildings, mostly dating from the 16th to18th century, which cluster round a square dominated by the old market cross and some ancient stone fish slabs, a relic of when markets were held here. Narrow, winding streets radiate from the square and are now home to some very upmarket shops, many of them selling artisan foods like speciality bread, cheese; there is even a micro-brewery. There are wonderful tea shops too and an acclaimed Michelin-starred restaurant, Simon Rogan's L'Enclume, where you can enjoy a 21 course 'tasting experience'. (Not that I did.) Cartmel also boasts a racecourse in a lovely setting close to the village centre. All in all, a surprising place!

Mother and child

Inside, Cartmel Priory is an inspirational fusion of ancient craftsmanship, including fragments of medieval stained glass and carved wooden misericords, and some beautiful contemporary sculptures. Most are by Josefina de Vasconcellos, an English sculptor with Brazilian heritage and at one time the world's oldest living sculptor. I don't recall coming across her name before though I now realise I have seen some of her sculpture in other places. I found myself deeply touched by the pieces displayed in the church. The Madonna pictured was not attributed but I am pretty sure it is her work. Josefina died in 2005 shortly after her 100th birthday, having produced work well into her 90s.

What better place to spend a few moments quietly contemplating the news that my daughter is expecting her second child... Please join with me in hoping and praying that all will be well this time and that she may have an easier birth experience after the trauma of my first granddaughter's very premature delivery.

Cartmel

I made my first ever visit to the village of Cartmel, in Cumbria. It's an attractive little place, dominated by the huge medieval Priory Church. Established as a monastery in the 12th century, it survived destruction after Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries in the 1500s only because an altar within the church had been given to villagers. They petitioned to save the church as their sole place of worship. Even so, it almost fell into ruin and was saved and repaired many times by various benefactors. Nowadays it is a living, thriving church with a wonderfully peaceful atmosphere inside, soaked through by centuries of faithful prayer. When I visited, the nave was cordoned off and the roof swathed in plastic sheeting as they are replacing rotten roof timbers. It rather ruined its good looks but I still enjoyed wandering round and discovering its secrets. 'Ancient jewel, living church', as its guidebook says.

Arnside

Travel a mile or two north from Leighton Moss Reserve (see yesterday) and you reach Arnside, a quaint little village of slate-roofed stone and stucco houses, perched on the edge of the estuary of the River Kent at the corner of Morecambe Bay. Not much seems to happen there but that is part of its charm... a few little shops, a café and a pub or two and the vast expanse of the tidal estuary mudflats, with the promise of exciting birdlife for those prepared to watch and wait. Because of the topography of Morecambe Bay, Arnside has a fast-rising high tide, which can be very dangerous for the unwary. It also (oddly, for such a small place, I think) has a railway station, on the Lancaster to West Cumbria line that crosses the bay on a long, low viaduct just out of shot to the left of my photo. (Another line that was axed by Beeching in the 1960s and has since been reinstated.)  The area surrounding Arnside and Silverdale is designated an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, well worth a visit.

Moo to you ...

On the way back from the Solway Firth coast, we stopped at Wellington farm to buy ice-cream, made from the milk of their herd of Jersey cows.  It was delicious, very creamy.  I had an orangey flavoured one.  It was hard to choose, they had so many different flavours!  As well as the herd of Jerseys they have a small animal enclosure with all sorts of things for children to enjoy - chickens, pigs, goats, rabbits - and these Highland cattle, which I adored!  The view of the Lake District fells across the fields was glorious.

Anyway, I think we'd better say 'Farewell' to the Lake District for now - or I'll be having to retitle my blog Lake District Daily Photo!  (I wonder if anyone does one of those?)  Now that our exhibition is over I might find time to get out again and take a few photos locally.  Let's hope the weather cheers up a bit soon.

I, the Lord of sea and sky

 

Though inland far we be,
Our souls have sight of that immortal sea
Which brought us hither.
~William Wordsworth, Intimations of Immortality

It seemed appropriate to have a Wordsworth quote alongside this picture of the coast at the Solway Firth, on the edge of the Lake District, Wordsworth's home and his inspiration.  What is it about the sea and sky that make me feel so free and yet so pensive?

Allonby

In an effort to escape the rain clouds that tend to cleave to the Lake District's mountains (Seathwaite in Cumbria is the wettest place in England with an annual average rainfall of 124 inches / 3.15 m!), we travelled out west one day to Allonby on the nearby Solway coast.  It's officially classified as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - and you can see why.  Looking north-west towards the Galloway hills of Scotland, seen in the distance, there are miles of sand and mud flats, grassy dunes and rocks.  The tide goes right out leaving the mud exposed and, in consequence, it is an area rich in birdlife.  When the tide comes in it does so in a rather unpredictable way, so one has to be rather careful not to get stranded.  There were blue skies and moody clouds, and all the lovely natural tones of the coast. (Taupe, grey, pale blue, pale green, white: these are 'my' colours and make me feel utterly serene.)  It was a lovely day for photography and a soothing day for my soul.