Curious Christina: Lake District

Showing posts with label Lake District. Show all posts

25 October 2013

To walk or not to walk, the choice is yours

Like most people who enjoy the beauty of the outdoors and the thrill of discovering where a path, dirt track or passageway will lead you, I enjoy looking at maps and planning trips to the countryside. Sometimes though, it's fun to just pick a place, and go! As a child I remember lots of times, usually on Sunday mornings, when my parents would say, "let's go out for a drive" and I would respond at times quite unenthusiastically asking where we were going and for how long... but then I probably just wanted to go out to play with my friends. Now that I'm a bit older I love picking a place on a map, packing a rucksack and heading off into the hills with no certainties about where I'm going or what I'll see.

It still amazes me that less than an hour's journey from the hustle and bustle of Manchester, it is entirely possible to separate yourself from everyday life, leave your stresses and worries behind, and simply enjoy being free to wander through fields and valleys, past lakes, rivers and tarns, and over fells, hills and mountains. One of the things I love most about getting out into the countryside is the smell of fresh air - you just can't beat that clean and pure flavour that somehow just leaves a healthy aftertaste in your mouth. I am a firm believer that going for a walk in the countryside can be every bit as beneficial and as healing as an aspirin. In fact, the stillness of your surroundings and the sounds of nature are the perfect antidote to beating the blues!

It came as a surprise to me to find that walking and enjoying the countryside hasn't always been quite so easy. Freedom to roam our green and pleasant land hasn't always been granted. In the 1930's there was a mass trespass on the highest point in Derbyshire, Kinder Scout, by some 400 ramblers from Manchester who believed and demanded that they should be given the right and the freedom to access our countryside, much to the unease of local landowners. The hardworking factory grafters and dockers spilling out of the smoky industrial towns of northern England looked forward to their weekends where they could fill their lungs with fresh, clean countryside air. Yet a small minority of wealthy landowners, some of whom were MPs, did not warm to the idea of their privileges being weakened by opening up their land to walkers. Over 400 walkers made it up to Kinder Scout, barging their way past angry gamekeepers and landowners, only to be arrested by police when they got back down for 'riotous assembly'. Luckily for everyone who now enjoys walking in the countryside in the 21st century, the public began to back these walkers and demand free access to the countryside; so much so that thousands began to protest and the right to roam remained on the public's agenda for some time until in 1951 in the aftermath of the second world war, the post-war Labour government decided that Britain should get its very first National Park, and it was, quite fittingly, The Peak District; along with one of my favourites, The Lake District, Dartmoor and Snowdonia. And as we know, there were plenty more where they came from.

With so many National Parks, woods, gardens and forests right across Britain, there is something for everyone. It is a travesty if we don't explore these places when our ancestors fought and fought for the right to roam this beautiful and unique land that we inhabit. Unfortunately, as well as stunning landscapes, we are also blessed with a rather varied climate which can make it challenging to enjoy the outdoors when it's cold, blowing a gale and bullets of rain are beating down on your face as you try your utmost to stay vertical along the mountain side. So the way I see it, we have two choices: a) put on your waterproof raincoat, pack a flask of hot tea and off you go; or b) wait until it's sunny and warm (nb. option b may incur a long wait).

As the Scottish-born, American naturalist and conservationist, John Muir, once wrote: 'Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves'.

Here are a few snaps from my recent wanderings in the Lakes...

Coniston Water

Levens Water, near Old Man of Coniston

View down to Coniston Water

Levens Water

Esthwaite Water, near Coniston

11 January 2012

Forget The Resolutions, Just Enjoy It!

2012: A New Year...A Time for Resolutions!
Well, maybe for some. I myself haven’t bothered to go as far as making any new year’s resolutions as I can’t think of a reason why I would want to make myself miserable or disappointed in a few weeks or months time when I fail to keep them. A New Year is just another year in our lives and we can make it a good year or an even better year than the last; or we can just continue the way we were at one minute to 12 on New Year’s Eve, thus eliminating any unnecessary pressure we might be about to put on ourselves.

When I hear people say things like ‘I’m glad that year’s over and done with, bring on the next’ it makes me quite sad because I for one would rather not wipe the previous year off the table and forget it in its entirety. Even if it was the ‘worst’ year in the history of the world, surely we can always find something that was good, that made us happy and that is worth holding onto.

So for 2012, instead of resolutions, I pledge to enjoy it as much as I can and be as happy as I can for myself and others– even in the face of adversity, setbacks and challenges that may come my way. So let’s break open the champers and have a bloody good year!

January may still be cold but to prevent hibernation, wrap up warm & head outside for a wintry walk...certain to take away those winter blues!

A Wintry Walk in the Lake District

17 November 2011

Autumn in the Lakes

Tarn Hows

"nowhere else have I seen wood and water, hill and valley, greensward and purple heather, rugged crag and velvet slope, grey rock and bright blossoming shrubs brought under the eye at once in such magnificent contrast" - Alexander Craig Gibson (The Old Man; or Ravings and Ramblings around Conistone, 1849).

When you think of all the colours of Autumn you think of reds, oranges, golds, yellows and browns. Walking along the path around Tarn Hows in the South Lakes you can see all these colours and many more. The Autumn reflections of the conifers creep across the water and cause you to take a double glance at which is tree and which is reflection. Between the seventh and ninth centuries when the Viking settlers arrived from Scandinavia, they left their mark on the Lakes through their language. The word 'Tarn' comes from the Norse word 'tjorn', which means 'teardrop'. 'Hows' comes from the Norse word, 'haugr', which means 'hill'. So Tarn Hows is 'a small lake set amongst the rolling hills'. In 1929 Beatrix Potter bought 4000 acres of land which included Tarn Hows, before leaving it to the National Trust which has preserved the area for us and future generations to see.

A bit of info...

It is easy to walk around the tarn as there is a relatively flat 1.5 mile circular path, making it accessible for wheelchairs, buggies and young and old! Although 600ft up in the hills, it is easy to reach the top by car via a narrow B-road. Then all you have to do is park up and off you go! Click here for a map of the area.

Don't miss...
Tarn Hows is located close to the tiny village of Hawkshead. You could easily spend the afternoon wandering around the lovely gift shops, taking a stroll up to the 17th Century Church of St Michael and All Angels which overlooks the village; before relaxing in one of the charming tearooms for a cream tea (one of my favourite things to do!) If that's not enough, visit the Old Grammar School where its most famous student, William Wordsworth once studied or take a trip to the Beatrix Potter Gallery. Just down the road in Near Sawrey you will find Hill Top Farm, home of Beatrix Potter - one of the Lake District's greatest admirers.