My friend Darren teaches and the TGO Challenge is in May. This means that he watches in pain as hundreds head off for two weeks backpacking in Scotland. We usually try to get away for a few nights in his summer holidays to ease the man’s agony. Over the years we’ve done chunks of the Ridgeway, the South Downs, the Peddars Way and the Black Mountain together.
I’m all heart.
This summer it was Wasdale for a slackpack ~ slack because of my hurty knee (yes, thank you for asking, it’s still hurting) and because we just didn’t fancy a strenuous list-ticky grunty time in the heat of summer.
DARREN
There follows some pictures of the beasties we encountered over our time spent around Wasdale in the last few days. If you wish, you can click on each picture to make them larger.
I’m pretty hopeless with naming our little feathery friends. Can anyone can tell me what the little chap is who’s sitting on the rusty fence outside the Wasdale Inn? And yes; we spent most of the first day in the pub.
Looks like a nice start to a wee backpack, apart from the dragonfly...I know, I'm a big Jessie. Hoping to get out myself next weekend for an overnight, maybe with the dug.
ReplyDeleteHope the knee gets better soon.
Thanks Sandy.
DeleteIt's not dragonflies I'm worried about but mosquitoes and midges. Those buggers terrify me.
:-)
Evening (Morning?), Alan.
ReplyDeleteNice place to spend some time, even in the high Summer.
The little chap is a little girl. She is a juvenile House Sparrow from this year's crop.
In case you were also wondering what the dragonfly was, it's a Golden-ringed Dragonfly. Absolutely stunning.
Ps. New camera, per chance?
:-)
Thank you, Carl.
DeleteThere were dozens of the little tykes fluttering about Wasdale Head. They seemed to love gravel paths and were pecking away at whatever lived there. There were also zillions of those fast types ~ either Swifts/Swallows/House martins who were doing acrobatics and disappearing into a line of nests built in the eaves above the outdoor shop at Wasdale Head. It was all quite lovely ~ a million miles from an urban sprawl.
It is a new camera ~ bought in time for this year's Challenge. Andy & Phil both have the same one, except theirs take better pictures.
:-)
hi Al,
ReplyDeleteWhenever i go on your blog i get music playing which i’m sure you havn’t put on, but of course i could be wrong. Now there is only one other site which i visit where this happens and that is Mike Knipes. I’ve mentioned it to Mike already so i am raising it here to find out what is happening. I don’t think its my connection with blogger or else it would happen on all blogger sites.
Hi Al
DeleteYes, I'm well aware of it. It's from 'Sitemeter' and the code is embedded and I can't get rid of it. I've emailed Sitemeter asking them to get rid of it but have had no reply.
I'm loathe to dump Sitemeter as I started using it only a few weeks after starting the blog and so is the only continuous record of unique visits. It does under-record quite a bit compared to other stat services.
I started using Google Analytics a year after starting the blog, so may well dump Sitemeter, but it's a simple tool that has all the info I need for a quick review of how things are going. I also use Extreme Tracking, which is great for sorting out problem IP addresses from trolls and the like, and Blogger's own stats, which are crappy and very basic.
I've told Mike about the problem as well.
So - in the meantime, I'm sorry for the audible crap you get, but it only lasts a minute or so and may well be removed by Sitemeter shortly. I'll give it a month, and if it hasn't gone I'll dump them and use google Analytics instead.
Ah! So that's where you've been! Thought you'd gone quiet on Twitter. I will be setting off soon to meet your old friend Mad n Bad up in the NE Lakes. Raining of course.
ReplyDeleteOf course it is, Sir.
DeleteI've seen your route (Andy emailed it). Good luck with that in the pouring rain!
Are there pubs close by?
Have a lovely time, Sir.
:-)
All little brown birds are sparrows and all big white birds are seagulls. Birds flying at night are owls and ones that float around in the sky are vultures. If they're swimming and eating bread, they're ducks. If they're delicious, they're chickens. I don't hear any music btw either on your blog or mine but a couple of people do (not everybody) Its possible to turn it off (there's a button on the speaker - it says "on/off") Nice to see Darren out in the open air!
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice summary of my bird recognition skills, Mike. I always had the little brown jobs down as LBJs.
DeleteI think Darren will be writing it up as a proper blog. I'm just going to put a few pictures up with some sarky comments.
:-)
It's raining in the Lakes today...
ReplyDeleteNow, have you actually seen anyone about Hurty Knee.????
It's wall-to-wall blue skies down here this morning, Sir!
DeleteNo - I haven't seen anyone, yet. I'm giving the knee some rest and occasional light duties. But now it won't straighten.
Time for the quack, I think.
:-(
Have a lovely time in the Lakes, Sir.
Alan, I have some bad news for you...
ReplyDeleteYou are slowly falling apart.
It's an age thing.
And, yes, you can remind me in a decade or so that I am too!
Cruel, Madam. So cruel!
DeleteOkay the knee may be in need of a service, the mind sometimes goes astonishingly blank, but the rest just needs a bit of pampering. Steam rooms, cool pools, warm towels. That should do it. And a massage. A nice dinner with a big Gigondas and a few brandies. A huge bed with thick bright white cotton sheets, plumptious pillows, watching Jeremy Clarkson exploding caravans.
*sigh*
Okay, I'm sending a virtual kiss to make your knee better. The children would tell you, sympathy is not my strong point x
ReplyDeleteNurse! My thigh hurts too, you know...
DeleteOoo, that requires the attentions of a burly, rough-handed Swedish masseur, not a weak, soft-handed, gentle housewife type. Poor thing.
Delete