Hatfield Moors Together

We managed to visit Hatfield Moors together at the weekend, usually it is me and the dog. Lovely day, came across no one else, saw hobbys and heard cranes. This time of year the heather is in full bloom; just another reason to love the place.

Cardoons

Each year the cardoon plant in the rockery produces these great flowers. I cut them off and they become indoor decoration for the autumn.

Tomato Time

The tomato harvest usually begins on August 1st up here in the north. I grow them in the greenhouse. Above average so far.

Bridge over the Canal

If I was a painter I'd want to do a watercolour of this bridge and tree on the Pocklington Canal. Not going to happen.

Odds and Ends

We watched England play in the World Cup Final over brunch with Dave, Emma and Nataliia which was fun but disappointing. 

Saw Andy for a drink at the Crooked Tap, a new craft ale place in Acomb (not a sentence I thought I would ever write).  

Walked with the dog to a new open air swimming pool on a farm. It is a new and very popular venture. Neither dog nor I like swimming so I had a coffee and cake, then walked the six miles home. Next day Danielle and Jackie went to try the actual swimming - very good apparently.

Another photo from the forest on the dunes - Culbin.

Swamp Dog

Layla had an infected foot, which meant we had to limit her walks. Today we got the go ahead from the vet, so she could charge around as much as she wanted. Which meant, when she got too hot, she had to wallow in the swamp. Looks pretty happy about it.

 

Culloden

I have just started re-reading Culloden by John Prebble, so it seemed a good idea to visit the moor as it was just down the road from Findhorn. It is on the tourist circuit but still retains a lonely, sombre atmosphere; certainly not a glorification of the battle.

Findhorn +

I will try not to post too many photos of the Findhorn shore, but it is such a beautiful place, there maybe a few. The coast is gradually eroding, so trees do die and then fall down to the beach. This one may be gone by the next time I visit.

Culbin Forest

Last time I was at Findhorn I discovered Culbin Forest, an amazing forest planted on sand dunes, rich in history (sandstorms, houses lost beneath the moving dunes) and great for cycling around. This time I walked and was rewarded with spotted flycatchers and five ospreys, it is a fantastic area to explore. This shot is taken from the top of the fire-tower in the centre of the forest. 

Findhorn Dunes

The stony dunes of Findhorn are one of my favourite places on the planet. Scale and orientation are easily confused and it is almost impossible to retrace your footsteps exactly: there is always a surprise on the way.

Sterling

Four years ago we visited Findhorn when Danielle was attending an event at the Findhorn Foundation. She was booked in to appear at an event this month only for the Foundation to cancel it. As we had an airB&B booked for the week we came up anyway. Findhorn is a really beautiful place, and Culbin Forest across the bay is magical, with the forest coming down to the sea. 

On our way up we stayed at Stirling University to break the journey. We were surprised to share the hotel with both the Swiss and Ukraine cycle teams from the world championships. a Ukrainian gave me a bidon to give to Nataliia. We walked around the lake at the centre of the campus (that does rather put York's duck ponds to shame). Here is the lake, with the Wallace monument in the distance; we walked up to see it in the afternoon.

Listening to Brian Smith, one of the cycling commentators on GCN, he mentioned that there is an Italian restaurant at the foot of the monument that has a number of cycling jerseys of famous cyclists framed on its wall; including one of his when he rode the Giro for Motorola in the 90s. So I popped in for a couple of espressos to take out, and asked if I could have a look. They happily allowed me to take a look, then I told the owner that Brian had mentioned it on the TV, "aye, but he said have a meal and look at the jersey, not too measly espressos" A fine fellow.

Return of the Native

Whilst we were away, Layla was looked after by Louise, and Louise's dog Pasha. It all went very well. On my return home I thought I would film Layla in one of those "dog gives crazy welcome to returning owner" type videos. Trouble is Layla was so excited that she never actually appears in the video. Could be a whole new sub-genre.

Glasgow 3

To get to the velodrome we walked through Glasgow Green and passed the People's Palace. The BMX cycling was taking place here (accompanied by the inevitable techno and echoey PA system)

 

Glasgow 2

On the Monday we went to the track with friend Paul to watch more world championship races. The highlight was the women's madison. In this shot the riders wait to hook up with their partners after a crash-enforced restart. It was a great day's entertainment.

Glasgow 1

I have been lucky enough to see the world championship cycle road race 8 times, the first of these was at Goodwood in 1982, the last was in Glasgow at the weekend. Danielle and I got the train up, met with friends for a curry on Saturday evening, then saw the fantastic city centre race on Sunday. A brilliant atmosphere as always with a final podium of the three best riders in the world: Van der Poel, Van Aert and Pogacar. 

This shot is of the initial break of seven riders as they tackle the steep hill past the School of Art building.

Travelling Daughter

 Rowan is in the US for work. She has visited tech companies in Silicone Valley, (Apple, Intel, Google) and in San Francisco. Sounds a great experience. 

This is the equivalent of a blue plaque in the UK, marking the beginning of Silicone Valley.

Recall

 

Layla's recall to the whistle is brilliant ... unless there is something more interesting. Here she was on best behaviour.

Where she belongs.

Layla on Hatfield Moors, allowed back on now that we are in August.

Coniston

We have managed to miss two 60th birthday shindigs this year. One because of the saga of the wisdom tooth, the other because of double booking. So we were glad to at least be able to hook up with Paul and Kelly in Grasmere when they were on the Coast to Coast walk. En route, we got a walk in Grizedale Forest with this view of the Coniston Fells. Always good for the soul.

Housing

The village of Appleton Roebuck is south of York, and part of the Selby constituency that delivered a welcome defeat to the Tories in the recent by-election. The cottage on the right looks considerably older than the house on the left. I would have loved to see the planning application for it. "Will seamlessly mesh with the other housing nearby."

Karst

Walking in the Dales on a bridleway, I strode across what I thought was a bridge over this fast flowing mountain stream. But there was no sign of the stream beyond the bridge. I then realised that this is where the stream plunges down into the porous limestone and an underground system of caves, never to be seen again. Bizarre and just a little disquieting.

Reeds

On the same walk I came across more reeds in a tarn - a bit of a muse for me. I decided to go with an infra-red filter for once. Not brilliant but it is good to experiment.

Four Peaks

You do need to click on this phot to get the full story. I was walking in the Dales up through a forest onto the Pennine watershed when this vista opened up before me.

From the left we have Pen-y-gent, then Pendle Hill in the distance, then Ingleborough in the centre. Then Ribblehead Viaduct striding across the moors, and finally Whernside. The three peaks are Pen-y-gent, Ingleborough and Whernside. For me it should be four, as Pendle Hill is every bit as striking as the other three. (And it is in Lancashire). 

Concentration

Scanning through old photos I found this one. It shows Mother with her granddaughter Sarah. The concentration and sincerity of the two of them reminded me of this shot of Mother and her granddaughter Rowan, taken a good while later.