Lambs Lambs and more Lambs

This weekend saw us on another outing to Anglezarke. We had planned to go further afield but we had camped out in the garden the night before (like you do) to test some borrowed kit in preparation for a trip to the Lakes. I have vowed to try wild camping this year but may have a few test runs on small sites first and trials in the garden! We are used to Glamping in recent years so not having electric and other luxuries while under canvas will take some getting used to.

We headed up towards Yarrow Reservoir and speaking of wild camping we found ourselves behind some girl scouts with backpacks on as big as them. They appeared to be heading off to camp somewhere and hats off to them as it looked like more rain was in store!

Yarrow Reservoir overlooked by Rivington Pike and Winter Hill

As we crossed over the fields we could see lots of lambs and some looked less than a day old so we kept the dog on a tight lead. Some of them were braver than their mothers venturing up quite close to us even with the dog in tow.

We looked for a few Geocaches along the way and one in particular near an old farm ruin had us stumped. We will have to come back another day to try and find it. The views around we're impressive and hard to think we weren't that far from home.

A couple of shots edited with Rays app. Heavenly!

As we came onto Deans Lane we heard a young lamb bleating away in the field next to an old barn. It didnt look much more than a day old and was very unsteady on its feet when we witnessed an adult sheep with a slightly older lamb next to it begin head butting and kicking this younger lamb out of the way. It continued to do this much to Joanne's distress. I suspect the young lamb had lost its mother and was confused but the other sheep wasn't having anything of it. Joanne was after me jumping the fence to take it home but I thought better of it. I just hope the farmer on his rounds was able to intervene!

The barn I referred to is what's left of Morris's farm I think. Legend has it that about 200 years ago one of the Morris children had been rebuked for doing wrong. He was a simple child and hid in the barn and remained hidden for so long he starved to death in the building. The barn is owned by United Utilities and is currently boarded up. Other barns have been converted but this hasn't been, perhaps the story has put people off.

Spooky Barn

Sun and Shadows over towards Standing Stones Hill

We made our way back down the lane with Joanne still stressing over the lamb saga bless! I hope it was ok in the end. We won't be having Lamb for a while I imagine

All the photos have been taken and edited on the iPhone. Happy viewing!




 

Anglezarke

Here are some iPhone shots taken on a short walk around Anglezarke Reservoir in Chorley. This reservoir is the largest in Rivington and built in the 1850s to supply water to Liverpool originally but now feeds Wigan.

We set off late afternoon and luckily managed to park on Knowsley Lane. The route around the lake is about 4.5 miles in length and was quieter than expected considering it was a bank holiday weekend. Below is a shot of the route from the Viewranger app.

From the west side of the reservoir you can see over towards Rivington Pike and Winter Hill.

 

The photos were taken with the Bracket Mode App theme edited with TrueHDR, Snapseed and Filterstorm.

 

Below is an edit using the Dramatic Black and White App

The walk takes you through a wooded area where we saw the first Bluebells of the year.

The reservoir is very low and you could walk along the waters edge. The hosepipe ban will be here soon looking at this.

I have been informed that Richard Skeltons album "Landings" is about Anglezarke.

Read full review of Landings - RICHARD SKELTON on Boomkat.com ©

Have a listen and enjoy the pics!

Thanks for looking! Blog created with Blogsy for the iPad.

 

 

 

 

Not The Lakes

I've decided to take up walking again and I am keen to get to the Lakes. That was the plan on a recent day off but unfortunately after seeing reports of snow the day before and us not having the best of kit we decided to head somewhere a little closer to home and less remote.

 

I planned a five mile circular walk around Barley and Pendle famous for witches.

We parked on the public car park where The Cabin Cafe is located. Great food served here as we found out at the end of the walk.

We headed along the footpath that lead to Lower Ogden Reservoir along the side of Barley Hill. As we gained a bit of height the views were impressive and we soon forgot about not being in the Lakes for the day.

 

Barley Hill on the left with Lower Ogden Resevoir

We made our way up the side of Pendle Hill towards the summit. A fell runner passed us on his way down. I think we were more out of breath than him! Once we neared the top the wind hit us. It was bitter cold compared to climb up as we had been sheltered from the wind.

Great View beyond the enormous Cairne

It was a clear day and the views from the top were amazing. I took a 360 degree shot at the top with the iPhone that can be seen here

We headed along the top and quickly found the path down taking us away from the cold wind. The view of the patchwork of fields from here is amazing. Below are some shots taken with my iPhone.

View on the way down

Iphone Panoramic Stitched together with the Autostitch App

Black & White edit

We lost the footpath at the bottom so took a slight detour along the lanes before picking up another footpath through the fields where we were followed by some inquisitive sheep!

We headed back towards Barley where we had some food at the cafe. I would recommend the homemade burger! There's room outside to park your broom if that's your method of transport!

The trip might not have been The Lake District trip we were planning but the views and the walk were just as enjoyable! Now time to get my shopping list kit together!

Trip to South Stack Lighthouse

After a BBQ on the beach at Trearddur Bay the clouds came over so we decided to head over to South Stack Lighthouse.

These were the expert directions given by my retired colleague PC Plum 

"Na then fekler - Leytaase a tewd thee abaut weer South Stack,itz ont cooast (it ed ta be ednt it) sauth a t"arbour in Ollied, go oert raiway bridge nr stashun tarn reyt  n therll b a juncshun on"t left oer ta sauth stack, wen ts bin theer drop daun ta Trearddur bay n tri"n find a fella called Berni Raw--e es a buat (retired motorway man)"

(you have to say the above paragraph outloud to appreciate it really!)

Once translated into Queens English  - (Thanks Plum!) we got there and parked up near the cafe and paid about £14 for the four of us to go visit the lighthouse.

This would be no good for you Mum as there are 400 steps going down to the island. 

Winding steps down.

Some great views on the way down.

 

 

The bridge over to the Island still has the original thick chains that were used in the 1800s for carrying people and supplies over to the island. These can still be seen in the picture below.

Old chains still place

Once at the lighthouse we had to wait for a guided to tour to come down before we went up to the top and there is a small museum in the old engine room showing how life used to be on the island. 

The last lighthouse keeper left the island in 1984 and since the it has all been automated. 

Once our chance came to go to the top we had more narrow and winding steps to go up.

The views at the top were great and Id taken the binoculars Dad left for us but unfortunately wee didnt see any dolphins. Some interesting caves and coves could be seen.

Views from Top

 

We then made our way down and climbed back up the 400 steps but it was all worth it in the end. 

The views were great and although we didnt get to see any Dolphins or Puffins in the area we at least saw hundreds of seagulls!

More info on the lighthouse can be found here 

Beaumaris

An afternoon crabbing at Beaumaris, Anglesey.

Lots of them!

Nice views!