Reblog

The Lakes: The Bowderstone

~ beetleypete ~ 16 Comments

Photos from the 2016 trip to to the Lake District. This time, they are of a very unusual tourist attraction, not a lake. Please enlarge the photos from the original post, if you are able to.

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All photos are large files and can be clicked on for detail

After the exertions of Monday, Antony promised me a much easier day to follow. In reasonable weather, we headed off on the drive to Buttermere, one of the smaller lakes in the area. On the way, he suggested a stop at The Bowderstone, in the Borrowdale Valley.
A gentle walk of about ten minutes from the car park took us to the site.
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This huge rock is believed to have fallen from the crag above, perhaps thousands of years ago, and it is unusual in that it came to rest on its edge, and has not moved since. Now managed by the National Trust, it was one of the first tourist attractions originally promoted in the area. In 1798, Joseph Pocklington publicised the stone as a tourist site, and employed an old woman to act as a guide…

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Ashness Bridge and Walla Crag

~ beetleypete ~ 22 Comments

More photos of a trip to the Lake District, in 2016. These are posted for the benefit of new followers, and anyone who missed them at the time. Please enlarge the photos on the original post if you can, as they do look so much better full-screen.

beetleypete

All photos are large files, and can be clicked on for detail.

Thursday was our last but one day of the holiday, and we set off in another morning of dull weather. The plan was to take the short ferry trip to Ashness Bridge, on the eastern side of Derwent Water. From there, we would make the climb up to Walla Crag, which has panoramic views over Keswick, and the lake. After getting off the boat at the first stop, there was a short steep ascent to the bridge.
Antony informed me that this was the most photographed spot in the region.
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As we continued up to the crag, the weather improved slightly. I got this shot of the view behind us. The cluster of white houses you can see is the town of Keswick, in the distance below.
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After my exertions going up Helvellyn, I must have been getting…

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Buttermere: A gentler walk

~ beetleypete ~ 27 Comments

A short photo post from my trip to the Lake District in 2016 It contains the best photo I took during that holiday, so please visit the original post and enlarge that first one, if you can. This is a reblog for the benefit of new followers.

beetleypete

All photos are large files, and can be clicked on for detail.

The approach to the peaceful lake at Buttermere was made through the hair-raising Honister Pass.
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Perhaps when I was 25 years old, I might have enjoyed that drive. My MPV chose first gear all the way up, and the diesel engine was sounding like a tractor by the time we stopped before the descent, for the above photo. The downhill section was also a fairground ride, as I was on and off the brakes all the way into Buttermere. I concluded that I was happy to only have encountered light traffic during that trip.

The weather remained kind for the promised easier walk that Tuesday. Most of the path was close to the water’s edge, or not far from it.
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After a much more relaxing day, it was back to Keswick, to get ready to go out to…

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Helvellyn: My vertical limit

~ beetleypete ~ 18 Comments

More photos from 2016, for the benefit of new followers since then. A continuation of my posts about a short holiday to England’s Lake District.

beetleypete

This is a longer post, using seven photos to tell the story of my biggest walk to date. Please allow time for it to load on your computer. All photos are large files and can be clicked on for detail.

After the boat trip had been cancelled, we retraced our steps through the village of Glenridding, and set off in the direction of Helvellyn. This is the third highest peak in England, with a height of 950 metres, or 3,117 feet. Antony had told me that we would head for the ‘Hole In The Wall’ and Red Tarn, a lake inside the hill. Naturally, this all meant nothing to me, but gave me a mental target to aim for, as well as an eventual destination to achieve.

Anthony and Ollie ahead of me on the start of the path, heading for Lanty’s Tarn, on the way up. They look as…

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Lodore: Ollie’s first boat trip

~ beetleypete ~ 9 Comments

Another reblog from 2016, for the benefit of new followers. More photos of a holiday to The Lake district, in Cumbria,

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All photos are large files, and can be clicked on for detail.

Up early for day two, and I was discovering how to pack my rucksack for the day ahead. Flat things against my back, two one-litre water containers, Ollie’s bowl and food for the day, then my own lunch. A spare top in case it got cold, camera, spare battery, plus a secure bag for keys, money, and any valuables we didn’t want to leave in the holiday flat. By the time I had laced my boots and sorted the backpack it was so hot inside I was pleased to get out into the morning air, heading down to catch the 10 am ferry to nearby Lodore. Ollie had never been on a boat before, but he trotted happily enough along the jetty, and stood next to us as we took our seats in the open section. I got…

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Ullswater: A lake in the mist

~ beetleypete ~ 17 Comments

From almost four years ago, I am reblogging some photo posts for the benefit of new followers since 2016. They were taken on a holiday in North-west England, in Cumbria.

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All photos are large files and can be clicked on for detail

Monday was planned to be a ‘big’ day. We would drive to The village of Glenridding, and take the ferry across Ullswater. Once off the boat, we would have a five-hour walk back around the shore of the lake to where we had parked the car. On the way there, Antony suggested a stop where we might get some uninterrupted photos of the lake from near the edge of the road. As soon as we approached the water, we could see that it was shrouded in mist. It was slightly eerie, but a real delight for me, never having seen it before.
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I decided to try metering for light off of the brighter sky. I hoped that this would cast the scene into shadow, and appear to be the evening. This is the result.
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We got back in…

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The Beetley Heatwave

~ beetleypete ~ 35 Comments

Six years ago this week, we were in the middle of an unusual spell of very hot weather, much like we have seen over the last few days. I wrote this about it at the time, and it is remarkable how nothing has changed since.

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As Irving Berlin once wrote, “We’re having a heat wave, Tropical heat wave”. The last couple of weeks have seen temperatures rising in Beetley, and every day has been sunny and hot. Even though it makes it hard to sleep at night, I’m not complaining. For too long, we have had damp and cold, followed by rain and damp. This sight of summer is long overdue, and most welcome. Ollie has been feeling the heat though. His coat may be short, but it is thick, and he is listless and uncomfortable. His only relief is to get into the river, something he does frequently on his walks.

I have had to limit the scope of our usual dog walks for now. The other places we go do not have access to any water, and Ollie would get far too hot. I probably would too. There is shade and breeze available…

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The Quintessential Possession-my saree box

~ beetleypete ~ 24 Comments

A wonderfully evocative post from Indian blogger Ritu Ramdev, about the importance of the Saree in her culture, and her own treasured Saree box.

MusingAmusing

A must have in every Indian woman’s wardrobe…saree.It not only symbolises femininity but also the great Indian traditions. The versatility stored in its weave and draping reflects the region from where it belongs. Though over the years it is losing its significance to the hassle free western dresses but still it occupies an indisputable place in each household. Every woman likes to boast of her heterogeneous collection from different parts of the country- Baluchari, Taant, Painthni,Chanderi, Kanjeevaram and the list is endless. An army wife for sure feels highly jubilant when she flaunts her collection by virtue of having been posted to such places where she gets an opportunity to pick an exclusive piece from the maiden source. Over the years, it definitely adds to her self glorification…but other than just being reflective of one’s indulgence there are innumerable stories associated with each and every saree in the box.

The…

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Local Hero – Captain John Perrin

~ beetleypete ~ 20 Comments

I am reblogging this from Rich’s site for the interest of all my American readers. You might like to know that your servicemen who died in Britain in WW2 are not forgotten, and they are honoured and respected by this country. Just like this brave man.

Please read the original post to see two photos.

Richard Lakin's Blog

The memorial you can see below is just a few hundred metres from where I grew up. Although it’s close to junction 14 of the M6 there are beautiful farm fields, spinneys and streams nearby. I ran and hid and splashed in these fields, punctured tyres, suffered nettle rashes, all the usual.

What I didn’t know was that on 4 July 1944 a Mustang P-51D had crashed into a wheat-field here, close to Home Farm and the brilliantly named Sleeper’s Spinney.

USAAF pilot Captain Perrin – an ‘ace’ fighter who had shot down five German aircraft – was delivering the Mustang to Cambridgeshire when something went wrong and the plane was seen to catch fire. Heroically Capt. Perrin did not eject and stayed at his controls to avoid crashing into the populated North End of Stafford, avoiding schools, houses and a hospital.

Sadly, the New Jersey-born pilot died in the…

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Sandwich: Finishing my crusts

~ beetleypete ~ 25 Comments

The last of the four posts about the historic town of Sandwich, from 2015. The photos do benefit from enlarging them, as you can see fine detail. This reblog may be of interest to my more recent followers.

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After my last three posts about this town in Kent, I thought I had more or less played it out. However, I have now decided to add the final photos, those omitted from the previous posts, for reasons of space, or interest. These will be the last ones, I promise.

Three rooftops. This shows the metal cupola of St Peter’s Church. Taken from a distance, it also shows the distinctive styles of rooftops in the town. One tiled, one made from stones, and the metal church roof. Like all the other photos that day, it would have looked so much better, had the weather been a little nicer.

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This circular room above what is now a gift shop looked suitably nautical. I wondered what it might look like inside.

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Holy Ghost Alley looks very much like the sort of alley where you might well encounter a ghost.

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This house dates…

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