Tewitt Tarn and the search for the lone tree.

Even though the tarn area is usually quiet, I was expecting it to be busy being as it was a Bank Holiday Saturday. Surprise, surprise, I got a parking spot and only saw one man and his two dogs the whole afternoon. My main reason for going was to try and locate a tree which a lot of my photography contacts publish on a regular basis but that proved to be easier said than done.

After having taken more than enough photos of Tewitt Tarn and the surrounding fells to last a lifetime, I set off in search of the tree. I have had a quick look for it on previous visits without any luck so I decided that this time I would cover every inch of Low Rigg until I found it! I set off on the footpath to High Rigg but deviated from it to explore some rocky outcrops to my right. No luck there so I then headed in the direction if the hause and High Rigg.

This led me only as far as a pretty big wall which I had to clamber over. I was glad to be alone because I made such a palaver of getting over it and at one stage I had my right boot stuck between two large stones. Much swearing ensued before I managed to free my foot and get back on my way. I saw the main path below and headed down to it almost giving up hope of completing my task.

The only other place it could be was on the other side of a rocky rise to my right so, as the last resort, I circumnavigated it and lo and behold there stood the tree I was after in all its glory. It is precariously perched on small crags but if you get in to the right position, it frames the distant Tewitt Tarn and the slope of Blease Fell on Blencathra perfectly.

Suitably chuffed with my find, I fired off a few shots and then, using my camera bag as a cushion, I had a chill in the warm sunshine. I reflected that, even though it was a Bank Holiday, I was lying in my own quiet and beautiful world; the only sounds I could hear were a few cows by the distant tarn and birds in the nearby woods which I don't think anyone could possibly class as noise pollution. Also Blencathra was displayed to perfection directly in front of me, as well the Skiddaw Hause bridleway which I ended up on the next day.

Unfortunately I eventually had to leave my own corner of heaven and rejoin the hustle and bustle of the Bank Holiday weekend traffic and visitors but I had found my tree, my own little haven and everything in Norm's world felt good.