Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.: April 2023

Revelin Moss, Whinlatter Forest

Many years ago, if you were lucky, you could catch a glance of one of the deer which resided at the head of the valley but I don't think there are any about these days. This is due to the forest now seemingly catering more for cyclist and adventure seekers than for the wildlife that the many people like me, just wanted to enjoy it in peaceful surroundings. Now all you hear is the sound of the people on the Go Ape Adventure Centre up at the Visitor Centre or the many bikers shouting at the tops of their voice to each other as the speed along the plethora of man-made tracks. Maybe its just me who hasn't moved with the times and who is slowly turning in to a grumpy old man, I don't know!

Grizedale Forest has gone the same way as well. The only wooded area which hasn't been developed in some way, shape or form is Dodd Wood, which I think, and hope, is too steep sided for any sort of structure (I'll make an exception for the exquisite cafe).

We still enjoyed our walk but I think that was mainly due to us liking each others company so much. It was certainly not due to the work of the Forestry Commission. Its only saving grace was that all the clearing had been done well away from the road and was hidden from the main Visitor Centre area.

Little Langdale and Hodge Close

Pretty it is not but there is so much to see and explore. Hodge Close and the Tilberthwaite quarries are really joined at the hip so you could park in either area and explore both. The Coniston mines are just a few more miles down the road. Add Cathedral Cave in to your day and you have a magical insight in to the history of mining and quarrying in the Lake District. There are other areas like Honister, Greenside Mines in Glenridding and the Back of Skiddaw which have their fair share of workings but none on this scale.

The quarries have been mostly idle for decades and nature has pretty much reclaimed them; blanketing them in deciduous woodland. The actual quarries are of most interest to rock climbers and divers, however there is a legacy of tracks and bridleway associated with them that connect with the main valleys of Yewdale and Little Langdale, so there are walks aplenty.

It is likely that slate has been worked and used in Cumbria since man first appeared here in prehistoric times. It certainly has a long history. There is evidence of its use from the time of the Romans at their fort at Hardknott above Eskdale.

Slate was originally won by hand, with gunpowder introduced from 1800 and compressed air drills from 1910. Diamond tipped saws replaced the cutting of blocks by hammer and chisel from the 1930’s. Various methods of moving the rock around were developed including inclines – both external as at Yew Crag, and internal as at Honister – and aerial ropeways, as at Hodge Close and Coniston Old Man.

In their working arrangements the quarries were primitive in the extreme, with no provision for the comfort of the quarrymen and very little for their safety. Until later times it was a labour-intensive industry. The large pieces thrown down by a blast were themselves bored and blasted until reduced to manageable proportions after which further hard work, with the aid of sledgehammers and wedges, was required to produce pieces which could be carried away to the riving shed. Here the river split the stone into thin sheets, and the dresser shaped them into slates with a special heavy knife. It was a dangerous occupation, even for someone at the end of the process. The industry today is only a fraction of its size at the turn of the century but still active with a number of smaller operations on both sides of the Tilberthwaite Valley.

Yew Tree Tarn

Hodge Close

Holme Fell

An Evening at Ashness, Surprise View and Watendlath

An evening drive going down Borrowdale and then heading up to Ashness Bridger. Surprise View and finishing up at Watendlath.

Ashness Bridge was quiet, Watendlath was deserted but Surprise view was full of visitors. People eating the fish and chips they had bought in Keswick, a few photographers and a large family of Asians cooking a full-on curry. Thankfully the smell of the curry over powered the smell of greasy fish and chips.

Next time I need to adjust the timing of this trip so that I get some decent light at Watendlath.