Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.

A damp Coniston Water

Coniston Water may lack some of the other Lakes grandeur but it is a place I have come to love over recent years. Granted it doesn't have the breathtaking view down Borrowdale which Derwentwater has, the view you get of Ullswater and St Sunday Crag from the slopes of Gowbarrow, or the most majestic view of all. The view of Yewbarrow, Kirk Fell, Great Gable, The Scafells and The Screes lined up perfectly at the head of Wast Water but Coniston Water has its own attributes.

From Brown How you get a feel for the sheer size of the lake, the high hills of Lakeland can just be made out in the far distance. There is Grizedale Forest on the far bank of the lake, there is the slate mining and quarrying industry in the Tilberthwaite area and last but not least the copper mining activities which have ravaged most of the Coniston Fells. These areas may not be the most beautiful but they are packed with interest and history.

It is also a lake for families, young and old. There is none of what I call "Lakeland snobbery" in the Coniston area. Everyone can have fun there. I was down at Brown Howe a few weeks ago and there were youngsters out in canoes, people in wetsuits swimming the lake and then people like me who were just relaxing and enjoying the moment. Plus there are footpaths galore for the ramblers, both low and high.

There is also an historical connection with Coniston Water itself. As everyone knows, it was where Sir Donald Campbell made his attempts to break the water speed record and was the place he lost his life in 1967. My favourite views of the Lake are of the small bays around Pier Cottage which is where Sir Donald started all his record attempts from and is now the home of the famous Gondola Steamboat.

I have photographed this area in all sorts of weather but these few shots below were taken on a wet and miserable day just a few weeks ago and they are by far my favourites. I was lucky to get a small window when the Lake was both calm and the reflections perfect. Shortly after I took these, the heavens opened and all thoughts of photography were gone.

As in life, you have to take your opportunities whenever you can!

Coniston Water

Rowing boats, Coniston Water

Coniston Water Reflection

Pier Cottage Jetty

Coniston Water Reflection

Carlisle Castle

This is a series of photos I took on my recent visit to Carlisle Castle with Sal. We both came to the conclusion that it was a rather foreboding and depressing place and lacking in inspiration. Usually my imagination runs riot at places like this and I tend to go back in time and re-live a places history no matter how shocking it is but I got little feel for this here. Maybe it's the situation of the place, being slap bang in the centre of the city with a dual carriageway right outside or maybe its because it is still a working castle and is still used my the military, I don't know.

One thing which was interesting though was the Cumbria's Museum of Military Life which, at the moment, contains a seperate section on the Battle of the Somme. The exhibits and maps from The Somme really brought home the desperate situation these poor soldiers were put in to and the futality of it all. It is really hard to visualise the horror and terror they must have endured to keep us all free which we should thank them for and never forget.

Castle Walls

Entrance and Port Cullis

Castle walls and buildings

Castle walls

Castle Buildings

Guard's Etchings

Staircase shadow

Castle window

Brickwork erosion

Poppy display

Commemorative Crest

Guard's etchings

Military Gun

The best medicine in the world.

Today I reached a major milestone in my life; I took early retirement from my place of work, the Yorkshire Building Society. I knew that as this was my final day, there would be a presentation and everything which goes with it. As I'm not a person who likes fuss and attention, the lead up has been rather stressful. As it turned out, it was a nice day and I think I coped well, plus it did make me realised what a lovely set of people I have worked with over the years. We started off with a buffet comprising of meat/veg samosas and sheesh kebabs which was followed by my presentation and then finally finished off by me being applauded out of the building. I have spent most of the evening responding to messages and posts received from many friends through social media and I think that it is this that has brought home to me how lucky I have been to work with such people.

I did this little walk two days earlier just to take my mind off of things. I mean, how can anybody moither and be stressed when they are amongst such natural beauty as this. I have a lot of things to be thankful for and one of them is to live in such close proximity to the Yorkshire Dales. The walk followed the Dales Way from Barden Bridge to Appletreewick and then back again. It is only four miles but when the sun is shining and the wild flowers are in the meadows, it is four miles of heaven. It closely follows the River Wharfe as you would expect before heading up in to Appletreewick which is the home to the best pub in the Dales, namely The Craven Arms. I didn't call in but later in the day, the lure of the Fountaine Inn at Linton proved too hard to resist. There was both Hetton Pale Ale and Wharfedale Blonde on so I was spoilt for choise. I chose the Blonde and it was pulled to perfection. Saying it finished my day off nicely would be an understatement!

The Dales Way at Barden Bridge

River Wharfe

Mad tree

The River Wharfe

The Dales Way

River Wharfe near Appletreewick

Hay Meadow, Wharfedale

Flowers by the Wharfe

Busy Bees

Flowers by the Wharfe

England's highest hill, deepest lake, smallest church and biggest liar.

I can't believe that I haven't done a blog on Wasdale before now as it's one of the most impressive valleys in the Lake District. Come rain or shine, you feel you are somewhere special. A visit to these parts would not be complete without a visit to the bakers in Gosforth as well. They serve the best pies and pasties I have ever eaten by a country mile but, guess what, they don't open on a Monday which was the day I visited. Unfortunately cafe's being closed, bakeries not being open and pubs closing down seems to be a theme in all too many of my jaunts these days.

Not being put off, I carried on down to Wast Water shore (England's deepest lake) with camera bag in hand. It was a gorgeous day but not the kind of day for good photography. It was a bit too warm and hazy for that but some days you just have to expect it and compensate by doing other things. I had a stroll along the shore and took a few photographs just for the record. There was plenty of activity on the Lake with canoeist and swimmers out in force and who can blame them? There cant be many better places than here to enjoy your passion. Add to this the many tourists and the place was quite busy.

I then headed up to the head of the Lake and had a short stroll in to the valleys which lead from it. I always like to call at the Church of St Olaf (reputed to be England's smallest Church). Looking at the headstones from the past gives you a real feel for the history of the place. The vast majority are graves of people who have passed away whilst climbing in the area they love although I did notice a cluster of graves for the Naylor family who I presume are all relative of the famous farmer and fell-runner Joss Naylor who I believe is doing a special 30 mile run to celebrate his 80th birthday! His assent and descent of Scafell Pike (England's highest hill) in 47 minutes is still a record to this day.

My visit was finished off with a drink in Ritson's Bar (the world's biggest liar) at the Wasdale Head Hotel and this is no word of a lie...I had a coffee!! My return journey was along Coniston Water and then up to the Northern Lakes on the recently re-opened A591 which was closed when it collapsed in the January floods. What a Godsend that is as every journey I made seemed to take twice as long when it was being repaired plus I have noticed a vast increase in the visitors to the Keswick area which is good for local businesses.

Hope everyone likes the photos.