Print This Post

Lime kilns, castles and scarecrows

Bank holidays spent at home and out of the rain seem to be a thing of the past as we manage to get into the big world once more.

Lime kilns and castles were on the agenda yesterday as we went in search for content for one of our other websites called heritageandhistory.com.

Our first stop for a sniff and stretch was a small village called Orton.

This village is situated a few miles NE of Tebay just off the M6 and is known in the area for the farmers market every second Saturday of every month and Kennedys chocolates.

Our approach to All Saints Church was greeted with flags as the annual scarecrow festival was taking place.

Whilst we shelteredf rom a slight rain shower in a pop up tent erected in the church yard, Mum went into the church to be greeted by many happy friendly folk. She emerged with a scarecrow trail map and small booklet about the church.

Scarecrow number one was easy, a big christmas pudding at the entrance to the church.

Now to find the other 30 scattered around the many streets and gardens. You can see some of the ones we spotted in the gallery below this article.

Half way around and Charlie spots water. Like a magnet to a can he is attracted to this stream and he goes for a paddle.

Dad notices that this bridge is very unusual as it has two gaps for the water to flow through. Further investigation reveals that on the other side of the bridge the water is diverted in two different directions.

One stream continues straight on the new stream heads off left alongside the road.

We are not sure why this diversion takes place so maybe someone can advise using the comments area below.

After spending a good few hours in Orton we return to the car and head off into the hills in search of lime kilns.

Dad now got lost.

The map came out and the usual comments of why don’t they put roadsigns on some of these junctions was heard. Things were not helped when we saw this sign warning of rhino.

We have noticed recently that although the M6 seems to be getting millions of pounds spent on new electronic signs the backroads, where it could be argued are in more need of signage, seems to be loosing out.

So we say please bring back the fingerpost roadsigns on our rural roads to stop Dad gettng lost.

Single track roads and quite a bit of reversing later we emerged onto a road know as the Tommy Road between the A683 and the B6259. Observing what looked like a lime kiln to our left dad parked the car and we got out.

We were glad of the walk as all the stream water we had swallowed in Orton was now in need escape and the last 10 minutes in the bumpy car had not helped. Oh such relief.

After a walk over the mossy tuffets to the top of a nearby hill to take a look at the view we returned to the now deralict kiln constructed into the hillside.

We kept well away from the kiln itself to ensure we didn’t get hit on the head by a falling rock however we did have a good sniff around.

Used now by the sheep as a place of shelter these structures were once used to produce quicklime by heating up limestone rocks.

Quicklime was used as an additive to building mortar and as a render on walls.

The tower of All Saints Church in Orton visited earlier would have had a lime render giving the white appearance which can be seen from miles around.

Looking back towards the car we became aware of this very confident sheep who tried to block our way.

Mum thought he must be guarding something, so we gave him a very wide berth and kept our distance.

He was very scary with his big horns and stance on top of a small hill, even dad looked worried.

Dropping further down the hill and over the Settle to Carlisle rail line we arrived at the ruin of Pendragon Castle.

According to legend, Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur, is said to have built the first castle here and unsuccessfully tried to divert the river to provide its moat

Mum and dad are of a certain age that whenever King Arthur is mentioned they quote Monty Python and this was no exception. We climbed the hill to Spam, spam, spam… and a certain parrot sketch.

Walking around the base of the castle many holes, possibly former windows, just needed to be looked into.

The many sheep and lambs had left a number of trails through the ruin as they searched for shelter from the weather on this exposed spot overlooking the river Eden.

Measuring about 20m square the Pendragon Castle we see today is said to date from the latter part of the 12th Century and is built on a hill.

This offers a commanding view of the nearby countryside and with its walls over 2m thick in places, a strong defensive position.

Charlie investigates the many sniffs inside the ruin whils mum and dad try to work out what the building would have looked like all those years ago.

Many small plants have started to live in between the stones of this now giant rock garden giving the walls a pink and green look. More contents for mum for Naturearoundme.com during the next few months

Our investigations were being watched by a friendly lamb who seemed very interested in what we were doing in his back yard.

We left the site just as a minibus full of visitors arrived clutching cameras, tripods and rucksacks full of stuff.

Our final visit of the day was as the small village of Outhgill in search of the Jews Stone.

Not sure what we were looking for we parked the car in a road to our left just before the church and dad went for a look around.

Amazingly we were in the right place and ahead of us, surrounded by a wooden fence, was a single stone column with green lichen growing on it.

At the base was a large interpretation board explaining all about the monument and the history. Dad will write this all up later over on Heritageandhistory.com.

It seems that the stone is a replica of the “Jews Stone”, which was set up in 1850 by the eccentric William Henry Mounsey ( 1808 -1877).

It is over 2m high and about 10cm square and is made of a limestone known as Dent Marble.

With our challenges for the day accomplished we headed homeward relieved that we had not been caught by any bad weather .

As we past Appleby the signs had been posted warning of slow moving traffic.

Appleby Horse Fair starts in a few days time and with it comes a large number of horse drawn vehicles.

We return home safe and well after a very busy day. Dad downloads the pictures from the camera and mum gets the dinner ready.

Stew is on the menu with little trees . Mum has spent today, Sunday, planting loads of seeds to grow next years supply of turnip and little trees in the allotment.

We just love them fresh from the fridge. Trees are given as a general reward whilst a nice piece of cold turnip is favourite after a meal to clean our teeth.

Thats all for now

Until next time

Buster and Charlie

Gallery

 Print This Post

Mucky pups… in the Eden Valley – Cumbria

Parking in one of the few parking spaces at the Long Meg druid circle just outside of Little Salkeld our day out started with a look around the collection of stones.

Long meg and her daughters is a collection of some 69 stones with a commanding view over the Cumbrian fells.

With a diameter spanning over 100m and arranged in a circle straddling a narrow farm track, the 68 stones that make up the daughters are said to date from about 1500 BC.

The stone known as Long Meg stands alone to one edge of the circle. Standing almost 3m high Long Meg has some carvings into it said to be a spiral and a cup and ring mark.

 

 

After a quick run around the stones we walked back down the road and started on our walk towards the River Eden and the caves.

We walked through the top part of the village of Little Salkeld and after passing a farm and onto a well maintained tarmac side road, we came across our first view of the River Eden curving away from us into the distance.

An old signal box, long disused and looking a little shabby, is situated alongside the Settle to Carlisle railway track.

Many pictures can be seen around the internet of this bit of railway heritage, including this picture of the Blue Peter passing by courtesy of this website.

Birdsong had now become drowned out by the nearby motocross track.

Although possibly about 700m away from our path the demented wasp like motorbike engines could be heard well above everthing else nearby.

They did seem to be having fun riding at top speed around the snake like track carved into the sloping field.

To our left, at the edge of the path is a brick mosaic collage.

Symbolising the flow of the River Eden and made by local schoolchildren the work seems unexpected but does serve to encourage you to look for other pieces of art along our route.

Charlie is starting to get thirsty and we stop to take a drink. Mum and dad also take the chance to remove a couple of jumpers as they are starting to feel quite hot in the late morning sunshine.

Rain was forecast for today but although dark clouds can be seen on the distant fells, all is dry and still.

Our path continues slightly uphill then takes a sharp left down past a cage containing some grey buzzing beasts and through what seems to be a maze of wire fences until we emerge next to some old buildings.

After a quick consultation with the notes about this walk it seems as if this area was a gypsum mine and the rock was loaded into carts and trundled down to the main rail line sidings near to the signal box seen earlier.

Large rail trucks would take the white rock to Billingham to be made into plaster for buildings and other products.

Dad wondered if any of the old locomotives that used to work here were still around and after a quick search on the internet it seems as if an engine called W.S.T. was take to the Bowes Railway Museum.

Mum finally found her fields of bluebells this week as we past through some of the woodland clearings.

You may remember that we went to Rannerdale Valley recently however ,we were a few days or even a week too early and the flowers were not fully open.

Our path continues and after a drink from the river and a paddle to cool our tummies we rise away from the river and to our left a sign indicating we have finally arrived at Lacy’s Caves.

Historians all seem to agree that these caves were chiseled into the red sandstone by the local squire.

Maybe as a wine cellar or as a place to entertain the story is unclear as to why the 5 caves were dug, however all seem to agree that Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Lacy, who lived in Salkeld Hall in the 18th Century was a bit of a excentric.

Inside the caverns a number of people have left their marks. Names, dates and other inscriptions are to be found on many of the walls.

The sandy floor was nice and cool on our tummies and we took a few minutes to cool off before we explored a bit more.

From the entrance you can look back up the River Eden in the direction from which we had walked.

Salmon , Brown Trout and Grayling are all to be found the river ponds in this area and it is a popular spot for fishing.

Leaving the caves our path rose steeply over the top of this spur of rock then descended to a fence with a stile.

Regular followers of this blog will know that we are always interested in ways to get over or through fences without dad having to lift us up and over .

At this particular stile we came across a great solution of a wooden framed hole and a plank to move to one side to make the gap wide enough for us to sneak through.

After we had passed, into the muddy bog beyond, dad moved the taller upright plank back over the gap sealing the fence once more. We have to say this was a fantastic solution once we figured it out.

It did however occur to us that if this arrangement was not for us, then what was it for and how would larger dogs manage?

Two large grass fields allowed us to stretch our legs for a short while until we emerged, via another stile arrangement, to a road and small stone bridge.

It was here that the trail went dead and the map had to be consulted. Was it to be uphill to our right or follow the road to our left?

Dad decided right was best and we trudged up the never ending hill where, after about 20 minutes, we entered Glassonby.

Following the main road for a further ten minutes, still upwards, mum spotted a church like building off to our right through some trees.

Again sign posts were lacking so, venturing down a narrow lane, we went exploring to see if this was the building on our map.

Thankfully it was and after a brief excursion into the churchyard we took what we know know to be a long shortcut.

Our mistake was to exit the churchyard and follow the path, that led us to the church, down the slight slope away from the church.

This path brought us out onto a very muddy farm track and around 300m short of the Long Meg stone circle and where the car was parked.

Now it was just our luck that many dairy cows had just walked along this path in the direction we needed to go towards the farm and you guessed it, the path was covered in much ‘guano’.

Oh well, we were going to get a bath anyway, so across the path we splodged and through the farm gate, sorry Mr Farmer, and back towards the car.

Here Mum and Dad spotted some fellow walkers who we had seen earlier in the churchyard, they approached from our left. It seems the ideal path was through the top part of the graveyard and to our location at the edge of the stone circle.

We did get our bath upon our return home.

Charlie as always was the dirtiest and it took three shampoo washes to remove the dirt, sand and general muck.

I was not that bad, but it still took over 20 minutes under the shower to clean me up.

Our usual run around the house followed as we tried to dry ourselves but we were just so tired out that we dropped in front of the fire and toasted ourselves dry.

What a great day in the Eden Valley and we look forward to a good nights sleep.

Until next time

Buster and Charlie

More details about our walk

Dogs in the Fells – Follow the adventures of some colleagues – not updated since 2007

East Cumbria Countryside Project leaflet

Park and Stride – Mark Richards

 Print This Post

Speed trap scarecrow – Crosby on Eden

Early this morning we went in search of scarecrows at a local village called Crosby on Eden.

The annual scarecrow trail is taking place in the village this bank holiday weekend organised by Crosby on Eden Parish Council in aid of church funds

One of the first scarecrows we came across was a Policeman standing by the roadside armed with a speedgun.

This character has made the headlines in many of the national and local newspapers as drivers are slowing down as they spot him from a distance, thinking he is a real policeman.

Dad wondered if once the scarecrow festival is over the local Constabulary will position officers here in the future to impose the 30mph speed limit in the village.

Arranged as a trail the scarecrows are to be found up many of the side streets and on the main A689 as you approach the village from Carlisle.

The local newspaper has reported that four of the scarecrows had been stolen but have since been returned.

Here is our gallery of some of the scarecrows we spotted.

Gallery

Click on the images for a larger view. Click again to return to the gallery

 Print This Post

What to do? Another bank holiday …

Splish, splash it is another bank holiday and it is starting to rain as we type this with dad.

Mum and dad are off work for three days and we were hoping to go exploring, but currently it is raining and a bit cooler after a bright start this morning.

Many events are taking place this weekend including the Spring Show in Victoria Park, Carlisle.  

On his way home today dad took a few photographs of the tents amongst the tulip filled flowerbeds.

It all looked rather grand in the morning sunshine.  The Spring Show will include Made in Cumbria traders selling crafts and food.

In addition to the craft stalls and catering village, there are more than 40 traders and exhibitors selling a variety of plants and garden accessories.

Children are also catered for with a Children’s Activity Marquee with arts and crafts, a children’s ride and Daffy Dill – children’s entertainer.

The show will take place on Sunday, 3 May and Monday, 4 May, between 10am and 5pm. The floral art marquee will open from noon on Sunday, 3 April (to allow judging to take place). Admission is £2.50 (accompanied children under 16 have free admission). More details on this PDF.

Other news

Carlisle’s tennis blister, or airdome as some like to call it, seems to have been removed once more, as this photograph shows taken this morning.  The official reason is not known, so watch this space to see if anyone comments.

It has to be said that this installation has become a bit of a folly and looks like a patchwork quilt close up, as all the strips of tape to repair it can be seen.  It does however look good at night when lit by the powerful floodlights.

Engine Lonning in Carlisle, between Newtown Road and the Waverley Bridge,  has undergone a bit of a facelift recently thanks to some hard work from Carlisle City Council, the Friends of Engine Lonning group, the Community Payback Team, Adult Day Services (Cumbria Care) and The British Trust For Conservation Volunteers.

Sad to say but we have not visited this area for a while, due to being busy with other walks, but it seems from the new photographs that we need to go and investigate.

To mark the end of the work a new railway themed gateway feature has been installed.  This seems like an excuse to visit to see what it looks like.

Chris Brammall , a local artist based in Ulverston, was commissioned to design the new entrance. This was funded by Carlisle City Council, Cumbria Waste Management Environment Trust, Castle Ward Neighbourhood Forum and the Carlisle & Eden Crime and Disorder Reduction Disorder Partnership.

That is all for now.  Don’t forget you can keep upto date with what we are doing via Twitter

 

Buster and Charlie