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Keswick Railway footpath

Keswick was our destination on Tuesday when we went for a family outing.  With the weather a little breezy dad thought it would be best if we visited the Keswick Railway footpath and went for a strole.

After parking the car near to the Keswick Leisure Centre we climbed the wooden faced steps up to the path built on the trackbed of the former Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway.

Built around 1862 originally as a mineral line between Workington in the West and Durham on the North East coast  the line was progressively closed starting in 1966 when all the passenger services ceased.

Track and assorted parts of the infrastructure continued to be removed during 1967 with the final official closure in 1972.

Being on old railway trackbed the path is ideal for buggies, bikes and motorised wheelchairs. However we would suggest that manual wheelchairs may struggle in places as the gradients are a little bit high.

After a few minutes we come across a very strange black object. It looks like a fish with it’s head buried in the ground but turns out to be a C2C Millennium milepost.  The two tail fins pointing towards Keswick in one direction and Sunderland in the other.

Mum and dad wondered if markers like this could, in a few years time, be seen as headstones for the Millennium quango society.  Marking the passing of organisations, as the credit crunch and quests for efficiency bite, such as the Millennium Commission, the banks and the National Lottery as funding conduits.

The conversation got a bit deep at this point so we tugged on our leads eager to explore further.

Sniff of Water

Towering above, in matt white concrete, was the massive structure of the Greta Bridge carrying the A66 from the M6 to Cockermouth.  It turns out that this is an award winning bridge thanks to the readers of a ‘must have’ journal about concrete.

Dad felt compelled to make up some concrete puns at this point, he wondered if they would be ’set in their ways’ or maybe able to handle pressure because they were ‘pre-stressed’.

We could hear the cars above but could not see them which made us a little puzzled however, Charlie got the sniff of water and this became our quest.

To our left was the river flowing towards Keswick. However,between it and us lay some sheep and a few fences. No splodging to be had here.

Just beyond the bridge we entered an area of wooden boardwalk strapped to the side of a sheer stone cliff.

A bright blue and red sign nailed to a post nearby indicated we were on the British Cycle Network route 71.

The boards had netting over so no risk of our paws slipping between the gaps and we were able to look through the sides onto the valley below.

The path at this point started to fall towards the water and our hopes raised of a paddle soon.

Hydro-electricity

Exiting the boardwalk, we were suddenly amongst a number of humans and fellow dogs all congregated in one area.

It was not a bottleneck of people waiting to get onto the boardwalk but an area with a lot of history going on and everyone wanting to learn more.

To our right was the former entrance to a tunnel for the railway. It is all bricked up now so this is the reason we needed to take to the boardwalk to get around the hill the once tunnel cut through.

Below us and to our left, obscured by the tree canopy, are assorted structures in the path of the river.

These were the former workings and footings of possibly the earliest hydro-electric scheme in the county, generating electricity for the Keswick area.

The plant started to generate power, around 30Kw, in 1890 and was owned by the Keswick Electric Light Company. It continued to operate up to 1941.

Small tunnel

We negotiated through the many people and resumed our walk after saying hello to a few dogs and humans along the way.

The slight slope to the path continued for a while then resumed the more natural flat and level route you would expect on a rail line.

Ahead of us was a tunnel. At last, we could make ourselves sound really big as our woof would echo around.  However, it was not to be as it was only around 5m long. A bit of a disappointment .

Bobbin Mill

It turns out that the bridge we have just passed under was built to allow traffic to get to and from the Low Briery wooden bobbin mill which it to our left.

All is explained about the area in a couple of Lake District National Park information signs.

Just behind these notice boards is the former station platform at Briery and doing what comes naturally to boys we climb the few steps and walk on this ‘upper path’ leaving mum to walk on the track bed.  We are still not a tall as her … but we are almost…

Around 120 bobbin mills used to operate  in the Lake District  producing almost half of the worlds wooden bobbins.

One report on the web indicates that this mill alone exported over 40million bobbins per year at it’s peak. If put end to end the row of bobbins would be around  800 miles long.

The mill closed in 1961 due to the collapse of the British textile industry and increased competition from abroad.

Water

Mum and dad read the sign boards, it is what humans do, however we are eager to find a paddle.  The river is still to our left and we are now starting to want a drink.

Charlie is the key to finding water and so far this walk is frustrating him.  He can hear it and can smell it but just can not get his paws into it.

Our path leads onto another wooden platform, like the boardwalk earlier, and Charlie gets all excited.  There it is, below us, glistening in the sunshine, all the water we need, now how do we get to it?

No problem as a small path leads down from the far side of the bridge to a rocky area at the base of one of the bridge supports.

Cool, clear fresh water right up to our tummies and as much of it to drink as we want.

The bridge above us is what is known a bowstring bridge and like all the bridges on this route was designed by Thomas Bouch .

Mr Bouch was born in Thursby and is also responsible for the Northern Viaducts in the Upper Eden Valley which we visited towards the end of 2008.

Research on the web mentions that the Queen travelled on this rail line  in 1966 in the Royal Train.  Maybe this is the same bridge shown in this photograph with the Royal train passing over.

With our legs starting to get a little sore, we climb away from the river and start our return journey. We decide it is easiest just to retrace our steps back to the car.  The return takes about 40 minutes as we take our time.

Thats all for now, until next time

Buster and Charlie.

Further information

LDNPA Latrigg walk

Discover uses of rock in the landscape around Keswick and Borrowdale

Organisation trying to re-open the Keswick rail line

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Return of the sprouts

‘Christmas is coming’ said mum as she arrived home this evening clutching a big bag of sprouts.

‘Woof and double woof’ we replied,  scurrying around her trying to get our sniffers into the bag.

Readers of our blog may have read that we love our sprouts and when they are in season we just can not get enough of the little fellas.

The return of the sprouts means we can say goodbye to our summer sustaining substitute of broccoli, or ‘little trees’ as we prefer to call them.

Interestingly the British Heart Foundation has released details of a study it commissioned with Imperial College London recently into the brassica family  (the human’s posh word for little trees).

The report seems to suggest that a chemical found in vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower, can boost a natural defence mechanism to protect arteries from disease in humans.

We wondered if the same chemical, Sulforaphane, may help reduce our cholesterol levels and switch on the protective protein indicated in the research, assuming we have it.

You never know it may also have other health benefits for us pooches?

Until next time

Charlie and Buster

Further information

Alternative Therapies for Canine Cancer – Beta Glucan Supreme

A very technical paper related to the Nrf2 protective protein

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A lead spring

You may have notice from the assorted photographs of Charlie recently that he has been trying out a new gadget.

Mum and dad spotted the device online and thought it might be worth a try.

The device consists of a spring within a spring which attaches to the end on the lead between the lead and the collar.

When Charlie pulls at the end of his stretchy string the spring takes up the jolt and mums hands don’t get that judder.

Charlie has been trying it for a few weeks now and it seems to be of great value and works really well.

Mum had lost track of how many times she had dropped the lead when Charlie was at full stretch running around.

It is no solution to a badly trained Charlie, but is is helpful when out for a long walk  or to reduce the tension on the extendable leads when they get to the end of travel.

Two sizes are available depending on the breed of dog.

A simple solution to a problem many dog owners have when out walking their pooches.

This product may not be suitable for long-haired dogs.

We suggest you read any guidelines or advice about the product to see if it is suitable for your application.

Charlie gives it a 7 out of 10.

This product may not be suitable for long-haired dogs.

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A new walk at Kingmoor

With an air temperature of 13 degrees and white fluffy clouds in the sky we escaped the confines of the house for another expedition, this time to the north of Carlisle.

Our destination was to be the Kingmoor North Nature Reserve on the side of the former 14 Maintainance Unit (14MU) depot.

This is a part of the nature reserve we have not yet visited and will be subject to quite a bit of disruption in the next few years as the Northern Relief road bulldozes through.

We parked the car near to the Parcelforce depot and set off on our walk, eager to get our noses into some new smells.

Sheltered from the slight cool breeze by the high hedges we soon became warm under the strong sunshine.

Our walk was on firm dry ground ideal for buggies and wheelchairs, although it was a bit narrow in places.

Signs of autumn were all around and mum spotted many oak trees with ripening acorns.

Green acorn growth was turning to a rich golden brown in the late summer sunshine.

The last few days of cooler weather had certainly had an impact on some of the trees and bushes.

Lush green vegetation was making way for golden brown colours and the path was covered with the first falling leaves.

All along the edge of the path you could smell that we were not the first to pass this way.

Evidence of other animals included the occasional mole hill, the flattened grass and well worn route leading under a fence and the footprint left in the soft verge.

I spotted a few of the smells however Charlie is the expert and he scurried down many a small track to investigate.

Mum was not too bothered with the smells but was interested in the assorted berries still available to the sides of the path.

Elderberries, brambles, rosehips and hawthorn berries were all to be found and like yesterday mum started collecting.

She did say that we should not eat any of them as they could be bad for us.

Overhead mum spotted a big bird circling as if looking for lunch.

We kept to the undergrowth so to be out of sight and hoped that maybe a mouse would make a better Sunday dinner.

Could it be an eagle, a buzzard or maybe a big hawk?

The bright sky silhouetted the gigantic wingspan against the sky so we could not get a good view and we didn’t want to get any closer to it.

When dad looked at the photographs when we got back home it seems as if the underside of the wings is white and the tail feathers are like those of a hawk.

Our path emerged by the side of the entrance to the Kingmoor Park Industrial Estate but not before we had past some large concrete posts with the letters MOD on them.

This area was the site of the former 14MU military base and dad wondered if these were left over from that time.

Maybe they had been the outer boundary markers to the base or maybe MOD stands for something else like ‘Mind Out Dachshunds’.

With the path ending by the side of the busy road we decided it was best to return to the car via the path we had just come along.

It is always interesting how you spot somethings when walking along a path oneway however spot different things when travelling in the opposite direction.

This was the story when mum spotted this big red toadstool, or fungi.

With a bright coloured top it looked quite scary so we kept our distance whilst dad, careful not to touch it in case it was nasty, took the photograph.

Given that this path was well made and fairly flat, mum and dad discussed if it may have once been a railway line. They did not know however from where to where… The research continues.

The woodland felt very ancient and indeed we could have been in Middle Earth, especially as a Medieval ring, known as the Kingmoor or Greymoor Ring had been found here in the 19th Century, which is thought to have inspired the Lord of The Ring Stories.  However, mum said that the only ‘tricksy Hobbits’ in the wood would be us two….still, we kept a keen eye open for Gollum and Orcs.

Enough for now as we need a bit of a sleep after our expedition

Buster and Charlie.

Other articles of interest

Kingmoor Nature Reserve visited, Carlisle

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Brambles, apples and a smoking beast at Lanercost

Dad took some persuading this morning to get us out for a walk as he was heavily into some computer stuff however, we kept nagging him and eventually he gave in just before lunch.

With dark misty clouds on the horizon he decided we should not to go too far and so we decided to go to Lanercost near Brampton.  We have been here before, however our visit today was timed to see if mum could get some apples.

Trees all over the country are weighed down with apples of all varieties this year and it was with this hope we travelled to a known apple source, or should that be apple sauce.

Near to the Priory is a large old apple tree in a garden of a private house and for a number of years the owner  has had a small stall by his front gate selling, for a moderate sum, bags of apples.

With this in mind mum hoped she would be able to get a big bag full to make into pies and other apple produce.

You can imagine her disappointment however when, upon arrival at the garden gate, no apples were in sight.

All was not lost however as we followed one of the many public footpaths away from the village and up onto the surrounding fells as we came across some brambles.

Out came the bags kept for such purposes at the bottom of pockets and mum started harvesting.

She said that the fruit was firm and seemed a lot healthier compared to that collected two weeks ago on the other side of the city, that just became mush when you attempted to pick it.

About now the hazy mist started to thicken and as if like fog rolling in from the sea the air became soggy and the rain started. Oh well about 2 miles from the car, little cover and rain….. We are going to get soggy and in turn a little muddy… Yipeee.

At this moment we re-created a bit of history it seems, as from the sky, fell an apple almost hitting Charlie on his thick head.

Dad mentioned that a long time back, even before dad was a boy, and that is a long way,  a guy called Isaac  Newton had a similar experience with a falling apple. Mr Newton went on to research why the apple fell to the ground and came up with a theory called gravity.

Whilst mum continued to collect fruit Charlie, Dad and I wondered what would have happened if he had mis-understood the situation and researched luck, because he was not injured by the apple or genetics as to why the tree was unable to hold onto the apple in the first place.

The discussion became very silly and we started to become very wet so we headed back towards the car and it was here we came upon a caged beast.

Hidden behind a slatted wooden fence, which seemed a bit thin to secure such a terrifying creature,  and pouring smoke into the sky was a roaring beastie.

It flashed bright lights at us and growled, a lot louder than either of us so, after a little bit of investigation we hid behind dad for safety.

Our worries however were soon put to one side when we sniffed the air…. and could smell meat.

Maybe one of the beasts had been turned into sausages and we set out to investigate, pulling dad along with us.

Around the back of a recently restored old farm, to the edge of the Lanercost Priory, was the source of the nice foody sniff.

Cooking away on an open air grill was sausages and other meaty assortments.

Dad kept us away from the cooking area however we sent mum in to investigate.

The cooking was part of a display celebrating local produce at the recently opened Lanercost Tea rooms and Farm Shop.

Mum went out of sight for a few minutes as she went into the farm shop only to return a few minutes later with a white carrier bag with sausages in.

Guess what we had for lunch?

Enough for now. We need to get warmed through and dried off.

Until next time

Buster and Charlie

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Rain affects crops & stops our walks

When will the rain ever stop and we can get out for a good long walk? Over the last several days we must have had many centimeters of rain and we are now starting to get bored of it.

Running around and sulking is all we seem to be doing recently and it is also very dark…. Actually we are just miserable.

Dad has just suggested a big pot of stew and dumplings for dinner, so he must also be feeling the weather in his old bones also…

Outside the garden is struggling as the tomato’s are failing to ripen and the shrubs, once full of flower and wildlife, are rotting in the damp conditions.

Mum has even gone as far as to suggest not growing tomato plants next year and is consulting the books as to what to do with the greenhouse growing season which seems to be only 3 months long, May, June and July.

We are hearing a lot of discussions about chutney this week. Maybe it will be an excuse for the cooker to be on and at least one room in the house to be warmed up.

Earlier in the year you may have read about the canopy thing in the garden mum put up so she could do some of the web work outside.

Well this is now being put to great use by us to avoid us getting wet when we go outside to play.

All the rain however has started to make it look a little black so we don’t think it will be long before it is washed and packed away for the winter.

Apples and soft fruit seem to have had a great growing season this year.

To the left is the apple tree, Lustre Elstar, at our  grandad’s in Lancaster. He says that he came about this tree after saving tokens from one of the national newspapers.

The label on it says that is is a heavy cropper, however the weight of the fruit is starting to bend the branches and may even snap one or two of them if some supports are not rigged soon.

Soft fruit also seems to have done very well despite the horrible weather and mum has been busy over the last few days sorting out some damsons and plums given to them from a friend. Keep an eye over on Food on a budget for harvest updates.

Other news.

Mum and dad continue to add stuff to Spirit-of-orkney.  Highlights this week include some desktop wallpapers and some graphic banners to help people link to the site.

Mum has also contributed by writing an article about the wild fuchsia seen in many places on the mainland.

You may have noticed a few tweaks also on this site.  You can now Twitter articles direct from the page using the new green buttons at the top of every article.  Go on –  follow what we do on the social microblogging site. Our username is ablogfrommydog.

Did you know you can now print out any of our expeditions or web posts?   Thanks to a new bit of software dad has installed on this web thingy a print button has now appeared at the top left of every post.  Clicking here formats the page so it prints out ok on most printers.

Darker nights mean early chews.

Finally for this update we should make you aware of the change in the clocks.

Usually we get a chew at 8pm human time,  after we have been on night time garden patrol.  However,  recently we are asking for our chews a little bit too early, at around 7.30pm human time.

So either our internal clocks are a little out or something else is going on.  Can anyone explain?

That is all for now

Buster and Charlie.