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100w bulbs & Arthuret Church, Longtown

Longtown on the Scottish or English border, depending on your point of view, is one of those places where you normally just travel through on your way to somewhere else, unless you need 100w light bulbs that is.  More on the light bulb story later in our update.

Today however we stopped,  just outside of the town at St Michael’s and All Saints church, or Arthuret church as it is more commonly known.

Just  off the A7 around 15 minutes by car from Carlisle is the lovely church. It is the parish Church for the Longtown area and about half a mile from the town.

Cathedral

Parking the car in the large lay-by at the side of the road we crossed into the churchyard through a black squeaky metal gate.

Known as Arthuret church it is a gothic imposing building built in the early 1600’s. The tower was a later addition almost 100 years later.

Short leads were the order of the day as we kept to the paths and maintained good order as we made our way along the path that ran to the left of the church.

Alongside the path, to the left and stretched out in many long snake like rows, were hundreds of gravestones of all shapes, colours and age.

Dad commented that for a rural area the churchyard seemed tightly packed and unusual. It almost seemed as if it had cathedral status over the nearby land he said.

Excited to stretch our legs, we spotted a gate at the top end of the churchyard and we headed straight for it.

Oh Charlie

Mum and dad had trouble squeezing under the low branches overhanging the kissing gate and I found it a bit of a squeeze negotiating the swingy gate bit, but we soon got through.

We escaped the churchyard and exited onto the top of a steep slope. It was a good job it was dry and light otherwise we could have run straight ahead and tumbled down the hill.

Mum didn’t like this bit and held on to my lead very strongly. She needs to get a walking stick for dads adventures next time.

Whilst mum struggled to get her head in order, Charlie and dad turned right to see what they could see.

Following the narrow path they spotted a wooden seat overlooking the valley and the flat lands.

If they had gone off with a sandwich and a flask then we would not have seen them for days as they could contemplate the world from there.  Thankfully they returned after a few moments.

Turning right from the gate, Charlie started to pull on his lead.  This usually means one thing, water!

Charlie is something of a divining rod when it comes to water as he seems to be able to smell it or sense it in some way.

Roman Bath

Full length of his lead and straight down the stone steps, he hurtled pulling dad behind like an anchor loose in the sea he turned sharp left. The next thing you heard was a splash followed by, Oh Charlie.

This would be St Michael’s Well that he found as he paddled around in the icy cold water up to his tummy. On a warm day this could be an ideal Roman style bathing pool for pooches as the water and the layout were just in scale for us.

I could just imagine paddling in the pool looking out across the fields then sitting on the sun warmed stones to dry off.

Charlie, now soaking wet below his tummy, had sealed the next few hours of outdoor fun, as we would need him dry before returning to the car so dad decided we would walk in to Longtown.

Starting off down the hill, with the sound of hundreds of geese overhead, we walked in a zig zag pattern, ensuring between us every smell was accounted for.

Arriving on to a wide main street dad decided that we would take the left hand side of the road first then return down the other side later.

Dr Robert’s town

Houses, shops and the occasional side street or ally were passed, until we came upon quite a wide road with what looked like open space beyond.

On our way down the hill we passed a fading information panel explaining that this was Dr Robert’s Town. Seemingly Dr Robert Graham was the person who laid out the town with the wide streets and established the Graham Arms as a coaching inn.

At the bottom of the hill was a metal gate with a permissive path sign to one side. This was all we needed to know we were on another part of our grand day out.

Our path led alongside the River Esk and looking back towards the town we could see five arches of the road bridge over the fast flowing water.

Whilst doing some research after our walk it seems as if the River Esk is the only river in Scotland where you apply to the English Environment Agency for some fishing licences.

Our path was firm underfoot and ideal for a damp day when mum likes to keep us reasonably clean.

After a short while we passed a small United Utilities compound  then a little further we came upon a bend in the river and a few water ponds to our left.  You can see them here on the map.

Maybe these were fish ponds in the old days or maybe the remains of a quarry dad was unsure.

Cider

By now we were getting a little cool with walking in to the icy breeze so we decided to turn around and head back towards the town.

Flashing in the sunlight at the edge of the path we noticed that almost at regular intervals were discarded drinks cans. This spoiled the walk a little but interestingly they all seemed to be a popular cider brand.

Mum and dad wondered if a lorry had fallen off the bridge filled with cases of cider or maybe it was the cheapest brand on the shelves in the local store.  This became the topic of conversation for quite a few minutes.

Arriving back into the town we crossed over the high street just before the bridge and started on our way back towards the car.

Fish and Chips

Frozen paws and rumbling tummies were soon forgotten as the local chip shop, The Border Cod, came into view on the other side of the road.

Mum was quickly dispatched with some money to get a single portion of fish and chips for us to share four ways.

Somehow food eaten outdoors seems to taste really good and these were no exception to that rule, as we sat on a bench and tucked in.

100w light bulbs

Right back at the start of this update we promised to reveal the story of the light bulbs, well this is it.

Half way down the High Street in Longtown is the John Graham hardware store.

Written in big letters on boards outside the shop this morning are a number of notices advertising 100w light bulbs.

These kinds of lamp are being banned by the EU for not being energy efficient however many people are still wanting to use them. The BBC reports that many people are hoarding the lamps.

So if you want to get your hands on some old technology then Longtown is the place to visit it seems.

Until next time

Buster and Charlie.

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Flood signs in Carlisle

Over the past few weeks we have become aware of a few new signs appearing on our walks.

Made in the form of ceramic tiles the small graphical artworks depict a local landmark or the extent of the Carlisle floods in 2005.

Interestingly the tiles seem to be embedded into the new flood defences.

Searching the web we are unable to find out if others exist or if maybe if they are part of a new trail around Carlisle.

The Civic centre tile is to be found on the new subway entrance from Victoria Park.

A red sign with the River Eden in blue is stuck to the flood defences to the rear of The Sands centre just off Hardwick Circus.

Other news

Things are starting to settle down after all the frost and snow over Christmas.

Local fields and the pavements are all clear of the ice and the damp wet normal weather has returned.  We much preferred the ice,  as everything looked brighter and we did not get as dirty.

The grown ups have been busy doing computer web stuff like mad since the holidays. Mum says it is like the modern proddy rug, where you gather all the bits and pieces during the summer then sort it all out during the dark winter nights.

Twitter

Don’t forget you can follow us on Twitter. Our username is ablogfrommydog. Dad has put a blue follow us to the right of this page to help you.

A quick update as we are just going to get a bath then settle down to watch some wildlife tv. Well it is Saturday night.

Untill next time

Buster and Charlie

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The cold weather continues in Cumbria

Week three or is it four weeks now that the temperatures have remained below zero in many parts of the county.

Our regular walk to the park to check on the unfreezing puddle indicated that in part the water has become solid with ice. However, it is very thin and mum stopped us walking on it in case we fell through.

Interestingly, as can be seen by the photograph, the overnight snow has not covered the puddle over, so maybe some heat is still left in our thermal spring.

Maybe dad could buy the land and build a spa complex on it just for pooches.

We do get sore muscles and bad skin like humans, so why shouldn’t we get a bit of pampering…

Snowballs

Today Charlie learnt all about snow balls and chasing them. Mum tried like mad to make them so he could have something to run after.

The latest fall of snow was very powdery, just like false snow you would find in a shop window at Christmas or the stuff straight out of an aerosol can.

Mum had to warm her hands before picking up the snow so a little of it would melt and form a sort of icy-snowball.

Twitter

You can follow updates and exclusive reports as to what we are getting up to via our Twitter feed as well as via this blog. Why not become our friend so we can become yours.

The link to Twitter can also be found to the right of this page (the big blue stripe that says Follow Us)

Video

Dad has been busy with the video and stills camera over the last few days snapping away taking pictures of snow.

He has put together a gallery of some of the stuff taken over the last few days below for your enjoyment.

Both mum and dad are now very busy writing up various articles for some of their websites and just letting us lay by the fire, toasting slowly.

We take it in turns hot-bunking on the rug whilst the other gets comfortable in a cooler part of the house. Mum thinks that maybe we were marshmallows or gods in a previous life.  I suppose that dog is merely god spelled backwards. So following that way of thinking we must also be a wollamhsram. Whatever one of those is?

Until next time

Buster and Charlie

Gallery

Some of dad’s pictures and a video he has put together for Naturearoundme.com

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Frosty start in Carlisle, -5 deg C overnight

Bright sunshine and with mum and dad on holiday once more we escaped the confines of the house and out for a walk.

First thing on our list was to check to see if our puddle, the one we spotted the other day, had frozen.

Despite the temperatures overnight dropping to at at least -5deg centigrade the puddle still remained unfrozen.

Mum and dad now wondered what was keeping the water from freezing over.

Maybe it was being fed from an underground hot spring left undiscovered by the Romans when they left the area a few thousand years ago.

It is thought that the nearest bath house to us is to be found on the site currently occupied by the Market Hall in the centre of the City so quite a few miles away from our location.

Overhead

Today has been a busy day for the air ambulances in the area.

Whilst we were out on our walk a green and white helicopter flew over us quite low as he went in to land at the nearby hospital.

As we type this blog update we can hear again the sound of whirling rotor blades as for about the fourth time today a helicopter is on route to the helipad at the Cumberland Infirmary.

Really winter

Everything is looking very festive and somehow just right for the season after the weeks of cold temperatures.

For many years our winters seem to have been only wet, damp and miserable however the cold, crisp days with the bright sunshine just seem to have lifted spirits.

It has been very unusual to have a white Christmas all through the holiday period.

We have been out far more in the last few weeks than at times during the summer.  Yes we get cold paws and Charlie gets a soggy tummy but we stay clean.

Peaking through undergrowth

Another thing we have noticed is that when it is cold the sniffs really do smell a whole lot better.

With temperatures dropping outside mum brought some of her plants indoors to escape the frost. In normal times they would be ok in the greenhouse but it anything below -4 dec C she says will freeze their roots and stems.

Suddenly the bathroom and the kitchen look like jungle film sets and at anytime you expect a Bear Grhyls or some other explorer or naturalist peaking through the undergrowth.

Bright yellow flowers surrounded one side of the field we went for a walk in today.  Despite the icy conditions and the recent snow falls the gorse still seems to be flowering.

Mum says this is unusual in the north of England however many reports suggest that gorse is now flowering all year around.

Against the white ground and bare branches of nearby trees the many bushes about 2m high really stood out and provided a happy sunny hedge.

Buster once again wore his blue jacket with the reflective stripes to help keep his hip warm.  He is not really a fan of it as it is a little bit ridged on his back and makes him feel a little awkward. The benefit comes when he gets home and doesn’t feel too clunky and sore.

I love my walks and am always keen to get onto the scent of a new animal.  Today, left in the snow were sets of four paw prints mum thought had been left by bunnies.

Now I don’t know what one of these critters looks like but they seem to have rounded rectangular paws and smell slightly of damp earth. I think they must be fluffy like me.

Coloured snow

It is hard work being out in front on walks and looking after Buster. Sometimes I just take a break and sitting or lying on the snow just take a moment to look around.

Did you know you can eat snow? Mum picked some of the white stuff in her hand and like magic it turned to licky water,  what a great trick.

This got me wondering what would happen if I licked the snow up on my licker.

I have to say it was cold and it sort of crackled but it soon melted and I was sorted. Drinks whenever I needed,  for this walk anyway.

Just a note of caution at this point,  coloured snow is not good.  I need say no more. Yuck.

Husky

Towards the end of the big field we had to descend down quite a big hill. You can see a picture of it to the right of the page.  Next time it snows we know exactly where to come for some sledging. I can run in front with a harness on and pull Buster around just like a sled dog team.

On the subject of sled dogs the Siberian Husky Club of Great Britain have been holding a rally this weekend near Penrith.

Usually in the UK the sleds are equipped with wheels and are pulled by a team of dogs over forest tracks. Maybe this year the full experience may have been possible with the sleds running on the snow, as they would do in the frozen wildernesses of Siberia.

Picture

One of the unseen problems with this website is the number of blurred photographs my dad takes of us. This is not, usually, because he can’t take a good picture but because we do not stand or sit still for very long.

Very often dad will load the pictures on to the computer and all you will see across the screen is a black and white blur  or a shaky tan coloured splodge, sorry Buster.

So you can imagine his relief when he downloaded the above photograph from the camera.

Have a safe and peaceful 2010

Until next time

Charlie and Buster

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Happy New Year 2010 from a blog from my dog

Despite our best efforts last night mum and dad insisted on staying up way past their bedtimes and saw in something they call the new year.

In what has become an annual ritual dad gets his coat and shoes on and leaves the house just before midnight, clutching a small bag of salt, a cork with a coin in it and a candle.

This year things were a little different as the candle had been replaced by a very bright and shiny lamp filled with oil. Earlier in the day dad was seen feeding the lamp a stinky water through a hole in the base.

Dad brought this lamp into the house a few weeks ago.  It had been bought for him as a gift by his mum and dad.

As midnight approached the bang pop things could be heard from the garden and we went out to see what all the commotion was about. A few well timed woofs soon sorted them out and silence was restored.

A short while later, with mum pacing around the house dad returned and knocking on the door mum lets him in. He had lit the lamp and it shone really brightly but did smell a bit stinky.

Mum does not see the point in any fuss with new year and always gets a bit frumpy with dad as he goes about his ritual. However, she had prepared the cake and a bottle of some fizzy pink stuff on a table.  One final ritual and dad and mum hold the cake knife and make something dad calls a wish as they slice into the new cake. Again mum not really amused but she puts up with it with a grump and a smile.

At last we can go to bed.

Charlie is first to wake earlier this morning and he seems a bit excited. Dad lets him out into the garden and he starts woofing and running around.

Dad takes a look at what is causing all the commotion and finds that it has been snowing again overnight. Charlie is loving it running round and round the garden like something possessed.

Not even allowing mum and dad to have their breakfast we encourage them, in the unique way that we can, to take us out for a walk.  We wanted to play.

Given it was cold we all got wrapped up for a walk around the local field.

The paths, just recently cleared of ice, now had a new layer of white dust on them.

Footprints from all sorts of animals could be seen. Birds and the moggy from next door were some we spotted.

Interestingly this puddle in the field had not frozen although it was surrounded snow and the temperature was below zero.

Maybe we have a hot spring or maybe some new kind of un-feezing water has just been discovered.

New sport

Dad thought that it would be great to invent a new sport, the cold must have got to him  and Charlie was to be key to his ambitions.

Waiting until Charlie was almost out at full lead length dad assumed the crouch position and waited for the slack in the lead to be taken up.

Dog snow skiing was to be the title and charlie was the substitute for a powerboat.   Sadly for dad,  Charlie only pulled him 2cm before he stopped and sat down.

I don’t think this sport will make it to the Olympics.

Happy New Year

2010 has started with snow and the discovery of un-freezing water.  What more could we want ?

Let us hope 2010 is not as wet as 2009 and we can get out into the big world for more adventures.

Until next time

Buster and Charlie.