In the words of the Rogers / Hammerstein song ‘ Oh what a beautiful morning’ and what a great day it has turned out to be as we left the city behind and headed in a south-westerly direction for the hills.
Mum had a grand plan for today with a mission to find a carpet of snowdrops for dad to photograph.
She had read in some article that a church in the Cockermouth area near to Bassenthwaite Lake was reported to be the ideal location.
Isel Bridge closed following the floods in November
All seemed to be going to plan until mum sort of mentioned that she had forgotten to pick up the map and directions for our destination. By now it was too far to turn around so we started to explore.
Road closed
Turning off the A591 we headed towards Sunderland, just because dad had never been to it. Before anyone asks, Sunderland the village in north Cumbria and not Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.
Little exploring to be done here however it did give mum the chance to check the map. Nearby was a river and a footpath. Had mum come good after all?
Isel Bridge over River Derwent
Mum was back in charge, as we headed down some narrow roads.
Occasionally dad would gently swerve to try and avoid driving through steaming piles of ’rural essence’ left by a farmer spreading muck nearby.
All was going well, up to the point where the road was closed.
It was not mum’s day and as we were starting to get all excited dad decided we would find somewhere to park and go for a walk anyway.
Isel Bridge
Somehow dad always seems to manage to find an adventure and today was no exception as we walked over a stone bridge turning left on the opposite bank and onto a well trodden grass path.
The overnight frost had hardened the ground and we were able to take a good sniff around.
It turned out that we had arrived in Isel with it’s small church, a few houses and farms and our new walk.
Isel Bridge, now behind us, has been closed following the floods back in November.
Wire fence festooned with river weeds
Many routes in the area have been disrupted due to safety works, inspections and remedial maintenance needing to be carried out on them.
Interestingly this bridge, with the C2026 on it, has been closed in the interests of road safety and to avoid damage to very minor approach roads. Is that code for a ‘rat run? ‘
River weed
Our path took us upstream along the side of the River Derwent.
Looks like iron, not gold mum...
Across the other side of the river the wire fence had become a washing line for river weed as it hung drying in the winter sunshine.
I don’t think the farmer will be along in a hurry to clean it off. It may however be great nesting materials for the birds in the spring.
Beyond this fence could be seen fallen fence posts and the bend in the river.
Gold
Between us we seem to spot most things on our walks. Charlie and I are in charge of the sniffs and mum and dad keep an eye on bigger things.
P-A-T-H...
After the disappointment of not winning over £100m on the Euro Lottery last night, dad once more was on the lookout for ways to make money and he thought he had found it when he spotted a glinting stone in amongst the grass.
Mum picked it up and after a quick look ruled out gold and instead said it was possibly iron. ‘Oh well, another week at work’, said dad.
Magnificent view
A memorable view
Our path now started to climb between two wire fences alongside a field of sheep.
The damp conditions underfoot made the path a little slippery in places, especially when a tree root came close to the surface.
Suddenly the climb turned in to a set of steep sloping steps down towards the river.
Short leads were the order of the day and we were not allowed to pull incase we pulled mum or dad over. I think it would be fair to say they struggled a bit at this point.
Plaque on the seat back
After the fall then the inevitable rise up the other side of the narrow valley and what a reward at the top with the view upstream towards the Cumbrian mountains.
Placed in memory of Maurice Todhunter this seat offers a welcome rest stop and time to take in the magnificent view.
On the left of the image can be seen a trail of silt, rocks and other debris which looks like it has been left, possibly in a slight dip in the ground, as the river has taken a shortcut across the fields.
We have our own gate flap ...
Fence flap
The path became a little bit more gentle at this point as we left the river path and came onto a tarmac road but not before we negotiated a well designed stile.
Mum and dad went over the wooden fence steps and we had our own fence flap. Well done to the National Trust for thinking about us and for finding such a simple solution.
The first lambs of the year
Lambs
At this point dad’s inbuilt compass kicked in and rather than turning left heading up hill we turned right, past Kirkhouse Farm with the hens in the yard and alongside a bright green field.
Looking at us through the wooden gate was a proud mum and two new lambs.
So as not to frighten them our mum put us on short leads and we quickly passed.
Turning right we dropped back down to Isel bridge and to where we had started our circular walk.
Church
Isel Church - closed
During our walk we had not spotted the local church so, whilst dad was taking yet another picture, mum asked another dog walker if he knew where it was.
We were only about 100m from it however, following the floods the church and the area around it had become dangerous and it was closed.
Tall metal barriers with assorted parish notices on them prohibited us getting near to the building. We wondered when it may open again as it seemed to be in a lovely location and no doubt full of history.
Cockermouth
Being so close to Cockermouth, and that Dad needed the loo, we got back in to the car and headed down the road to Cockermouth.
Back in November this town hit the worlds headlines as the main street became a raging torrent of water as nearby rivers burst their banks and cascaded through the town.
Almost three months later and Cockermouth is in part open for business and trying to restore normality.
Open for business
Damage is very much in evidence as you walk along Main Street.
Television images of the wool shop, the police station and the first houses visited by reporters in the aftermath come flooding back as you stand and view the town as the camera lenses did at the end of last year.
Dad has produced a gallery of what we saw today which you can see below this update.
Fed and watered from a couple of the open shops in the town we headed home after an hour or so. Mum clutching some lamb chops from a butcher on the Main Street for supper.
Until next time
Buster and Charlie
Isel and Cockermouth galleries
