Mucky paws in Bitts Park, Carlisle

How many times can we start a blog entry by saying it is raining again?  We make a quick dash today, between the showers,  to Bitts Park so that we can get out and stretch our paws.

Finding a car parking space was difficult for dad as something must be going on at the nearby Sheepmount sports complex. Interesting and just an aside, the Sheepmount description from the link above says that the site has two cricket pitches and a cycle track, where?

The number of times we have visited the area and we have never seen anyone playing cricket or getting on their bikes except on the public paths through the park.

Our walk

Back to our walk and after parking the car and avoiding slipping in the muddy grass we finally got onto long leads and a scamper about.

In a previous update we mentioned that areas of Carlisle had been flooded in the recent storms well it looks like the new moat by the side of Carlisle Castle has now vanished.

Silt and mucky puddles line the path and it wasn’t long before the tidemark around our legs became visible.

Mum suggested that we should get some wellington boots.

We meet biscuit

Victoria Park, next door and along the same path, had not dried out and the calm duckpond reflected the sky like a mirror.

Previous visits to this park had revealed a number of burrows in the plant borders possibly made by rabbits or maybe a badger or two.

Mum and dad wondered if they had found new homes or had possibly drowned as the waters rose.

Bounding along, stick in mouth, came biscuit. Straight past us and into the pond he ran loving every minute of his walk.

We have met biscuit a number of times on our walk around the park and her human. Charlie gets fussed over as a fellow nutter and did make a bit of a collection of paw prints on his trousers, for which he can only say sorry.

Blossom

Many of the plants in the park have now hunkered down for the winter after loosing leaves and shedding flowers. However, some love this time of year including a winter flowering cherry.

Bright white flowers with pinkish centres contrast brilliantly against the dark grey sky and brown tree trunks.

Nearby, spreading scent across a wide area is a viburnum. Small white flowers dispense a perfume in to the cool breeze similar to jasmine.

One of the casualties of the flooding is a very tall willow tree which now has its roots above ground.

Willlow usually enjoy their feet in damp soil but the soft ground has given way allowing this tree to fallover.

Maybe the grounds staff will be able to replant it once the waters go away but more than likely it will be turned into chippings.

Let’s hope a new tree is planted in it’s place.

We return home and entering the house it becomes apparent that we may have picked up quite a bit of mud and debris from our walk.

The entrance hall floor quickly becomes covered with small mucky paw prints and as is so much the procedure these days, we go straight to the bathroom.

Yipee not a full bath, but a washing of our legs and tummies to remove the grit and dirt.  I think a few hours infront of the warm fire is needed now to dry off and chill. It is a weekend after all!

Until next time

Buter and Charlie

Kingmoor Nature Reserve visited, Carlisle

To the woods near Carlisle today for our big walk of the week.

The Kingmoor Nature Reserve to the north of the City was to be our destination as dad didn’t fancy going to far with rain clouds circling overhead.  He thought that at least the trees would provide a bit of cover if it did start to rain.

Parking in the car park just off Kingmoor Road, once dad had negotiated the tight entrance with the car, we put on our leads and started getting aquainted with our surroundings.

The 33 hectares that make up one of the oldest nature reserves in the country has recently been awarded Green Flag status.

This area has been enjoyed by the public for nearly 700 years, only becoming a nature reserve or is reported on some websites a bird sanctuary in 1913.

King Edward III gifted the original moorland to the citizens of Carlisle in 1352.  Granting grazing rights and allowing peat cutting for fuel.

Following a quick glimpse at the notice boards at the entrance to the woods, our adventures started along a well made and dry track forming part of a circular 800m route suitable for buggies and wheelchairs.

We decided however, after a few yards  to follow our noses along some side pathways and off into the woods.

Scattered all over the woodlands are sculptures, seats and things to see.

Tall marker posts indicate what trees can be found nearby, so a visit would keep children interested.

One of the oldest suviving horse racing prizes used to be contested on these moors. A tradition which dates back to 1599.

The Carlisle Bells are still fought over every year at the racecourse at Blackwell towards the end of June and can be seen at the local Guildhall.

Many little signs.

What do these signs indicate and where do we find out more information, as yet again on a walk we come across new signs?

Mum finds it very frustrating when she can not find out about routes, paths or the history of why someone has taken the trouble to waymark a route.  Here are two examples of trails we followed in part today but even searching the web we can not find out about them.  Can you help?

Our path takes us into an area known as Kingmoor Coppice and a woodland planted between 1992 and 1995.

Here we meet up with these bullocks who are very friendly and say hello through the bars of the gate.  We keep our distance so as not to scare the young things.

Charlie is being kept on a very short lead today,  as mum is not happy with the way he is behaving. Constantly pulling on his lead he is always out in front but mum has had enough, and his wings, so to speak, are being clipped.

For a dog that has had lots of hours training spent on him, he has just lost his head today.

He even got right out at the full length of his lead only to take a right into the dirtiest, muddiest trickle of a stream before mum could reign him in.

It could be because of the millions of new smells or maybe it is a ‘moon thing’ that is making him have a ‘trying day’.

Either way, he is in the naughty books and mum is not pleased.

The walk for me however, is great.  The soft woodland floor is great for my dodgy hip and the dry paths keep us both clean and reasonably tidy. The overhanging branches kept out the heat of the sunshine and help keep us cool.

We did miss a bit of a paddle and a slurp of water from a flowing stream as they had all dried to a claggy mess.  So we were glad when our path swung around and we headed back to the carpark for a well earned drink.

It was here that we spotted this gigantic woodpecker. We missed him when we first arrived possibly due to our excitement but he is is carved into an old tree.

See if you can spot him when you go for a walk in the woods.

Until next time

Buster and Charlie.

We get involved in a world record attempt.

What  a busy weekend we have had.  We have already mentioned our inspection of the flood defences and the works going on at a nearby garden but we also got involved in a world record attempt.

Towards the end of last week we got a message from the Britglyph project who are trying to recreate a very big image out of stones.

The idea of pictures marked out on the ground, a geoglyph,  is not new and dates back thousands of years, but for this piece of art it is set to be one of the biggest.

People throughout the country have been traveling to a number of set locations with a stone and a camera.

Once in position they record their visit as a photograph and leave the stone behind.

Once all the stones are in place an image, based on  John Harrison’s Chronometer H5, will be visible on a map.

The project is being supported by by Shozu and Moblog

We get involved

It was decided that our stone should be placed in Carlisle near to the castle.

Charlie sat next to the stone we had chosen and had his photo taken.  This photo would join the many others on the Britglyph website when we returned home.

My dad had to help us upload the image to the website. He had a few problems until Alfie, from the website, got in touch and sorted things out.

You can now see Charlie sitting next to his rock just next to Carlisle Castle on their website.  

Once the photo was taken we moved the rock to the side of the castle wall, so that it is out of the way of any grass cutting equipment, but still nearby for the world record attempt.

Get involved

You still have time to get involved as a few of the stones have not been placed.  Go along to The Britglyph Project and Own a Moment.

 

We will let you know as soon as we know if the record attempt has been successful.

The blister returns …

This morning my Dad noticed that the Carlisle blister has returned.  

In sight of Carlisle Castle the cover offers dry facilities for tennis players on the public courts.

According to the Carlisle Council website  the Bitts Park tennis air dome was put out of operation after vandals slashed the polythene around 30 times on Monday, 10 March, causing it to deflate. Vandals appeared to have scaled a protective nine-foot high fence to cause the damage.

The local Newspaper, The News and Star, say that a 17-year-old boy, who caused the damage to the dome, was spoken to by police in March.

The £280,000 Carlisle City Council project, which included the dome, was made possible after £125,000 funding from the Lawn Tennis Association and other partner funding agreements was secured.

Fireshow

Under clear blue skies,and with the air ambulance flying overhead, the final preparations are being made to the city bonfire.

With the theme of ‘Wheels on Fire’ the bonfire set to be a roaring success.

Carlisle City Council staff, local volunteers and firework experts – the Black Powder Monkeys – are currently setting the scene for the explosive event and are laying hundreds of pallets to create the bonfire.

This year’s Carlisle City Council Fireshow is themed around some dazzling ‘Wheels on Fire’. Staged in Bitts Park, the sparkling spectacular will be the 22nd Fireshow event.

The giant bonfire will include a car, with flaming wheels.

More than 2,000 spectacular fireworks will also make sure the event goes with a ‘bang’.

The Fireshow will start at 7pm. Admission is free, although collections will be made for the Mayor’s Charity Fund and Rotary Club Carlisle (South).

Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service is giving their support for this year’s City Council Fireshow alongside other local businesses and is advising people to attend organised bonfires where safety is a priority.

They will also be using the event to promote their free home safety check service and their free installation of smoke detectors, both of which can be organised by telephoning 0800 358 477.

Due to last weekend’s heavy rainfall and conditions under foot, visitors are recommended to wear suitable footwear such as wellingtons and walking boots and to take extreme care when they are walking in and around Bitts Park. They are also recommended to arrive early to ease traffic congestion.

More than 35,000 people are expected to attend the City Council organised event.

The Bitts Park spectacular is organised by Carlisle City Council in conjunction with the Black Powder Monkeys.