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 visit Finglandrigg Wood near Kirkbride

With the dry weather continuing we managed once again to get in to the big world for another adventure this week and our travels took us to a place where we could have so much fun.

Finglandrigg Wood was until now unknown to any of us and was another one of those places you would normally just pass by in the car on your way to somewhere else.

Our original destination was to be Silloth by the sea and our route was to be via the backroads out of the city.  

Dad prefers the quiet country roads when he has time as he says you can stop easily if something takes your eye or you can enjoy the drive a little more at a slower speed.

We left the City behind us and headed out on the B5307.  After about eight miles we noticed a pull in spot ahead and a big white notice saying National Nature Reserve.  

With a place to park the car and the prospect of some new sniffs we just had to stop and investigate.

At the entrance to the reserve was a large noticeboard explaining that we should be kept on a lead so as not to frighten sheep or disturb the wildlife.  The information panel also went on to explain the route we could take and what we could hope to see on our visit.

Leading away from the carpark, past some picnic tables and a bike rack, was a slightly muddy farm track.  It was at this point mum pointed out that her shoes were ideal for the paths at Silloth and not ideal for tramping.  She should have known better coming out with us and dad.

We soon left the track and emerged into a woodland with a dry cinder type footpath underfoot.  Marker posts with green and blue arrows showed us which way to go but Charlie just led the way.

To one side of us were cattle grazing in a field whilst to our right was the quite open forest.  

It was not a heavily wooded forest but quite airy and full of sniffs.

Mum commented that she did not see many of the usual flowers or plants living on the ground as she would have expected and wondered how unusual this seemed.

Above us in the trees were many bird boxes and quite a few unusual conical shaped white fronted houses.  The entrance holes to these  were more like a slit and mum thought these could be homes for bats.

The firm path gave way to a slightly damp path after about 15 minutes.  Although sprinkled with large amounts of wood chips the path was a little soft in places and we heard again about mums shoes…. Oh well, we were enjoying ourselves.

We continued  along the path and stretched out before us was many hundreds of meters of what looked to be decking made from recycled plastic.  

This kept the worst of the dirt from our legs and tummies.  Dad still hasn’t arranged mud flaps for us yet.

The gaps between the boards were also quite close so we didn’t get our paws stuck.

Following the blue arrows we came upon a strange construction to the edge of a field.  

The associated sign board read that it was an Chalybeate Well. I investigated and looking down the hole bordered by the three stone slabs could not see anything to drink.   We were quite looking forward to a bit of a drink and were disappointed.

Mum read the sign nearby that explained that this kind of well was used in olden times for it’s healing properties as the water was rich in sulphates.

After seeing the muck at the bottom of this well I don’t think we would be drinking from it.

We retraced our steps back to the last marker post and started to follow the red arrows to Little Bampton Common, as the path in front of us looked a little muddy.

It was noticible as we passed through the gate between the woodland and the Common area how the vegetation changed and how open the sky had become.

Yellow flowered gorse bushes now littered the landscape and we had grass under our paws.  The ground also felt a little soft and springy.  

The path led us to a wooden pathway which stretched out in front like a big white snake. 

Wire mesh covered the boards to stop mum and dad slipping.  The installation of this bit of path must have taken weeks of work as it made it’s way across a peat bog.

If we peered over the low safety edge we could see water for a drink but it did look a bit funny all black and strange.  

It also smelt a little unusual, like the garden compost bin at home.

Around half way along this path was a seat where we took a moment to take in our surroundings.

The landscape, like the water seemed a little wierd.  We could not see any animals or hear anything scuttle on the ground but we knew we were being watched.  

We found that we could only walk on the wooden platform or we would be swallowed by the soft ground.  This was unlike anything we had experienced before.

Time was getting on and we were in need of a drink so we turned back and headed back to the car where some fresh water awaited us.

On our return journey mum spotted some foxgloves and a wild daffodil.  You can read about these over at OldVarieties.com

You can read more about this area in this leaflet

Our adventures continue….

 

Buster and Charlie

Yipee a dry day

Finally we have a dry day and we can get out to play. Mum and dad have been very busy over the last few weeks getting some of the other websites clean and tidy.  You can take a look at them using the links from the side navigation of this page.

Our walk started at the sign introducing Knowefield Wood.  I had a quick look around the web and don’t seem to be able to find anything about this area.  

The trees and the general undergrowth look as if they have been growing for many, many years.

The local council must think the area is special as they have put up a big expensive sign –  so I wonder why I can not find out anything about it.

The walk was about 2miles or so long and in a few parts was a bit boggy after all the recent rain.

Buster loved tramping in the mud and I bet he will need a bit of a bath when he gets home. 

Many of the trees in the wood have marker posts near to them.  This marker was for a pine tree.

We mentioned a few weeks ago that the soft fruit situation was a bit bad and that the usual bramble crop seemed somewhat down on recent years.  Well we are pleased to report that it seems as if pockets of the country are having good crops and some bad.  

Brambles, the wild black fruit that grows in hedges, road verges and in sunny woodland clearings, seem to be fruiting well in some locations and in others only producing a poor crop.

Apples on the other hand seem to have had a bumper crop this year. 

 

During our walk we came across a pear tree.  This is unusual as you would normally find apples at the roadside. 

The tree was laden with hard pear shaped fruit around 3cm in length.  The pears you would find in a store would be easily four times the size.  

Scattered on the ground beneath the tree were the windfalls. They looked to have all sorts of creepy crawly things on them and mum stopped us sniffing around near to them. 

The skins of the fruit were tough like an English russet apple. A mottling of light and dark patches covered the skin giving them the feeling of fine sandpaper.

Upon returning home mum did a websearch and she seems to think they maybe the rare Perry Pear.  These pears were used in olden times for the making of Perry, a sort of cider.  Can you identify the variety? 

 

That is all for now. 

Until next time

Charlie and Buster