8 Perfect Election Escapes in Cumbria

This blog is a politics free zone and, luckily, so are big chunks of Cumbria.  You may still pass the obligatory roadside signs en route but, once you're there, these places offer a blissful escape from the barrage of interviews, accusations and fake political smiles plastered across our TV screens and mobile news feeds.  I've also tried to pick places that fewer people visit so you won't have to overhear someone else's political views while you try to enjoy the scenery.

1.  Ennerdale and Pillar

Pillar

Phone Signal: *         Other People: **   

One of the most spectacular and untouched valleys in Cumbria the route up Ennerdale via Pillar is blissfully quiet and benefits from a distinct lack of phone signal - although on the top of Pillar your phone may try to connect you to the Isle of Man or even Irish networks so the best advice is to leave it switched off.

2.  The other Borrowdale

Phone Signal: *         Other People: *    

I've been banging on about this other Borrowdale for years and even Wainwright described it as being one of his favourite valleys, yet it still remains a quiet, unspoiled, get-away-from-it-all valley.  There's not a lot in the way of phone signal along the valley floor and, even on a sunny bank holiday, I can pretty much guarantee you'll find a parking spot in the layby on the A6.  It's just a few miles north of Kendal and for a really interesting walk follow Breasthigh Road over to the deserted village of Bretherdale Head - glorious!

3.  Cathedral Cave

Phone Signal:           Other People: **** 

This election has had many of us wishing we could jut crawl into a cave and emerge once it's all over - well now you can.  Cathedral Cave is tucked away in Little Langdale and is a man made relic of the quarrying industry which once dominated the area.  Although the thick rock walls will block pretty much all phone signals, it is a more popular spot so you may have to share your hideaway - let's just hope everyone else is there for the same reasons you are and politics remains off the agenda.

4. La'al Ratty

Phone Signal: **        Other People: *****

Although chocablock with other people this really isn't an "I'm on the train" kind of a train ride.  Winding up from Ravenglass along the breathtaking Eskdale Valley the signal is so patchy that there's no chance of refreshing your newsfeed - plus the scenery is utterly stunning and most people tend to chat about that.  Apart from a suspicious number of men who prefer to talk about steam pressures, regulators and piston strokes...


5. The middle of Morecambe Bay

Phone Signal: *         Other People: **** 

PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS ALONE - yes, the middle of Morecambe Bay is the perfect place to escape mobile phone signals and politics, but you should only ever go there on a Cross Bay Walk.  (Sorry about the photo but the day we did it the weather was grim!)  Standing in the middle of the bay, over a mile from "land" in every direction, the sense of isolation and desire to stay there may be overwhelming.  There will, of course, be other folks on the guided walk with you, but the bay is HUGE so you can keep your distance from anyone who's annoying you.

6. Foxfield Bank

Phone Signal: *         Other People: *    

We found this beauty a few weeks ago when we decided to ditch the car and take the train around the coast.  Hop off at Foxfield and follow one of the many paths winding through the valleys around Broughton - it's part of the Cumbria Coastal Way so you may bump into the odd long distance hiker but your much more likely to bump into a Herdy.  If you don't fancy a challenging hike then there's a lovely disused railway route you can amble along instead.

7. River Glenderamackin

Phone Signal: *         Other People: **   

While there may be hoards of people tearing up and down Blencathra there aren't many who follow the route along the Glenderamackin (on the side that doesn't lead to Scales Tarn).  It's not the easiest valley to access but it's definitely worth the effort - the views back to Blencathra and Sharp Edge are utterly stunning.

8.  Cartmel

Phone Signal: *         Other People: **** 

An odd choice I know, but hear me out.  First up it's a beautiful village and, although there may be quite a lot of other people there, it has all of this going for it: very poor mobile signal, Unsworth's Yard where you can buy bread, cheese and freshly brewed beer to enjoy on the courtyard, very pretty river walks and a number of pubs where, if someone decides to start spouting about the election, you can order another round of drinks to numb the pain...


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10 Reasons to love Cumbrian Clouds

Just because it's cloudy, doesn't mean it's dull.  Some of the most spectacular views of Cumbria involve clouds and here's why...

1. Because they give the sun something to peek out from

I took this pic from the top of Helm Crag - Steve was busy climbing to the top of the Howitzer but nature shone the spotlight elsewhere

Looking towards Blea Rigg

And just to prove he made it to the top...

2. Because they make Morecambe Bay look awesome

The artist Turner was inspired by the vast skies over Morecambe Bay and who can blame him?

Morecambe Bay

3.  Because of Icebows

Yes they're a real thing - and they look fabulous.  Steve captured this one at the top of Kirkstone Pass

Kirkstone Pass

4.  Because of Broken Spectres

We'd had such a long and soggy walk when this photo was taken.  We were up on the top of High Stile when the clouds shifted, the sun peeked out and this happened.  

High Stile

5. Because of inversions

C'mon - I couldn't write about clouds without mentioning these now could I?  Spring and autumn are especially good for inversions and Gummer's How and Red Screes are particularly good places to head for to spot them.

From Red Screes

From Red Screes

7.  Because sometimes a fluffy little cloud is all you need to finish off a photo

These tiny clouds just look perfect in this shot of the lighthouse on Walney Island

Walney Island

8.  Because no clouds = no drama

Neither of these views would have been quite as dramatic without the cloud.  The top one is Piel Castle, snapped as the sun caught it briefly on an otherwise cloudy and moody day.  The lower one is Place Fell from Ullswater on a monochromatic afternoon.

Piel Island

Ullswater and Place Fell

9.  Because they go great with the snow

These couple of shots were from a snowy hike around Great Gable a couple of years ago, but wouldn't have been quite the same without snowy white clouds complementing the snowy white snow.

Great Gable

Styhead Tarn

10. Because a sunset just isn't the same without a cloud

We've all got dozens of sunset photos, but the very best ones usually have clouds in them - lovely whisps of pink catching the last rays of the sun or dramatic clouds framing the sun as it sinks beneath the horizon.

Sunset from Wansfell

Morecambe Bay

#LakeDistrictBid Advent Calendar Day 15 - Because of the quiet corners...

Millions of people visit the Lake District every year and, to be honest, it's not all that big a place and there are parts of it which get particularly busy, but no matter how busy it gets there are always some quiet tucked away corners.  Places like High Dam and Stott Park Heights, Whitbarrow Scar and the route up Wansfell from Troutbeck are some of my favourite spots to go to escape the crowds.

One of the benefits of gaining World Heritage Site Status will be a possible increase in visitors and an increase in visitors within the national park will lead to more visitors to areas just beyond the boundaries that could really benefit from the income that would generate - places like Ulverston, Barrow and Whitehaven.  I have a real soft spot for those towns with their drop dead gorgeous views and fascinating histories.  The coastline all along Morecambe Bay is so chock full of wildlife that it lured BBCs Autumnwatch back to Leighton Moss for 2 years in a row and walks along the coast are deserted even on the busiest bank holidays.

Ulverston

Just outside Barrow

Whitehaven

Whitbarrow Scar

High Dam

Roadblock between Troutbeck and Wansfell

Leighton Moss

Morecambe Bay

To learn more about the bid and to register your support with just one click (honestly, just one click, no email address needed or anything) please visit the World Heritage Bid site here.

To go back to day 1 of the advent calendar please click here.

Love at first sight

On the wall in our bedroom, amidst a collage of other photos, is a picture of me and Steve.  It's a pretty awful photo, grainy and a little out of focus, but I keep it there because it was taken early on in the evening at a party where we eventually shared our first kiss. (I'll pause there for you to go and get a bucket/ tissue).  Of course I'm still madly in love with the poor man, but there's nothing quite like remembering the night you met, the first time you kissed and the way your heart skipped a beat.  It's a feeling that's difficult to recapture, which is why I keep the photo there to remind me.

I've talked before about my first visit to the Lake District being in August 2010, but that's not entirely accurate as the three rather dreadful photos below prove.  Written on the back of them it says "Geology Field Trip, Shap, Lake District, July 1984"  (Forgive the quality, they were taken on a disc camera - anyone remember them?)

I really can't claim it was love at first sight that time - I do recall it was a day trip (from Walsall) so the visit would have been brief.  I also remember everything being flat and then these huge mountains rising up on the right hand side of the minibus - I'm assuming those were the Howgills - but other than that it didn't leave a lasting impression. Maybe because I had a huge teenage crush on my geology teacher at the time (NOT the one in the photo I hasten to add!) and spent most of the trip staring at him in doe eyed adulation.

I didn't properly fall for Cumbria until August 2010, when the geology teacher was safely out of the way and me and Steve began planning our new life.

Falling in love on/ with Helvellyn

These days, however often I remind myself how lucky we are to live here, we inevitably, to some extent, take our environment more for granted than when we first moved here.  In the same way that I still love Steve but my heart doesn't always skip the same beat it did the night we met.  You appreciate each other but you sort of get used to each other.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to spend both Saturday and Sunday seeing the area through other people's eyes for the first time again and it was fabulous!  On the Saturday I spent time with a group of lovely ladies being guided by Helen Venus (aka Wild Rambling) as they explored Arnside and Silverdale (the previous week she'd had a group getting to grips with Eskdale) and on the Sunday I dragged some lovely friends of ours up Halls Fell Ridge on Blencathra.

Rather than me try to tell you what it was like for them, I'll turn the rest of the blog over to them and let them remind you what it's like the first time you clap eyes on the fells - and maybe your heart will skip a beat again, like mine does whenever I see that old photo of me and Steve.

Arnside Knott - Caroline Blair

This view is from the summit of Arnside Knott. There is a sense of the natural beauty, the eye being drawn to the water channel and to the hills in the distance. A feeling of space and of calm. We sat here for some 15 minutes in sheer silence. The soul at one with the beauty, the mind calm.

Relishing the tranquillity, steeping away from everyday pressures. Pure enjoyment!

Eskdale - Bertie

I couldn't believe that these contrasting  views could be seen on the same day & not a road in sight!  From Midlands a girl (we DO have wonderful countryside here but nothing to compare with this)

Morecambe Bay - Helen Venus

The first time I saw Morecambe Bay from Jack Scout, the sun was shining and it looked like a Mediterranean beach. On closer inspection it was muddy, not sandy but that really sums it up – it’s just not like anywhere else.

Whinn Rigg - Ruth

Breathtaking view of Wastwater. We seemed to be right above it. But to my surprise it was BLUE because of the fabulous weather, not the bottomless black I remember from the past. Won't forget this view in a hurry.

Caz & Ian Stewart - Blencathra

Going up Blencathra with friends was amazing – a totally new perspective from going up and coming down.  Both were stunning in different ways - the danger of going up on all fours and the beauty of walking down through fields and recreating the scene from Gladiator in the meadow.  Very hard to put into words because it just doesn't do it justice, to be honest the pictures don't do it justice either - I encourage everyone to go and you won't regret it.

Halls Fell Ridge

Summit!

Blencathra

Not Blencathra

LOVE Morecambe Bay

On Sunday 4th October 2015 Lancashire and Morecambe Bay took centre stage on Countryfile (BBC 1 6:15pm) - you may even have caught a brief glimpse of me if you were quick!

I'm just a teeny part of a big piece about the fantastic Morecambe Bay Cycleway which we whizzed around back in June - well I say whizzed, we plodded mainly and ate a lot of cake, but I digress...  Morecambe Bay is the most fantastic place for wildlife, skies, recreation, walks, hikes, relaxing, kite surfing, cycling etc. etc. etc. but it will only stay that way if we all look after it properly and helping us to do just that are the lovely folks at LOVEmyBEACH.

A lot of what they have to say and do isn't sexy as it revolves around toilets, sewage and litter, but what they do do (sorry, toilet humour.. :-) ) is help spread the message about the things we can ALL do to help protect our beaches and waterways wherever we live.  So, against a backdrop of pictures of lovely Morecambe Bay and surrounding waterways, here are the top 10 things we can do to help:

1.  Think before you flush - the 3 Ps only should be going down the loo - Pee, Poo and Paper.  Everything else needs to be binned and disposed of separately ESPECIALLY cotton buds.  Thousands of them get through our sewage system each year and end up on the beaches injuring wildlife.  (I've been banging on about that one since 2010!)

2. No oils or fats etc. to go down the sink as they can cause blockages and leakages allowing all sorts of nasty stuff to seep into our groundwater and rivers.  As a general guide, if you don't fancy swimming in it, don't put it down the sink.

3.  Make sure all your plumbing and drainage is connected properly.  You may be super green and environmentally friendly, but if the folks who put in your drainage were muppets your grey water (washing up etc.) could be heading straight for your nearest river.

4.  Bag and bin your dog poo.  Don't leave it lurking on beaches or flick it into a nearby river and definitely don't bag it and hang it on the nearest tree like a stinky Christmas decoration.

5.  If you have a septic tank make sure it's properly serviced and checked for leaks etc. to ensure there is no nastiness oozing out while you're not looking.

6.  Get a water butt for the garden to collect rainwater.  Not only does this help when watering the garden it also reduces the amount of surface run off heading into the sewers.

7.  Put your litter in a bin or take it home with you.  Honestly - do we really still need to be telling people that?  I'm gob smacked by the number of folks who think it's fine to picnic on the beach then leave it all there when they're done.  If you can carry it there, you can carry it back.  Litter has a huge affect on local wildlife and notso local wildlife - if you leave in on the beach and the tide gets it, it could end up anywhere.

8.  Go to a beach clean - you'll learn loads, make new friends and burn off TONS of calories. Better than the gym any day!  Check out the LOVEmyBEACH events page to find one near you.

9.  Go talk to your boss.  There's a whole page of things that businesses could be doing to support the project and protect the local environment and customers LOVE that stuff so earn yourself some brownie points by bringing it up at your next team meeting.

10.  Spread the word - share this post, share the LOVEmyBEACH web page, follow them on Twitter, stalk them on FB - share their posts and tell your friends.  None of us has to change the world but if we all do our own little bit we can help keep the waters around us shiny clean and floater free.