Monday 10 September 2012

Beyond hills and by the Blue Waters ...

Back in December 2010 they hadn't tried to stop people feeding the wildfowl in Bakewell so there were plenty about ...

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

... including some real wild gooses ...

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

There's a footpath that runs beside the Wye, then across the park and eventually along the back of some houses ...

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

... between hedges and fences ...

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

... to bring you to the A6 on the southern side of Bakewell.

If you take Intake Lane on the opposite side of the main road you can soon leave the hustle and bustle of Bakewell behind you ...

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

Looking back we could see the mist lying in the valley.

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

We continued to quietly squelch our way along along the old track ...

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

At the end of the lane we walked south and then across the fields to the small pull-in above Conksbury Bridge. In the trees I found another one of these ... no, it's not a bird box ...

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010


There's more about it here ~ http://www.alecfinlay.com/letterbox.html ~ and this was the circle poem on the rubber stamp inside the box ...


beyond hills ...

I wonder whether this project has fallen by the waywide [no pun intended] as the website seems incomplete. I would be happy to be told otherwise.

The options then were to either head up the dale or down the dale ... or you can go up the country lane ... 

We chose the north-western path into Lathkill Dale.

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

You can't blame us ...

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

Not quite sure what this couple were doing ...

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

It could have been a couple of Derby County footballers I used to watch. We reckoned that one or two of them could walk on water.

Now the incredible thing about Lathkill Dale, apart from the fact that my family originates from Over Haddon, the village above the dale, is the colour of the water ...

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010
  
Well when I say the colour of the water I probably mean the clarity of the water. In the photo above and in the short video below I reckon it's probably five or six feet deep ...



Isn't it weird ?

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

I have learnt today that this section of the Lathkill is known as the Blue Waters and you can see why. I have never seen anything like this anywhere else in the UK.

Near Lathkill Lodge [the house in the bottom of the dale below Over Haddon] it looked as though the ground had been laid waste ...

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

This would have been where the river had been flowing until it went underground ~ it tends to come and go ...

We passed the Lodge ...

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

... noting the warning on the back gate ...

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

We climbed up the zigzag lane out of the dale into Over Haddon. To the north of the village we could see Bakewell church spire and the mist beyond ...

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

We even found some snow !

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

We reached Bakewell and wound our way towards the cemetery and started to lose height ...

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

Part way down this lane [Butts Road ?] a path cuts to the left and you're into a quiet little area in the middle of the town ...

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

... and a hundred yards later walking directly towards the church.

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

This walk had one more point of interest ~ an 18th century rainwater hopper complete with a date of 1743 and with a swift to boot. Delightful ...

Bakewell and Over Haddon ~ 31st December 2010

The walk featured above was followed on the 31st December 2010

Length of walk ~ 5.7 miles *

Total mileage walked so far in 2010 ~ 395.3 miles

Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 30th December 2010 ~ 529.05 miles

83 of 2010


* distance calculated by OS Getamap.



So 2010 ended [before dark] with me having walked just under 400 miles at an average of just over 4.75 miles a walk. Hardly what I used to do ...

What will 2011 bring ?

11 comments:

  1. "squelching" what a lovely descriptive word that I don't think I have used for years.

    That blue water happens here and every time I catch it in a picture I have to go to the Internet and look up why.... light and water bottom rocks and ????? just the right combination...

    What is a swift?

    While I am here, is there a place to go to look for new contacts? There was a spot on Yahoo and I didn't want it on Multiply so didn't notice it wasn't there. On Yahoo I was purposefully searching for folk from all around the world.

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  2. I agree, 'squelch' is a terrific word and very descriptive.

    As regards the Blue Waters I think it's got something to do with the limestone but I'm not totally sure.

    A swift is a summer visit to the UK from Africa and they nest under the eaves of some houses along our avenue. They're a bit like swallows and martens.

    If you're wanting to find new contacts have you tried clicking on 'next post' at the top left hand corner of your page ?

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  3. A rather muddy, mucky walk, think I'd prefer to do it in the summer months. The blue colour of the river water is remarkable, I've not seen a river coloured like that before. Is there an unusual mineral source upstream? I wonder just how bizarre that dog could be??

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    1. We don't let a bit of mud and muck put us off Mitch ... rain, yes, but not mud and muck. Yes, the blue is very unusual isn't it especially on a dark day. As for the dog, I wasn't going to find out.

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  4. What....no photo of the crazy dog?
    Bad blogger.

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    1. I was thinking of changing my name to Bad Blogger ...

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  5. How strange to see hardly any water in the river near the Lodge at that time of year,The blue waters are lovely aren't they Charlie, always love visiting the dale when in Over Haddon.

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    1. It was strange but the Lathkill quite often surprised us doesn't it Ann. I'd never heard these pools called the Blue Waters before ... and I agree they're lovely.

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  6. Curious water colour. But interesting walk again, Charlie. I think I'll go and look for the Alec Finlay letterbox in Topsham, next time I'm wandering around Devon.

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    1. Glad you found the walk interesting. Let me know how you get on with the letterbox.

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