Interests

Appleby in Westmorland – An April Afternoon

April 22, 2013

After spending Saturday morning listening to lectures on bridges at a Cumbria Industrial History Society conference I suppose it is appropriate to show a photo from Saturday afternoon of the Appleby “New” Bridge over the River Eden – that is, it was new in 1888. The next shot is taken from the bridge looking dowstream. [...]

Tuxford Mill, Nottinghamshire

April 21, 2013

Last week as I was driving through Tuxford in Nottinghamshire I couldn’t resist stopping to take a photograph of the old windmill. Its sails were turning just as they must have done a century and more ago. A splendid sight. A few days earlier I’d been looking at watermills in Cambridgeshire. Milling appears to have [...]

Anglesey Abbey Gardens – The Winter Walk

April 19, 2013

Anglesey Abbey, a National Trust property near Cambridge, although in parts almost nine hundred years old is in its present form the creation of its more recent owners from the sixteenth century onwards, culminating in the work of the 1st Lord Fairhaven (1896-1966) a grandson of one of the founders of what is now the [...]

Two Cambridgeshire Watermills

April 19, 2013

En route to a weekend conference in Cambridge last Friday I managed to squeeze in visits to two still-working watermills, both at properties managed by the National Trust. The first, at Houghton near Huntingdon, is the only remaining working watermill on the Great Ouse, and I was looking forward to the visit. Sadly I’d misread [...]

Winter by the Water at Ullswater

April 2, 2013

Last week I drove to Glenridding, the popular village close to the head of Ullswater in the Lake District. After a walk up the hill behind the village and a retreat as the snow started to come down quite steadily, I decided to stroll along the lake to St. Patrick’s boat landing by the side [...]

“Let It Snow!” – with 1955 Northern England video

January 21, 2013

This weekend I received a text message from my granddaughter. She was doing a survey about weather for her geography homework. The question was, “Which is your favourite of the following six songs about the weather?” My choice was “Let it snow!” Some people may not appreciate that sentiment but I love snow. Although born [...]

Across the North – January 2013

January 15, 2013

It’s time for another news post. I haven’t done one for some time. Starting with the North West, the big news in recent days has been the Lake District National Park Authority’s rejection of an eighteen month trial installation of a Zip Wire at Honister Slate Mine, a centuries old industrial site on the side [...]

New Year’s Day at Pooley Bridge, Ullswater

January 4, 2013

Leaving Appleby the sun was shining. By Penrith it was raining. At Dalemain it was bright. At Pooley Bridge there was light drizzle. And so it went on, oscillating between bright patches and light rain. Familiar Lake District weather at this time of year. Pooley Bridge, the village, was looking a little sorry for itself. [...]

Red Squirrel Revival, Or …

September 8, 2012

This morning I was giving some overdue attention to the fuchsias outside our kitchen window when I sensed movement to my right. Looking up I saw a squirrel, no more than three feet from me, sitting on the wall – and it was a red squirrel! I hadn't seen one for a long time until this [...]

Birds of Prey in the North of England

August 21, 2012

Eagle Owl at Muncaster Castle I tweeted about eagle owls earlier this afternoon but decided it deserved a longer reference here on the “Around-England” site. It really is good to see an increasing number of birds of prey settling back into the English countryside. Ten days ago we had a 3-generations visit to Muncaster Castle [...]

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