This afternoon I was in the process of preparing another article on Wordsworth for after Christmas (Yes, occasionally I do manage to do things in advance!) when I came across a video of Jeremy Irons reading “Daffodils”.

I hadn’t planned on putting up anything new today but am sure that many of my readers here on Around-England will enjoy this. On a cold, damp winter’s day how good it is to be able to picture the golden flowers “tossing their heads in spritely dance”.

Wasn’t that good! Spring is only three months away. Or does that sentiment offend my friends who are lovers of snow-covered mountains? Yes, I agree, there’s beauty in all the seasons.

Video from YouTube

An article in yesterday’s Yorkshire Post reports the closure of a popular scenic route.

Forestry chiefs have permanently closed a North Yorkshire road that regularly tops lists of the best drives in the country, to restore tranquillity to the picturesque valley. The Forestry Commission has announced it has closed a three-mile stretch of woodland road through Newtondale Forest, near Pickering, which is one of England’s most spectacular valleys.
[To read more]

In the course of the article three reasons for the closure are given:

• To restore tranquility
• Landslips making navigation difficult
• High cost of repairs

The last two of these are understandable in these financially straightened times. The first, though, raises questions. The North York Moors steam railway runs through the valley. It’s not exactly silent. The report says that walkers will now be able to “enjoy the peace and quiet without the roar of passing motor traffic.” Was there really such a “roar”? It isn’t the A1, after all.

My main concern, however, is the closure of a highly scenic route to many who are simply unable to navigate it on foot. In many elderly couples there is often one who is unable to walk any distance. Must they now be split up for only one of them to enjoy this splendid countryside. No, most likely they’ll neither of them go. And what about the disabled who used to be able to enjoy a drive through the forest?

I’m sure the Forestry Commission didn’t mean it that way but it is an effectively ageist decision, and will make things more difficult for many disable people. Sad.

The Commission says that it has consulted widely about the closure, and maybe there are considerations of which I am unaware. My reason for writing about this here, however, is less related to the specific case than to a concern that this should not become the forerunner of many similar decisions.

[Updated from a 2008 post]
In addition to the lakes themselves there is a wide variety of things to do in the Lake District. There are places to visit ranging from the literary connections of Dove Cottage at Grasmere (home of the poet William Wordsworth) to the practicalities (although also with artistic potential) of the pencil and mining museums in Keswick. And don’t forget the National Park visitor centre at Brockhole.

The National Trust

has several properties in the region and if, either deliberately or due to hitting a bad patch of weather, you decide on a programme of indoor visits you could well benefit from joining the Trust rather than paying separately for each location. With your National Trust membership ticket you get free access to all its properties, which can be a considerable saving if you vist several – and remember, the membership lasts for a year so you’ll have access to properties in other parts of the country. If you live in England or Wales you may even be surprised at what’s available to visit almost on your own doorstep as well as in the Lake District.

The National Trust (which, incidentally, is not a government body; this is sometimes misunderstood because of its name) owns large areas of the countryside in the Lake District National Park. Apart from areas of water it owns many hill farms which are let out to tenant farmers who take good care of the landscape to protect it for future generations. It also owns houses and gardens of historic or other special interest. Here are just some of the National Trust properties you could visit while in Cumbria:

• Acorn Bank Garden and Watermill, Temple Sowerby, nr Penrith
• The Beatrix Potter Gallery, Hawkshead
• Sizergh Castle, nr Kendal
• Wordsworth House, Cockermouth (William Wordsworth’s birthplace)

Congratulations to the Yorkshire Dales National Park for their new award for the Far Moor bridge. This innovative design and timber construction was developed with the help of the Forestry Commission and provides an important river crossing on the 200-mile Pennine Bridleway national trail currently being developed, and opening next year.

Far Moor bridge in the Yorkshire Dales picked up a special award at a British Construction Industry event. Officers from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority thought they had missed out on a win after another project gained the award in the bridge’s category, but the structure, over the River Ribble, was given a judges’ special award in the London ceremony.
>> Read the Full Article at grough >>

Far Moor Bridge last winter (photo by YDNPA)

There are wild places, described by poets, painted by artists and loved by country walkers which must be protected for future generations to enjoy. I suspect that most readers of Around-England will have no difficulty in agreeing with that statement. I fear, however, that this post may lose me some friends as I consider the question, “But does that mean they must be preserved just as they are?”

There is a majesty to the wide open moors and mountains, not forgetting the rivers. Wordsworth wrote glowingly, “Duddon! as I cast my eyes, I see what was, and is, and will abide; Still glides the Stream, and shall for ever glide.” Beautiful words! And beautiful landscapes must be protected. Furthermore, wildlife habitats need to be guarded from wanton destruction, especially where there is something rare or unusual, or endangered.

The North of England is well provided with National Parks (four of England’s ten), Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (seven of England’s thirty-four), and many Sites of Special Scientfic Interest. To this list one should add bodies such as English Heritage and The National Trust. All of these in their different ways provide protection for some of the most glorious areas of our land. I’m a great admirer of so much that they do.

My question, however, is about balance and competition. It is about striking a balance between environmental protection and economic sustainability for both present and future populations. It is also a competition of contrasting philosophies and the aspirations they generate, between the desire to protect the countryside from severe change and a wish to prevent almost any change at all. In other words we have to ask, are our beautiful areas to survive comprehensively as human habitats or only as landscape museums which reluctantly tolerate the presence and activity of people?

Wordsworth again conjured up deep emotions when he referred to Kirkstone Pass as, “These fraternal hills where, save the rugged road, we find nor hint of man;” poetic, but not accurate. The landscape even in his day had been substantially shaped by the activity of humans and their sheep for centuries, and we do well to remember this.

My interest in this dilemma dates back to the early 1980s when as a consultant I worked on economic development issues in the northwest and from time to time specifically on tourism. I quickly concluded that the concept of “sustainability” was often being promoted in far too narrow a sense, forgetting the need for the economic sustainability without which in the long term the environmental aspirations will become unattainable.

Cumbria, including the Lake District, was an industrial county for centuries before tourists arrived. Windermere and Coniston were commercial waterways carrying not only woollen and wooden products but also materials extracted from the fells and mountains south to other parts of England and further afield. Ambleside was an industrial village, Stock Ghyll driving many a water wheel. Coniston Old Man was the site of copper mines and slate quarries. Graphite was mined in Borrowdale, firstly for military purposes and then for pencils, and many other rare elements were extracted from the Cumbrian hills.

Could the Mines Royal ever have opened if the present-day environmental protection system had existed then. (Or would the first Queen Elizabeth, aware of the severe economic challenges to her country, have overruled the objectors?) Could the dry stone walls, one of the glories of the northern upland landscape ever have been built, or would they have been viewed as a creeping fungus, blotting the otherwise “pristine” landscape. Even earlier, could Herdwicks and other hardy breeds of sheep ever have been introduced if viewed as non-native species threatening to change for ever the vegetation of the fells?

Today we view the relics of old industry as attractions, and cover them with protective regulation. Yet we block so much 21st century development as inappropriate. Is there not sometimes a degree of hypocrisy in promoting the ruins of industry from the 19th century and earlier as part of an interesting visitor experience in industrial archaeology, and yet objecting to far less dramatic change in the 21st?

Tourism was a relative late-comer to the North of England, but a very welcome one economically as traditional industries faded. Initially it was genteel tourism, the well-to-do wondering at the fearsome mountains. The introduction of popular tourism was resented and resisted by the well-heeled, but it was unstoppable. Down the years it has, of course, changed. The development of more indoor attractions, for example, has made it possible to lengthen the season. It must continue to change so as to keep up with changing patterns in society.

I cannot help wonder, however, whether far-future generations of archaeologists will look at the landscapes of our national parks and hypothesise that they must have been almost evacuated for a couple of centuries because they can’t find much that doesn’t look like a tidied up version of the 19th or earlier?

Having no doubt upset quite a number already I’ll now move on to popular campaigning. On this topic I do know what I’m talking about having been Deputy Chairman, 2000-2005, of the UK chapter of a major international campaigning body, Transparency International. I well recall having to work hard to curb overenthusiasm. A particular type of oil-related payment to foreign governments was often being diverted into the private pockets. Some newspapers then branded the oil companies’ payments as themselves being corrupt. They were not. It was the diversion, the theft, that was criminal. To make my point I recall once, at a meeting organised by the World Bank, deliberately sitting at the table with an American oil company executive rather than with others of the NGO group so as to emphasise that responsible advocacy must be scrupulously honest and fair. Campaigners should not be emulating sensationalist journalism.

What does this have to do with envirnomental protection in National Parks and AONBs? Just this, that campaigning can become excessive. Enthusiasm can take over from good sense, and sometimes even from honesty. High profile campaigns frequently go further than the facts can support. In my 1970s book on business ethics (Ethics in Organizations, Kogan Page, 1997) I used a then current example of an environmental campaign in which pollution figures were grossly distorted. Eventually there was an admission, but never an apology. Seemingly the misrepresentation was considered to be justified by the cause. This is not to claim that deliberate lying happens frequently, but sometimes enthusiastic exaggeration can be almost as bad.

Yes, the natural habitats of rare species need protection but that is not to say that nothing must ever be allowed to change within the area concerned. The question should not be, “Will this development have any adverse impact on the habitat?” It should rather be, “Will it have an adverse impact and if so, to what extent and over what timescale?” Proportionality in judgement must win over absolutism.

Inevitably from time to time one hears the cry, “These developments are just about making private profit,” or “Public interest must win over commercialism.” I could go on at length about the nonsense too often talked about the glorious “virtues” of public organisations versus the alleged “evils” of the private sector but will resist the temptation … except to say that I hope the people who object to private sector profit intend to refuse their pension payments when they come due. Where do they think the money comes from?

I’ll return now to tourism. The industry has changed over the years, and must continue to change. The season in Northern upland areas is short. It has improved but much more needs to be done. What is more, the age-profile of visitors must be broadened. This year, since moving back to live in the county of my birth, I’ve had the opportunity of moving around many of the tourist areas. This is admittedly an unscientific impression, with no detailed statistical analysis, but it seemed very clear to me that even during the main school holiday period there was a preponderance of the over-50s. Now I’m well past that point myself, so I’m not arguing for an over-50s quota system, but much more must be done to bring in the 20s and 30s, and in addition to the traditional attractions of the countryside this inevitably must mean developments in the tourism product.

What is so special about keeping things looking like they did two hundred years ago? Hmm! Well! Sometimes it is difficult even to get permission to reinstate things as they used to be. A few years ago, in another part of the country my wife and I moved into a converted barn. The main part of the building dated back to the mid-1700s. The man who had converted it into a house ten years earlier had a lengthy bureaucratic battle over the rules of the conservation area. He wanted a brick-built chimney on the back of the house to allow for a solid-fuel burner in the large entrance hall. Refused! Why? Out of character with the area! After a considerable amount of argumentation he finally obtained a nineteenth century photograph showing the barn. And what was on the back of the building? A brivk-built chimney. He won his appeal.

The 1920s Lancaster Aerial Flight, Honister (Photograph courtesy of Honister Slate Mine)

I am so glad that the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, now one of the Lake District’s major tourist attractions, was converted from an industrial line to a tourist experience more than sixty years ago. If it had closed and reconstruction of the line from Ravenglass to Dalegarth up Eskdale toward Scafell Pike were proposed today I can well imagine the furore that would result, with arguments about the desecration of the fells.

I am fully aware that this is a complex question. Ever since my involvement in issues affecting the economic prosperity of this region back in the 1980s I have, however, been convinced that the remit of the UK’s national park authorities is skewed in an unwise direction. There should be a much better balance between economic prosperity and environmental conservation.

No, I am not advocating a free-for-all. There are beautiful landscapes and important habitats to be protected. From time to time insensitive development unfortunately is allowed in beautiful areas. Whoever could claim that the view over the Solway Firth from Maryport has been enhanced by the windfarm on the other side of the water? Yes, things do sometimes go wrong , but the answer is not to swing to the opposite extreme. There is danger also in the use of emotive phraseology such as, “The thin end of the wedge,” or “Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile”, or “Setting a dangerous precedent”.

Striking a sensible balance is not easy (dilemmas never are) but if protection is allowed to go too far and to turn into the preservation of a landscape museum then the viability of the region as a home for future generations will be put at risk.

This morning, looking in any direction from my home in the Eden Valley it seemed clear (although actually it’s ‘misty’ and unclear in a literal sense) that whether to the north (The North Pennines), to the west (The Lake District) or to the south-east (The Yorkshire Dales) it was quite probable that people were going to get rained upon today.

The Dales Countryside Museum, Hawes, Wensleydale

Here’s the first, of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s “Dales Countryside Museum” at Hawes – telling “the story of the people and landscape of the Yorkshire Dales past and present … school days, home life, leisure time, religion, transport, communication and tourism, farming, local crafts and industries”. The museum shares the building with the Hawes National Park Centre, and is wheelchair friendly. Now, where next? Yes, there’s still lots more to do in Hawes.

The Wensleydale Creamery, Hawes, The Yorkshire Dales

With your mind thoroughly informed about the Yorkshire Dales from your visit to the Dales Countryside Museum you can now turn to thinking about your body and visit the Wensleydale Creamery. I suggest that, in common with the other 200,000 or so visitors that come here every year, you forget slimming for an hour or so and enjoy the creamery’s visitor centre with its museum and observation area – then, of course, there’s the shop with its Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese and lots of other goodies!

Enjoy your Wensleydale “Day in the Damp” – and don’t forget the Wensleydale heritage railway with its station right next to the Dales Countryside Museum.

Following my visit to Grasmere in the English Lake District last week I blogged about the 2011 Summer Exhibition of the Lake Artists Society. Here now are some more photos from that afternoon. The weather was varied. Overall it was a very pleasant afternoon, although from a photography point of view the light kept shifting from the promising to the hopeless.

Looking south from Grasmere village

Back in February I took a number of photographs of the River Rothay by Grasmere churchyard. At that time of year it was cold, and there were no leaves on the trees. Now we have a much greener scene and on a comfortably warm afternoon people were sitting out on the cafe patio.

The River Rothay by Grasmere Churchyard

Sarah Nelson's Gingerbread Shop, Grasmere

It was in December 2009 that I wrote a short piece about Sarah Nelson’s Gingerbread Shop by the entrance to Grasmere village churchyard. I don’t recall why I did not include a photograph of it at the time as I did take some. To correct that omission here is a view of it today, followed below by the plaque on the side wall of the house explaining the older history of the house in the early days of village education and the involvement of the Wordsworth family.

Plaque by Grasmere Gingerbread Shop

By the time I’d driven from from Grasmere village to Dove Cottage, taken a few photographs there (to be posted later) and arrived at the water’s edge the light had deteriorated greatly. Here, however, is one shot that I think is reasonable given the circumstances, and I’ll look forward to better conditions on another visit.

The Water's Edge, Grasmere

The River Wharfe, with bridge and stepping stones, at Bolton Abbey

Growing up in the Lancashire-Yorkshire borderlands I quite often found myself crossing the Pennine watershed from the red rose into the white rose county. One of our frequent outings was to Bolton Abbey. As a child, following in the footsteps of former generations, I did exactly what the children are doing in the photograph above – take on the challenge of the stepping stones over the River Wharfe, sometimes getting very wet!

This beautiful spot on the Duke of Devonshire’s estate (now managed by the Cavendish family’s Chatsworth trust) is a favourite destination for thousands from the large cities of the North and much further afield. The 30,000 acre estate has 80 miles of footpaths. You can walk along the river bank, wander through woodland, admire the power of the Wharfe forcing its way through the rocks of the Strid, or climb higher onto Barden Moor and Barden Fell. Alternatively, for those less energetic, there are tea rooms and an area allocated for barbecues.

The “Bolton Abbey” itself, although its has been known as such for centuries, is not strictly an abbey but a priory. It was founded in the 12th century the land having been given by Lady Alice de Romille, mistress of Skipton Castle, to the Augustinian order of monks who had earlier set up a small monastery at nearby Embsay. It developed over the next four hundred years in spite of occasional setbacks due to destructive visitations by Scottish raiders. At the time of the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s the main priory buiding was still work in progress. The shell of the east end still stands proudly over the river whilst the west end continues to serve as the local parish church.

Bolton Abbey, by the River Wharfe in the Yorkshire Dales

Bolton Abbey should not be missed by any visitor to the Yorkshire Dales. To my mind it is probably the most beautiful spot in the whole of Yorkshire. Check the Bolton Abbey web site for more details.

In Lanthwaite Wood, by Crummock Water - August 2011

Lanthwaite Wood is a National Trust property at the foot of Crummock Water in the Lake District, alongside the point where the River Cocker leaves the lake. The car park there provides an excellent starting point for walks, which often give opportunity to see Red Squirrels.

The River Cocker flows from here down Lorton Vale to Cockermouth where it joins the River Derwent on its journey from Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite Lake to the coast at Workington. This area was devastated by flooding in November 2009 with loss of life as well as property and great damage to infrastructure. The repair and renovation work is still continuing. And that is the reason for posting this not-very-good photograph.

This is the only shot I took during my brief pause there last Monday afternoon, so it will have to do in spite of the washed out brightness of the river and field beyond the trees. However, the point of the picture is to highlight the small plaque visible half way up the wall of the building. It has been placed there to show the level to which the flood water rose on that destructive day.

As I looked at that, and saw its height above normal river level, I found myself staring uncomprehendingly at a mental picture of what hit the people downstream through the valley and in Cockermouth town, the childhood home of William and Dorothy Wordsworth.

These mountains and their lakes are beautiful, but what potential also for destruction. I’m reminded of the Old Testament psalmist: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help” (Psalm 121). But his sense of strength and reassurance there is balanced by Psalm 29 where the mountain waters pour down with destructive force upon the cedar trees and the low-lying land below. Yes, life is a mixture of storm and of calm, and these Lakeland hills illustrate it so powerfully.

Looking toward Crummock Water from the Lorton-Loweswater road

A very short post today. Few words, just a view of Bassenthwaite Lake that has been photographed and painted times without number. From near water level it is difficult to get a good view of this the most northerly of the Lake District waters – the only one which actually has “Lake” in it’s name. From up above on the hillside by the Whinlatter Forest, however, the view of the south end of the lake is spectacular.

Bassenthwaite Lake from the Whinlatter road