Changes

Planned for a while and timed to fit in with Husbands son's workload, we have been having a bit of a swap around. Sadly I forgot to take any before photos until the room was stripped down, but better late than never!

I won't bore you with the details but for good reason, we have decided to change the position of the door leading out from our sun room, so where in the past the door was on the right :

 and there was a window on the left:

 They are going to be swapped over. Simple?

It does sound simple, and basically it was, but logistically a bit of a faff and pretty messy too!

 Having removed the window, the hole needs enlarging, preferably without making too much of a mess of the pebble dashing. Good job Paul's a tidy builder!

 This plastic sheet was our back door for a couple of nights. Thankfully there aren't too many criminals in these parts, and it did a damn fine job of keeping the dust out of the rest of the house too!

 After the window has been removed and enlarged, it's the door's turn to come out

 Recycling the steps kept Husband busy 

 Chasing leaves kept Breeze busy. I wonder if she's noticed she can't get in there now?

 Ta da. 

Much better!

Molly's First Trip To The Seaside

Just for a change, Breeze has a bit of a paw injury. Nothing serious, but knocking it about on the fells won't make it heal and salt water will help, so we decide to venture to the coast for a change. Jay is coming too and decides that Molly is ready to experience the seaside............

The moment the lead was off, Molly was off too. Chasing Breeze about all over the place. Anyone who witnessed this would have thought it was great; a whippet chasing a spaniel at full speed. Anyone who knows Molly's story will think this is amazing. To see her running so free in a totally new environment was just brilliant.

I apologise that these pictures are all long distance, but (a) I forgot my camera so these are on my phone and (b), if I zoomed in, you wouldn't get the true picture of  how much Molly was running free enjoying herself

Spot the Whippet!

She even ventured into the sea for a quick paddle. She did draw the line at chasing Breeze who was nearly at the Isle of Man by now.

Back through the sand dunes to the car and it's lunchtime

Look what your missing James!

An Afternoon stroll

I happen to know that it normally rains on the 10th March. Today however, is different. Blue skies and sunshine.  I have an appointment with a racehorse first thing. Twice up the gallops on a day like this is a pretty good way to start the day. Then it's back home to change out of my breeches and into a pair of walking trousers, swap my riding boots for walking boots, get a few jobs done at home and grab a bite of lunch. Then we're off.................

We parked at Grainsgill bridge and basically followed our noses for the afternoon.  Breeze hasn't had much exercise for the last few days as she has been away with us down to visit Mum and Dad in Northamptonshire and has had to play second fiddle to other priorities. She's making the most of the opportunity to run around like a demented spaniel (oh yes, she is a demented spaniel)

A hidden gem

We're not really sure if this is an old mine shaft or not. The area is littered with them, but this one only goes in a few yards. Still it's providing a wonderful micro climate for a whole host of flora and fauna

Breeze smiles for the camera

Looking across Bowscale Fell to Blencathra

Skiddaw at the back with sunlight reflecting in the infant River Caldew

and again without the zoom. Blencathra is now visible on the left (Husband is doing his pointy stick bit for you)

Me and My Dad on Carrock Fell

A VERY rare occurance. Breeze was falling asleep sitting up. It must be something to do with not coming out till after lunch, she's normally all action all day!

The remains of an ancient fort on Carrock. We decided to drop down the southern side of Carrock from the car. You need to know the lie of the land round here to do this as there are no paths, and much of the southern side would not be a nice experience.

Posing on request, for once without a spaniel smile

Back down to the road and it's just a short walk back to the car. What an amazing afternoon.

We covered about 5.5 miles, most of it on sheep tracks rather than human paths. For us, this gives us just as much satisfaction as covering many more miles of well trodden tourist paths. We only saw two other people, and they were both on the top, on the well trodden path. And to think this is all in our back yard :-)

A Champion in the Making?

Finbar. Alison and Chris's Irish Terrier has just returned from Crufts, where he only went and won his class! He's only just over a year old, so will we see him back there next year? Watch this space!!! Well done Finbar, and well done Alison and Chris too!

Askham Fell, Helton Fell and High Street

Once again we planned to head west today, but when we got down to the A66 it looked grim over that way. A snap decision saw us heading for the sunniest spot we could see which was Askham Fell. We parked at Roehead and then just followed our noses. Shame we didn't have our binocs today, we'd have been able to see our house for a lot of the walk!

Ullswater as we head up Moor Divock

Heltondale

Snow topped Cross Fell, the highest of the Pennines seen over to the east as we climb up Helton Fell

Blencathra seen from High Street

Looking back across Ullswater as we head back to the car

Once again, not the walk we had planned, but we managed about 7.5 miles in lovely weather, without seeing too many other folk. Not bad for plan B

Urbanites

We are back from 10 days in Lincolnshire catching up with old pals and house/horses/dog and cat sitting for Simon and Sal. So we are itching for a fell fix.  We thought we would head over to Braithwaite and do the walk that we didn't finish the other day,but as we headed up the A66 the cloud looked pretty grim in the west, so a quick decision saw us heading to Low and High Rigg again. Jay is with us and she hasn't done them before and we are more than happy to do them again

Tewet Tarn

The distinctive skyline of Causey Pike, that's roughly where we are heading before our change of plan

Breeze spots a seat

And without any prompting

She claims it for herself

We are heading round the western side of High Rigg to climb up the southern side in a reversal of our last visit up here

There is still snow on the higher fells

As we reach the summit of High Rigg, we find a nice sheltered spot with a view over Thirlmere just below the summit. Little did we know that our walk was about to be spoilt

By this family who chose to come and sit right next us.The kids then climbed over the rocks immediately behind and above Breeze and I. Very much in danger of kicking rocks down onto us. The parents did nothing. They were too busy lighting their camping stove to warm up their hot dogs, while their dog barked at Breeze. I am all for parents bringing their kids into the countryside and taking them walking. Indeed that's how I started my fell walking, in a papoose until I could walk myself. But PLEASE. If your need for fellow humans is such that you feel the need to sit that close when there is the whole fell to chose, then stop in the city. OK, Rant over. 

Lunch abandoned, we follow the Yellow Brick Road back down towards St John in The Vale

Past the memorial Stone,and then for a change we walked round Low Rigg instead of going back over it to get to the car.

5.6 miles, a bit less than planned but we stayed dry and it is always a lovely place to walk.Just a shame it was spoilt by such ignorant *****.

A Winter Wander

We needed to be at Thornthwaite today, so we thought we might as well take advantage of the fact that there is significantly less snow further west and have a walk

We parked in Braithwaite village and wound our way up to the miners track heading towards Force Crag Mines

It's never to cold for a dip (if you're a spaniel)

Although it looked cold, it was surprisingly pleasant in the lee of the fells

Normally we turn off the track and ford Coledale Beck before we get to the mine and this had been the plan today. Our return route was to be over Barrow, but for a couple of reasons we had a change of plan and decided to explore the mines and then retrace our steps

Breeze took the opportunity to explore too, she continued to leg it all over the surrounding slopes as we poked around and had a coffee stop

Blencathra behind Lonscale Fell as we start to retrace our steps

Skiddaw

You can take the  Dog off the Fell, but you can't take the Fell off the Dog. 

A very gentle 5.5 miles and we were back to the car in time for our lunch. A private viewing at Thornthwaite Galleries followed, with the successful acquisition of a fiftieth Birthday present for a friend. A pretty successful trip!