I want to photograph the barn below when the sun is setting behind with lots of colour in the sky, I thought I would take a shot this morning, unfortunately the field was full of sheep and as I got to the gate they thought I was coming to feed them and rushed towards me.

Brian and helper gathering sheep with the girls looking on

During this week I have heard a Cuckoo calling, saw a Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly sunning itself and loads of Wheatears in the valley today. The little Wheatear migrates over two thousand four hundred km from Africa where it spends the winter in warmer climes, it comes to the UK for the summer season to breed, then as autumn approaches and job done, it makes the long journey back to Africa; it is thought the journey is made in one go and takes about thirty hours.

On Tuesday as I walked the dogs by the Duddon Estuary I could see a snow storm on the Coniston Fells, so back home to feed the girls then out with the camera gear to the valley.

Foxfield Viaduct & The High Cross Inn with The Coniston Fells behind in a snow and hail storm. Notice the pylon and cables, National Grid propose to put in a new system that will be double in height plus carrying more cables than the existing ones. Can't imagine how badly this will blight the view and ruin the tourist trade here.

Taking a few photos as the storm came towards me, the sun seemed to shine brighter as the sky behind grew darker; then suddenly the storm forced me to shelter in the car.

Well I wasn't staying out in that!

On Friday another trip to the valley with the purpose of taking photos in the Cockley Beck area. I heard on the radio that the Mountain Rescue Team had to rescue some people from their car on Wrynose, apparently they had gone off the road in the snow. Snow had blocked the pass overnight.

Also, there were orphaned lambs wearing the skins of dead lambs; this enables the lambs to be adopted by the mothers of dead lambs, otherwise they would have to be bottle reared.

As you will see on the plaque Wonderful Walker was also a hard working farmer as well as the vicar, teacher, wool spinner, husband and father to eight children. He was the vicar for some sixty seven years until his death in his 93rd year of age.

Plaque inside the chuch commemorating Wonderful Walker.

Wonderful Walker

BIOGRAPHY.- The Rev. Robert Walker, who was born at Undercragg, in Seathwaite, in 1709, having made considerable proficiency in learning at the chapel school here, became a schoolmaster at Loweswater, in Cumberland, where, through the assistance of a friend, he made some proficiency in the classics. In 1736 he was presented to the living of Seathwaite, the value of which was then only five pounds a year. He then got married, and with his £40 marriage portion furnished the parsonage house attached to the chapel. Thus established, it behoved him to improve his limited income, and to effect this, his industry, frugality, and temperance have scarcely a parallel. For five days and a half in each week he kept a school in the chapel, his seat being within the rails surrounding the communion table - the table itself supplying the place of desk. He was constantly employed at a spinning wheel, whilst the children were repeating their lessons by his side. His evenings were also employed either in spinning on a wheel, writing out petitions, deeds of conveyance, wills, covenants, &c., for his rustic neighbours; or in attending to his garden, to the two or three acres of land which he rented, in addition to less than an acre of glebe, and to the couple of cows and a few sheep which he was enabled to keep by right of pasturage on the mountains. He also assisted the neighbouring farmers in hay making, shearing their flocks, and other offices, so that no time was wasted, nor was the most menial drudgery rejected.

The diet of his family was free from every species of luxury, and their apparel was made of home-spun materials by their own hands. Peat, procured by their own labour, was the fuel burned, and the lights on winter evenings consisted of the pith of rushes, dipped into fat; tallow candles being only procured to honour the Christmas festivities. He was so far from being tainted with the vice of parsimony, that he refused another benefice in addition to his own, though his income at the time was only £17 a year. Nor did he make any charge for teaching school ; such as could afford it gave him what they pleased. He was exceedingly hospitable; and on every Sunday served up messes of broth for such of the congregation as came from a considerable distance. By these means Mr. Walker not only brought up and educated a numerous family, but also gave every member of them something to begin the world with ; and at his death he left behind him the sum of £2,000, besides a number of webs of linen and woollen yarn of his own spinning. He died 25th of June, 1802, in the 93rd year of his age, and the 67th of his ministry in Seathwaite.

Reference, extract from. http://www.genuki.org.uk/files/eng/LAN/Seathwaite/history.html

The family grave of Wonderful Walker.

I spent quite a bit of time exploring the graves in the churchyard, two noteable stones held the names of young ladies who had passed away in their early twenties, one had died in America and the other in Liverpool.

Grave of the Casson Family

I also found the grave of a little girl who passed away at just fourteen months, very upsetting and sad to see.

Opposite the chuch is the former vicarage and nearby reading room. I spoke to the current owners of the vicarage, now a private residence, the first part of the house was built in 1702 and is known as Walker House. Visitors walking in this area are welcome to park at the reading room for a donation.

Inside the chuch is plain but functional with a small altar and a few stained glass windows. It is clean and airey with plenty of light filling the interior.

The walk through the woods and open areas was very enjoyable, the dogs ran wildly enjoying themselves and probably looking for anything of nutritional value! We passed more Blubell and wild flower areas but my attention was attracted to the brightly coloured growth on the gate.

Some expert will know what the growth is!

Soon we came to the memorial bridge, not sure of it's history other than it was built in the 1930s as a memorial to a departed family member, need to research this. The bridge is narrow and less than a metre wide, spanning the River Duddon just above the stepping stones, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up slightly now at the sight of stepping stones after my previous experience! We did cross back over the river by the stones, well I did, the dogs paddled and swam.

In the river there were some huge boulders, probably not washed down but had fallen from the Wallowbarrow cliff above.

We stayed on the right bank and followed the rough track along the river, with no rainfall for a few weeks the river is very low. We made our way down to the river for the dogs to have a cooling swim, or in Skye's case a paddle, she only swims when she has to!

I should have took my boots of and cooled my feet but there was too much to see and photograph including the wildlife trying to stowe away.

Caterpiller

It was stiflingly hot by the river in Wallowbarrow Gorge, not helped by the sun reflecting off the light coloured rocks. We headed back towards the bridge and the coolness of the woods. I spent a bit of time by the bridge, will defo come back in winter after the leaves have dropped to try to get a better photo, I was also surprised to see the small stalactites hanging under the bridge.

Time to carry on and get back to the van to go home for a welcome brew, but a few distractions on the way.

Dolly

Yer barr'd

As we got into the open I could hear a couple of cuckoo's calling, hope they managed to meet up.

At the farm there is a cottage and camping barn that are available to hire, they look very good. telephone: 01229 715011 email: camden.chinn@gmail.com or write to us at, High Wallabarrow Farm, Ulpha, Broughton-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA20 6EA

A car was parked next to my van and looking at the scar I could see a climber on the rockface, so on with my biggest lens and took a few pics of him.

After a bit of time photographing the bridge jumpers I did go home. But something was playing on my mind!

Monday 6th June

After a little discussion with Diane we decided we would go back to the river for a swim at Birks Bridge and take some underwater photos and videos. I borrowed the lads GoPro camera with it's waterproof housing. The water was beautifully clear but still a bit cool so was glad I had taken my wetsuit. Sadly the quality of the underwater photos and video wasn't brilliant, it seems a problem with the convex lens on early GoPro camera housing's degrades the images. But what a great experience which will be repeated soon with a better quality camera.

I was surprised to see salmon parr swimming around in the pool and not bothered by me or the other people.

Grey Wagtail

Looking over the bridge a pair of grey wagtails were busy collecting food, they must have had a nest nearby and seemed totally not bothered by us being there.

Some of the people enjoying the water.

A couple of the party relaxing, probably waiting for me to make them a cup of tea!

Just chillin

The floor in the small bar is made from slate quarried from a mine above the pub, sadly no longer mined.

In a previous entry I said I would tell the story of shootings at the Newfield Inn. This version is from the Westmorland Gazette.

Alan Wills, of Windermere, describes The Seathwaite Navvies' Riot of 1904

When the landlord of the Newfield Hotel in the Duddon Valley told a customer to leave the bar during the afternoon of July 25, 1904, nobody expected the situation to escalate in the way it did. Within the following two hours the hotel, the church, the vicarage and the school would all be vandalised and three people would be shot, one fatally. This was the Seathwaite Navvies’ Riot. The trouble started at 2pm when some navvies employed on the Seathwaite Reservoir to Barrow-in-Furness pipeline had been drinking in the bar since 10am.

They included Owen Kavanagh, James Foy and Garrett Kinsella. The landlord, Thomas Dawson, and his wife Elizabeth, were on the premises with their daughter, Mary Margaret. When Foy demanded another beer Dawson told him to leave, which he eventually did. However, the pair argued outside. Foy grabbed Mary by the shoulders, tearing her blouse and Foy’s friends joined in the argument. The navvies threw stones through the hotel windows, re-entered the bar, smashed bottles and stole spirits, tobacco and cigarettes before proceeding 100 yards up the road to the other properties. After an orgy of window smashing they returned at 3.30pm to the hotel, which was closed.

The people inside included John Greenhow, a barman and Henry Knox Todd from Glasgow, an assistant waterworks engineer. The mob threw more stones through the windows and threatened to murder anybody inside if the door was not opened. Greenhow pointed a muzzle loader through a window and shot Kinsella. The mob’s threats continued so Knox shot Kavanagh with a double-barrelled shotgun. By this time Dawson was outside. Somebody passed him a firearm through a window. He told the mob twice to disperse but Foy threw a stone at him so Dawson shot him.

Kavanagh died the next day; Foy lost a leg; Kinsella recovered but was sentenced to nine months hard labour. The damage to property consisted of 40 smashed panes of glass at the hotel, 50 at the church, 37 at the vicarage and 17 at the school.

The three gunmen were arrested for the shootings, charged and appeared in court where they were granted bail, the charges soon being dropped. The jury at the inquest into Kavanagh’s death returned of verdict of justifiable homicide.

So that wasn't a good day to be at the Newfield Inn, thankfully it is a lot quieter these days, just don't throw stones.

After an excellent meal, a couple of drinks and a chat with the locals and staff in the pub we set off home, but not before the barmaid gave the dogs some biscuits. The young lady with the Doc Martens wasn't in today.

As is usually the case I was soon stopped by other activities. With voting taking place for that referendum thingy some of the local schools were closed, which gave a few young lads from Millom the opportunity to indulge themselves in jumping into the river from the bridge, far better than being sat in the dark on playstations. And a good opportunity for me to take some action shots of them.