In Search of Waterfalls and Peter Rabbit

I wrote this in January, but haven’t been able to finalise it, until now.

It’s taken so long to sit down and write this blog. A combination of full time work, and several bereavements, one no other than my beloved Riley has slowed me down somewhat.

Then I got covid for Christmas (after many years of dodging it). It’s only now that I am able to sit down and write about my last trip to the Lake District of 2022.

It was the middle of November, the weather had been unseasonably mild. Come our week off work, a squally weather front of rain and wind drew near. I think we were quite lucky as we managed to swim in between rain showers. Our trip began on a Tuesday, which happened to be the best day. We drove up towards Rydal Hall and parked up outside St Mary’s Church which asks for a £2 donation which we readily gave. We then walked through the gardens of Rydal Hall and on towards the fells towards Buckstones Jum (Jump).

It took us about one hour to get to Buckstones Jum. We walked through woodland where there were lots of waterfalls and then there was a lot of mud involved before we arrived at the shores of this waterfall in Rydal Beck. On the shingle beach we made camp and had a bite to eat before I intrepidly headed into the water.

There wasn’t many people about but at the time of my swim, there was a young couple with a dog watching from the rocks above Buckstones Jum. Feeling rather self-conscious and knowing I wouldn’t be doing much swimming in this little churning pool I waded in and got into deep water pretty quick. The water quality was clear and I managed to do a few strokes.

I swam/floated for about 10 minutes until I decided it was enough. I got out and before I got dressed I went fishing for the couples’ dog’s ball that was left in the shallows of the water. I found it and threw it for the dog. Hopefully he never lost it on the way back down.

After getting dressed, we took the trail back through the woods towards the car. We then headed towards Keswick and Braithwaite and Hermiston. Always our home from home.

The next day we had a rather fractured day of sightseeing. We did a bit of retail therapy before we headed off into the fells. The rain was incessant until we got to the shores of Yew Tree Tarn. However I was not feeling a swim so we decided to drive onwards towards Blea Tarn (Langdale).

Blea Tarn with Rainbow

We had lunch overlooking Blea Tarn however the ticket machine was not accepting coins, because we didn’t want a parking ticket we headed on towards Grasmere.

Surely, we would get in a swim?

We ended up at the car park of White Moss again. So this time we headed towards the shores of Grasmere. I had been here before with Riley in 2018

So, David and I made camp and I took to the water with the weather changing minute by minute.

I spent about 15 minutes in 10 degrees water. After I’d grew bored I got out and dried. We headed back towards the car and our home for the night, Hermiston.

On the last day of our visit to the Lake District, we headed towards Moss Eccles Tarn, west of Windermere, not far from Hill Top.

I had reservations for this swim as the last time I was in the area, I got shouted out to get out of the water at Esthwaite Water. This time, however we were not obstructed and we walked 30 minutes passed farms towards the tarn. The weather was not in our favour as the grey clouds descended and the wind grew.

I was relieved when the tarn appeared as I just wanted to bag this tarn. The wind was freezing and rain clouds threatened. We quickly made camp and I entered the water. I couldn’t see how Beatrix Potter loved this area of Lakeland so much. In better weather I suppose it would be idyllic. I swam for about 10 minutes before the wind got stronger and as we walked back to the car the rain fell in buckets. Again we were lucky to dodge the worst of the weather.

Though the weather was changeable we manged to do two new swims. Two new swims to add to the swim map.

Were will my swims in 2023 take me?

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

Lucky Number 13!

Better late than never!

Happy Halloween!

Rydal Water was my 13th swim of 2022. It was also a lake I had planned on doing a Halloween special. I hope you enjoy the video below.

On the morning of my Halloween swim, we got up at 5am and headed up the motorway in the dark towards the South Lakes. Not long after sunrise, we parked at White Moss car park with it’s controversial pay and display. We paid for three hours at a pricey £7.20. Many people have been caught with parking fines due to not paying enough on departure. We donned our rucksacks, I pinned my witches hat to my head and braved the squally rain and blustery wind as we headed into the woods.

We passed a few bemused photographers as we walked towards the Rydal Oak on the south east side of the lake. From this pebbly beach we made camp and I took to the waters in my witches hat. It was quite hard swimming and fighting with the wind to keep the hat on. While swimming the rain came and a beautiful rainbow graced the grey skies.

The wind and rain made getting dry all that more harder, but I returned to the car, smiling after a fun filled walk and swim. Rydal Water is a lake I return to time and time again. It’s a beautiful part of Lakeland.

Where is your favourite place in the Lake District?

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

A Year in Wildlife 2022

Wow! What a year it’s been for wildlife spotting!

During 2022 I’ve been using David’s old Nikon DSLR and have been able to capture some wildlife not seen before.

Who would have thought that in January a Chiffchaff would be the nature highlight of the month!

Chiffchaff

A wildflower called ivy-leaved toad flax was found growing outside our front door. Though some see this beetle as a pest, it was lovely to see the iridescent colours of this Lavender beetle brighten up the yarden, while a day flying moth, angle shades was found resting on our front wall.

It was another year that batty graced our yarden with their presence hunting for moths and midges. It always makes me smile when I see Batty flitting around the yarden.

As we continue to garden for wildlife, pollinators such as ashy mining, hairy footed flower and white tailed bumblebees all visited the yarden this year.

I bought a discovery apple tree in March and it flowered and bore fruit in its first year!

Our first ever sighting of this Hummingbird Hawk Moth, looking for nectar was one of the best highlights of 2022!

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

I spent a lot of time outdoors for #30DaysWild and visited Brocholes and Lunt Meadow Nature Reserves, where we spotted dragonflies, such as black tailed skimmers and four sport chasers. This white throat perched nicely for a photograph, and there seemed to be lots of butterflies about. David got some great photos of the resident Roe deer and fox at Brockholes.

It was yet another year of wonderful wildlfowers springing up wherever there was an empty patch of land.

In August we spent a week holidaying in Scotland. We visited Loch of the Lowes, where they have nesting Ospreys. On arrival we heard the young calling for fish and two hours later were lucky enough to see both young on the nest.

Our boat house was on the shore of Loch Tay and I went swimming in the rain and during a night swim, had bats circling and hunting around me.

From the forest around the boat house, a lone Tawny Owl hooted solemnly.

The sparrowhawk visited the yarden again!

Female Sparrowhawk

For my birthday this year, we visited RSPB Leighton Moss and finally got to see the bearded tits and even a cute, tiny goldcrest.

Bearded Tit

Goldcrest

There has been some lovely sunrises and some astounding sunsets.

Sunrise

Sunset

Clouds have been one of the star attractions in 2022. These mammatus clouds loomed ominously as we drove home from scotland.

Mammatus Clouds

To finish off it’s been a year of many Rainbows.

How wild has your year been?

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

In Search of the Fairy Island

Some weeks ago, David and I took a day trip to Snowdonia. The choice of swim spot was decided rather late so I had to research the legends after the swim. We headed west towards Llyn y Dywarchen. In fact there are two Llyn y Dywarchen’s in Snowdonia. We visited the one near Llyn y Gader, where I had taken an Easter swim that April.

Llyn y Dywarchen has it’s very own little parking bay directly outside a gate that leads to a boat house. The lake is leased by the Angler’s Society, which made my heart sink a little, but on arrival, the llyn was deserted.

We followed a path towards the south side of the llyn, from where I took my swim. The water had chilled to 13°c and the breeze was fresh. It was nice to see the changing of the light on the mountains all around and the colours come to life.

On coming home and preparing the video for YouTube, I researched several legends around the llyn. Much like Llyn Cwellyn, fairies featured heavily.

One tale was of a shepherd coming upon a group of fairies, falling in love with one of them and then having to guess her name to marry her. Once married she was bound by a curse never to be touched by iron, and during one mishap, she touched an iron object and vanished back to the fairy realm.

However, there was one truth about the llyn and that it once had a floating island. In 1698 astronomer Edmund Halley, (of Halley’s comet fame), swam to the island and said the island was a floating piece of turf that had detached from the shore. Others believed the floating island was fairy made. So the banished fairy could still see her husband, the floating island was made so she could float on the llyn while her husband was on shore, from there they conversed. When the winds blew the island to shore, you could see the lovers kiss.

The island is no longer, but tales of the fairy folk remain.

Do you believe in fairies?

Christine x

A Week at Osprey

I’ve been really neglecting my blog of late but I have a reason for that, and that is…

I’ve a new job! I got a full time job at the cardio-respiratory dept at the New Royal, doing general reception/admin work. I’ve been there over two months and still enjoying it!

A few weeks into my new job, we had a week booked at a boathouse on the shores of Loch Tay. The week before the UK had temperatures reaching the early 30°s but during our week in Scotland, it felt more autumnal. In fact the water was warmer than the air temperature!

Loch Tay is the sixth largest loch in Scotland, 15 miles long and 508ft deep. It shelved off pretty quickly from our beach by the boathouse and made for a dark, mysterious swim.

The boathouse we stayed in was called Osprey. A bird that has caught my wonder these past few years. So it was fated that we should holiday there. Here’s some photos of the boathouse and the lovely roe deer that walked silently around the wooded shore.

On our journey north it rained constantly, and the rain didn’t let up during my first swim that evening. It was a splashily, wonderful swim, with mist caressing the mountains and raindrops piercing the water.

Our second day dawned a little drier and after breakfast we headed out in search of a loch or two to swim in. I had planned on doing a few swims that week, but in reality, some of the lochs were difficult to get to. The first one was Loch Kennard which looked nice on Google maps but not with a massive deforestation happening all around. We drove further up the road towards Loch Freuchie but we couldn’t find anywhere to park, so decidedly deterred, we headed back towards the boathouse and ended up doing a circula waterfall walk called the Falls of Acharn which were pleasant enough. If it was good enough for Robert Burns and the Wordsworth’s then it was good enough for David and I.

After lunch we headed to the shores of Loch Tay where I had my second swim. It was a very windy, choppy affair.

Day three was our best day!

We got up for the sunrise, but I wasn’t feeling it for a swim, so I enjoyed the show from the shore.

Later on that morning we drove towards Loch of the Lowes, a small, picturesque nature reserve where ospreys breed. This year their adults had reared two chicks. On arrival we heard a begging chick chirrup for a fish dinner but when we entered the hides, we had to wait over an hour to see an osprey. We were very lucky as we saw both chicks and David managed to get some good photos. Mine I took from the telescopes. I was elated to have seen an osprey or two but we were chilled to the bone from the cold wind blowing over the reserve.

That afternoon, the sun seemed to gain some warmth and we drove a little further down the road to Loch of Clunie. We found some off road parking and I went for another swim. It was the warmest swim of the holiday, at 20° but it was the shallowest! I waded out for what seemed like miles to get some swimmable depths.

That evening after returning back to the boathouse, I enjoyed the best night swim I’ve ever had! The water was still, moths flew overhead, bats circled around me and a male tawny owl hooted from the shore. It was a magical experience. I’m not sure it can be bettered!

Day four dawned gloomily. We took a long drive towards the shores of Loch Rannoch. It needn’t have been as long but I’d planned on swimming from a certain point and when we got there the car park was closed, so we had to find an alternative entrance. I can’t say I enjoyed the swim that much as it was rather choppy, and I was frozen to the bone by the chilling wind.

I had planned on another swim at Loch Faskally but being rather cold I decided I’d had enough and we headed back to the boathouse to enjoy our last remaining evening.

With a glass or two of wine in me, wrapped up in a blanket and listening to relaxing classical music, I sat on the veranda and watched as the gloaming settled. Bats flew over the surface of the lake, clouds parted revealing a bright half moon, and ducks snuffled on the beach below. It was a most relaxing evening.

I would definitely recommend staying at a loch side cabin, whether at Loch Tay or another loch. I may not have had the amount of swims I did as last years holiday to the Trossachs but sharing my moments with wildlife, being ospreys or hooting tawny owls was magical!

Have you shared a wonderful moment with wildlife?

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

Another Swim/Walk Adventure

Lots of stresses and strains have been going on behind the scenes recently, and wild swimming has been one of the few distractions.

Last week David and I had a day off mid week and so we planned a swim adventure. The tarn in question was Hayeswater, Hartsop, which had been a reservoir up until 2005. The dam was removed in 2014 and the tarn was returned to it’s natural state.

We parked at a free car park in Hartsop, but donated to the village school as a thank you. We followed the left hand stony path which ran steeply along Hayeswater Gill, before crossing a bridge and continuing the path on the right hand side. Further up we then crossed another bridge to the left hand side of the tarn. The walk took about one hour. At a shingle beach we made camp and I accessed the mild 16°C water which had an abundance of minnows darting about the shallows. The swim was peaceful and remote and we didn’t see any other people until I had climbed out of the water. David got Buzz up and managed to capture some wonderful scenery. It was indeed balm for a stressed out mind.

Have you walked in this area of Patterdale? What were your observations?

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

1001 Outdoor Swimming Tips

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Vertebrae Publishing regarding publicising a new swimming book that was being published. I thought about it and decided to agree. They sent me a copy of Calum Maclean‘s book, 1001 Outdoor Swimming Tips.

After a week or so of planning, David and I headed towards North Wales to Llyn Cwmorthin a slate quarry we had previously visited in 2016. I had already sketched a rough plan of the video, we just needed lots of footage. The day was a mix of sunny spells and gusts. It remained dry and we got some great footage of the old quarry buildings and of the 14°C swim. The location was very busy with walkers and tours of the mines below. The swim wasn’t very secluded and there was a mean current that made swimming difficult. I was in the water for around 15 minutes and was tired after I got out.

Cwmorthin Slate Quarry, Blaenau Ffestiniog (slate capital of the world), was established in the early 1800’s, and was in operation until the late 1990’s, changing ownership on several occasions. Visiting today it’s like stepping back in time. A walk around the old ruins of terraced houses and chapels, feels like walking alongside ghosts. Indeed, during the late Victorian era, poor working conditions gave rise to the name locally as The Slaughterhouse due to 20+ deaths during a 20 year period. Once Cwmorthin was connected to Oakeley Quarry it became part of the largest slate mine in the world. 90,000+ tons of slate left the quarry between 1861 and 1876. The area today is marked with the signs of slate industry, huge scree mountains of broken slate dominates the land.

Have you visited a quarry?

Tempted to try wild swimming?

Thanks for reading,

Christine xx

#30DaysWild

June was and will always be all about The Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild, an annual challenge, asking participants to do something nature based each day for 30 days. Though I may not have blogged every day this year (I’ve been feeling too jaded for that – and there’s lots going on behind the scenes here too), I managed to post daily on Instagram. Here’s a small recap of some of the wild things that I’ve been doing this June.

I’ve Visited Brockholes and Lunt Meadows, Wildlife Trusts’ Nature Reserves, wild swam in Brothers Water, the Lake District. Spotted Wild flowers while on a walk to work. Gave a bumblebee sugar water for energy, watched lovely sunsets. Enjoyed a trip to the beach and discovered apples growing on my apple tree.

Have you spotted any wildlife where you live? What have been your highlights?

Thanks for reading and stay wild!

Christine xx

A Small Measure of Peace

For the Jubilee bank holiday weekend, David and I managed to take a day out to the Lake District. I decided to revisit Brothers Water, the last time I was there was in 2017, and I was rather tired during my swim there after a mammoth five hour hike earlier that day. So, this time I planned on a more leisurely visit.

Brothers Water

We managed to dodge the bank holiday crowds but not for long. We arrived at Cow Bridge car park at 9am and already the area was filling up with cars and people. We luckily got a parking space and took a slow meandering walk along the shore of Brothers Water while listening to birds singing in the nearby woods. We only saw a handful of people during our walk. Luckily we didn’t have many spectators when I headed into the water either.

Wild swimming in Brothers Water

We spent about 2 hours at Brothers Water. The temperature was 12 degrees and I swam for about 20 minutes, while David took Buzz (drone) into the air for an extended fly. There were a few fish about but not many. We made camp on a small spit of land further up from my 2017 swim location and it was a far superior experience. Water access was a suggestion I found in Suzanna Cruickshank’s Swimming Wild in the Lake District.

Have you visited this small lake? Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

Revisiting Chester Zoo

A couple of weeks ago David and I took a day trip to Chester Zoo, a local haunt we used to go to every week! It’s had been a few years since we had visited and quite a lot of the exhibits have changed for the better. We paid almost £30 for day tickets for the both of us, a pretty pricey day out but spent all day walking miles around the zoo. We both took cameras, and it seems we focused mainly on the avian wildlife of show. I also took my GoPro and below fins a compilation video of what we saw and some pictures we captured.

Thanks for reading,

Christine xx