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

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

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

Meeting Max the Miracle Dog

It’s been a month or so since Max the Miracle Dog of Keswick passed away. I had intended for Riley (our border collie) and I to visit his statue in Hope Park, Keswick while he was still alive but that never happened. However, we managed to finally take a visit to Keswick one day in May.

Christine, Riley and Max

Riley himself has been having some health issues. He has been fussy with his food and losing weight. So before we took him to the vets, we spent a day at the lakeside of Derwentwater.

After parking by Keswick’s Theater by the Lake and paying £8 for six hours, we walked across the road to Hope Park where we enjoyed the flower displays before visiting Max’s statue. Riley thought the statue was a real dog and was rather reluctant to sit on the bench. We managed to get some photos before we decided to head toward the shoreline of Derwentwater.

As you know Derwentwater is my favourite lake, and Riley first visited the lakeside in 2019.

Riley in Entrust NT Hands

This time we took a slow walk towards Friar’s Crag, admiring the view of Castle Crag, before taking the meandering path towards the Centenary Stones at Calfclose Bay. Before we got to Calfclose Bay, we came across a wide stony beach with a perfect view of Catbells. From here we set up camp and I quickly headed into the 13 degree water. I love swimming here, and although the water clarity is poor due to New Zealand Pygmy Weed, it was a silky smooth swim. I didn’t want to get out. Perhaps I’m becoming a mermaid?

Riley seemed to enjoy his walk to Derwentwater. That next week we took him to the vets to seek advice. He was given antibiotics and probiotic paste, but the vet also mentioned a heart murmur. Hopefully, the medication will help Riley feel better. He is a 13 year old boy after-all!

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

The Easter Bunny Went for a Swim

It’s taking me a while to sit down and write this blog. To celebrate Easter, I decided to do something similar to my Christmas swim. You can read about that here. So I purchased some fluffy rabbit ears and tail and this Easter bunny went for a swim in a Snowdonian llyn.

It’s getting harder now to find accessible swims in both the Lake District and Snowdonia, but one llyn was situated not far from the car park to the Rhyd Ddu Path for Snowdon. So on the Easter weekend, David and I took an early morning trip. On arrival I was surprised at how busy the car park was. I was not aware (at first) that the car park was for one of the six trails to Snowdon. Luckily, we managed to find a space and after paying a reasonable £3 for three hours, we donned our heavy backpacks and headed across the road towards the path which would lead us to Llyn y Gader.

Llyn y Gader

The path is wheelchair accessible for most of the way and is a distance of seven miles to Beddgelert. However, we were only walking perhaps one mile to the llyn. The day was overcast yet mild. We walked through conifer forest towards the lake shore where common sandpipers were flitting about. Careful not to tread on any ground nests we scanned the water’s edge for good entrance points. There weren’t many, but I found one where I could ease myself in and manage to clamber back out again. The water was murky yet had a silky sheen to it. At 11 degrees it was the warmest swim this year! There were fish in the llyn and one jumped out of the water which freaked me out a little and before I knew it, my mind was irrationally thinking what was in the water beneath me?

I was in the water for about 15 minutes, and it was a nice swim apart from losing my rabbit ears before luckily finding them in the shallows! After I got back on dry land and dressed, while sipping a hot coffee, I watched as the steamtrain from Beddgelert to Caernarfon billowed past.

Beddgelert to Caernarfon train

Not wanting to waste the day we retraced our steps back to the car park and headed towards RSPB Conwy’s reserve where we spent an hour walking the boardwalk and spying on the wildlife.

It was a nice way to spend a Saturday.

What is your favourite place in Snowdonia?

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

A Year in Photos – 2021

I can’t quite believe it’s that time again, time to sit down and reflect on the past year. Though we have had far more freedoms than 2020, sadly Covid-19 is still hanging around and affecting daily life, be that buses not running, Asda delivery being three hours late to appointments being rescheduled. In some ways 2021 has been far more stressful than 2020, with concerns over David’s health. However, we have both tried to use our time together wisely. Like anyone’s year, we have had some ups and downs, from pet finches passing away to our boiler breaking, laughing during family games nights and silly fun during the summer in our £3 paddle pool. Below, find 12 pictures from my 2021.

January:

Our 2021 got off to a great start. Just before lockdown three was announced, David and I took a trip to Formby Beach with Riley and blew away the new year cobwebs!

riley-at-the-beach

February:

February was a slow month. Though I didn’t actively participate in Country Walking’s #walk1000miles this year, I did take daily walks. On a cold February day, I dragged a less enthused David and a more excitable Riley to our local park, Sefton to feed the coots and gulls.

feeding birds 2

March:

Though the UK was still in lockdown during March, Liverpool hosted River of Light, a trail of 11 illuminated art works dotted along the waterfront. David and I, with Riley took in some of the sculptures.

absorbed-by-light

April:

To our sadness our boiler decided to give up the ghost and broke in April. It beeped at us scarily, so we switched it off and hunted for a new one. We had had this boiler since we bought the house in 2012 and it had been used by its previous owners, so it was time for an overhaul. It took us three weeks to decided on a new replacement but ‘touch wood’ everything has been working smoothly since it’s installation.

new-boiler

May:

Eager to restart my cold water swimming season, come the Spring Bank Holiday, David and I took a two hour drive to Snowdonia, for my first swim at Llyn Gwynant!

llyn gwynant

June:

Though June is undoubtedly all about The Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild, June for me was a very traumatic month. Five years on from helping Hoppy the pigeon, and seeing her regularly since then, we took her in a second time after noticing she had become sluggish and was having difficulty flying. We fought for two long weeks to treat Hoppy but sadly we couldn’t save her, and she quietly passed away 😥 I shed many tears for this beautiful soul. She is now resting under the honeysuckle in our yarden.

hoppy and harri

July:

I revisited the Anglican Cathedral’s art instillation of thousands of Peace Doves. Each dove had a message of love or remembrance written on it. Many of the art exhibits I’ve visited this year have had light central to their displays. From the dark days of 2020 to an emergence of light in 2021?

Peace Doves

August:

August is David’s birth month and we spent his birthday walking along the paths of RSPB Leighton Moss. We never saw the bearded tits but we did have a nice walk in nature and David tried out his new telephoto lens.

david

September:

During the Covid restrictions of 2020, I had to cancel my much awaited trip to the Trossachs. Luckily, we managed to book for 2021 and in hindsight we had much better weather! I took in over 10 swims and we watched some beautiful sunsets from the loch-side cabin. It was perfect!

sunset

October:

October is my birthday month and since it’s around Halloween, I’ve always loved this time of year. For my obligatory birthday swim, I took in the tremendously inspiring Snowdon Massif from the cold waters of Llynnay Mymbyr.

Birthday swim at Llynnau Mymbyr

November:

David and I managed to get in another short break before the end of the year, and spent a few days in the Lake District. As the weather wasn’t great on our journey north, we took in a visit to Safari Zoo and saw one of my favourite animals, the red panda!

Red Panda

December:

For the past few years I have tried to do a Christmas swim but been unable to make plans. Thankfully, this year I managed to get to a very cold, misty but beautiful Bassenthwaite Lake and have my first swim in December. It was baltic!

Christmas swim at Bassenthwaite

So that was a snapshot of my year, how has your 2021 been?

I wish you all good health and happiness for the new year ahead!

Thanks for your continued support,

Christine xx

Swimming in November

Finally, I have managed to push the boundary back in terms of how long my wild swimming season lasts for. In recent years I have been wanting to see how I cope in colder temperatures. This year, I had a week off work in November, so I booked a two nights stay in our favourite Lake District B&B, Hermiston. The plan was to do a couple of swims, but where? I have sadly swam in all the accessible lakes/tarns in The Lake District and now have to gather fitness and resources to go further inland and up mountains!

Luckily, the Eskdale Valley, west of the Lakes, was a destination we had not visited before and the area seemed to be less frequented by tourists. Correct me if I am wrong! So during our stay, I planned on doing two swims. The first was Blea Tarn (the last of the three) and the second Devoke Water.

Blea Tarn:

There are three Blea Tarns, the first in the picturesque Langdale Valley, the second in Watendlath and the third in Eskdale. Eskdale’s Blea Tarn can be accessed via Beckfoot, a train station on the Ravenglass and Eskdale 15″ gauge Railway. David and I were going to park up in the station at Dalegarth but we managed to find off road parking right opposite the Beckfoot platform.

Beckfoot Crossing

After donning our backpacks, we crossed the train track and headed through a gate towards the hillside beyond. The walk only took 30 minutes, it was steep in places but not too strenuous. At the top I thought we would find Blea Water looking resplendent but we had to traipse over sphagnum moss a little further inland before the tarn appeared.

Blea Tarn

On the day the weather wasn’t very inviting, a mean wind whipped across the tarn and cloud drifted over the hills. After the restrictive swim season that was 2020, I have been desperate to just get into the water and swim. So, we quickly made camp and I stripped to my swimsuit; strapped Doughnut, my tow float to my waist and new GoPro to my chest and I was ready for a dip in chilly waters!

I had prepared myself for cold waters, but in fact Llynnau Mymbyr was much colder! I managed a 15 minute swim in Blea Tarn, though I could have swam for longer. I was weary of not being cold water aclimatised, so I stayed close to shore and had a short swim. The wind kept splashing water in my face while I gazed at the mist enshrouded hills around me. Mentally, I didn’t enjoy the swim as much as I should have, but I am glad I have managed to tick this tarn from the swim map!

Getting dry back on land was a chore with a cold wind and rain falling steadily. I think it took me as long to get dry and dressed as I did swimming! But wrapped up warmly afterwards, we headed back down the hill towards the car.

Devoke Water:

Much like during the swim at Blea Tarn the day before, the weather for the Devoke water swim was very inclement! In fact the wind was more blustery and whipped up white horses on the water!

As Devoke Water is in the same region of the Lakes as Blea Tarn, the journey from Braithwaite took just over an hour. We found roadside parking a 20 minute walk from the tarn and followed the sign post towards Devoke Water. I knew this tarn would be less popular than any other tarn I had swam in but I had thought I would have seen people on our swim/walk. However, it was just David and I who traipsed the unremarkable path towards the tarn, then tramped though marshy, wet land to a windy swim.

Devoke Water

We made camp and I took to the waters with the same enthusiasm and a little bit of nervousness I have for all of my swims. Despite the wind being raucous and throwing water into my face, I really enjoyed this swim, the wind was cold but the water wasn’t so bad. I swam for about 15-20 minutes! The scenery around Devoke Water is as bleak as it gets but occasionally there were shafts of sunlight piercing through the clouds. It’s definitely a tarn I would visit again.

Have you visited any of these tarns?

Thanks for reading,

Christine xx