Bluebells and fairy dells

The Hadrian's Wall Path crosses the Poltross Burn (NY634662) and heads on up to the Roman Fort known as the King's Stables, and just out of sight as you cross the the Poltross Bridge is a pretty little waterfall, surrounded by lush green ferns just as you would imagine a fairy dell. It's not that easy to access, involving climbing over old fallen trees and mossy rocks but if you're agile then it's doable.

I'm getting on a bit, and as my husband is fond of saying in a voice dripping with sarcasm, 'I'm as agile as a mountain goat'. I got along to the waterfall but I had trouble getting back and ended up having to slide down a steep slope on my bottom, which resulted in a mud covered behind, and blessings being counted that there were no big rocks to impeed my progess down the slope!

My plan had been to head out today checking the status of the bluebells, on my calendar for the last couple of years Gilsland Bluebells have been at their best on the 12th of May. This year they're going to be about three weeks earlier, the buds are forming and in one or two very sheltered spots flowers are out already.

Coomb Crag Woods (NY593650) between Banks and Birdoswald is another good wood for Bluebells,normally flowering a week in advance of the Gilsland woods, it's a nice place to walk in any season. There are some inscriptions in the rocks and the Romans did quarry stone for Hadrian's Wall there so it has a bit of history.

Irthing Gorge, (NY634678) behind the Gilsland Spa hotel is probably the most easily accessed area of bluebells, park in the hotel car park head down into the wood, cross the Spa bridge and turn left into the area with the birch trees.

I'll keep checking and update you on the best time to visit. The Spa Hotel does a very good carvery on Sunday so maybe you can enjoy a bluebell walk and a meal.

Easter Monday

Well the weather didn't let us down - another nice day on Hadrian's Wall.

I took a walk from Gilsland to Greenhead, up over Temple Mount, down past Barron House Farm, Thirlwall Castle (there's a 'farmhouse tea' at the farm next to the Castle) and on to Greenhead.

The Old Forge Cafe is now fully open so it was the perfect excuse to stop for coffee and carrot cake. I know I mentioned diet yesterday but that carrot cake leapt out at me screaming 'eat me, eat me', so I did.

We walked back along the Hadrian's Wall Path, there are a number of stiles along the way and whoever set them up must have 6ft long legs because the bottom step on all of them is too high especially if like me you have knees that no longer bend very well!

Come this evening and it looked to be shaping up for a nice sunset so once again it was on with the walking boots and away we go.

Destination this evening was Steel Rigg, I wanted to go up onto Peel Crags so that if there was any good colour in the sky I would have the option to shoot looking east or west. They're repairing the dry stone walls on top of the Crags and I have to say they're making a first class job of it, hope they (The stones not the drystone wallers :)) can withstand those Galloway cows rubbing against them. One morning last year I was out for a sunrise when the cows were on top of the crag and it was a constant clattering of stones being loosened.

The footpaths alongside the Wall are really worn already this year, goodness knows how they'll look in a few months time. With walkers all year round the paths don't have a chance to recover and I know most of them were reseeded this last autumn.

Got to the bit of turf Wall (NY759677) and set up the camera, little bit of colour in the sky but there's not yet any real warmth in the sunset so I took a few shots and then packed up. Still the hard climb up and down Peel Crags will have helped burn off some of those calories I hope.

Catch you later.

Sycamore Gap

Ah, Sycamore Gap, I knew I'd get around to it eventually - it's one of my favourite spots on the Wall and when I first moved to Gilsland I couldn't wait to get out there and get my shot.

I've taken hundreds of pictures of the tree since that first one, and each time it looks different.

On Tuesday I passed there on my way to meet a friend in Simonburn, the clouds were wonderful, big and stormy but of course I couldn't stop, places to go and people to see.

Sometimes it's referred to as the 'Robin Hood Tree' because it was used in the Kevin Costner movie, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. I've not actually seen the film but apparently Robin got off the boat at Dover and in minutes was here in front of the tree, someone mentioned he had a monkey with him but maybe they were kidding me.

I get asked for directions to the 'Robin Hood' tree more than any other spot on the Wall and, while the photographs normally show it from the south or the north so it's growing between the two hills, that's not the view you get when walking the Wall.

I've heard from some of the local B&B's that they've had to drive walkers back along the Military Road so they can confirm that they did in fact pass that spot.

It's halfway between Crag Lough and Steel Rigg ( grid Ref: NY761677)

Park at the NNPA car park at Steel Rigg and climb up onto Peel Crags, follow the path along until you come to a tree growing on the line of the Wall -it's a lovely place to stop for a picnic on a nice day.

Catch you later.

19th March 2009 pm

Will it be a good sunset?

Only one way to find out, I grabbed the gear and headed off back to Hadrian's Wall.

My first intention was to head to Cawfields but as I approached Walltown I decided that would do nicely.
The Hadrian's Wall Path people have put in a superb footpath up Mucklebank Crag, using bolders and stones making a stairway to the top.

You get great views west from the slopes of Mucklebank, and at this time of the year it's spot on for the position of the sun setting.

I trotted along past Walltown Farm and cut up past King Arthur's Well ( yes, THAT King Arthur, he was really a Northumbrian King) and up the new path until I got just above the turret there, looking back west over Walltown Crags.
There were two or three sheep beautifully placed so I settled down to wait for the sun to set.

It was just about where I wanted it when I heard the sound of a quad bike and over the hill comes William from Walltown Farm, whistling and shouting instructions to his dogs, herding his ewe's to the lower pastures for the night.

I was surrounded by charging woolly backs and dogs.They all disappeared over the brow of the hill just as the sun went down.
Not my day ;)
I did get one or two shots that I can keep so it wasn't a complete waste.
Here's one of the sheep posing for me before their undignified exit.

Catch you later,

JoT

15 03 09

Sunday and not a bad day weather wise.

There's a shot of Mucklebank Crags I'd like to get but it needs a figure in the shot to give it the right scale.(Mucklebank Crags are the two bumps in the distance on this photograph of Walltown Crags)

I head off to Walltown, I thought I'd be tripping over mating toads as usual at this time of the year but I don't see any at all, shame as I'd like some toadspawn for my pond. Toads return to the pond they were 'born' in, often travelling miles overland to get there.

I take the gentle incline around the lake and head up towards Hadrian's Wall and the gnarly hawthorn tree.

Photographers all claim this little tree as their own, but of course they're wrong, it's my tree :)

With a good cloudscape it can make a spectacular shot but today's is pretty average. Of course that doesn't stop me taken half a dozen anyway in case the camera sees something I don't.

Wander along following the line of Hadrian's Wall, Walltown has some fairly sunstantial chunks of Wall and they are fairly easy to access, as long as you can climb up to them.

The views across towards the Solway are amazing, you can see into Scotland on a clear day, nearer the views are across Longbyre and Gilsland.

The light is coming and going and there aren't many people about, certainly not as many as I expected. I catch some sheep grazing in the dip and set up the tripod. Don't know who has been training them but, as soon as they see a camera, they turn their backs like reluctant celebrities. I take shots all the way along the crest of Walltown Crags,although they're not my favourite type of photograph, you never know when you might need a simple sunny day shot.

I eventually get along the top of Walltown Crags to the spot I need for my shot of Mucklebank Crag, a bit of twoing and froing before I'm happy with the composition and then I wait for someone to come along.

A pheasant wanders across the view, stopping to cluck at me but not at all afraid, not quite the figure I had in mind.

Wouldn't you just know it - the sun goes in, and this time it stays in as big banks of cloud blow in from the west.

Putting a mental 'x' marks the spot I pack up and head back to the car. As often happens as I'm heading back streams of folk appear, I suppose I was being optomistic to think they'd be out before 10am on a Sunday :)

Not long until Easter, if the weather is good to us I'll get my shot then and I know exactly where to stand for it.

I was back home by 2pm for a nice cup of coffee and a Werthers. In a week or so's time the Old Forge Tea Room in Greenhead will re-open after a refit, I've heard they do amazing cupcakes, something to look forward to.