Introducing an "Unreserved Reserve” - Brockholes Nature Reserve Preston

Brockholes Nature Reserve Preston is an innovative new reserve opened earlier in 2011 alongside the River Ribble where it is bridged by the M6 motorway, just outside Preston in Lancashire. Based around the old gravel pits it includes a floating visitor centre with shops, displays and conference centre. I've written more on the Around-England. That article is part of a series on "Nature in the North".

via Around-England

Tracks by the Eden

I did two short and easy walks with my wife last weekend in the Upper Eden Valley near Kirkby Stephen. The second one, which I'm planning to blog about in the near future, was along the track bed of the dismantled Stainmore Line at Smardale. There is now a National Nature Reserve where the Smardale Viaduct of the Settle-Carlisle railway crosses Scandal Beck, an Eden tributary.

The earlier walk was on the same old railway track but a little to the east between Stenkrith and Hartley, starting by the spectacular Stenkrith falls under the Millennium Bridge.

Both of these walks are very easy, being on the level. I've blogged about the Stenkrith walk on my main Around-England.co.uk blog. The Eden Valley is a special place for walking. There are so many options, from easy walks like these to more strenuous routes such as those up Mallerstang and along to Nine Standards Rigg, or on the opposite side of the upper valley up to the cairns on Wild Boar Fell. One of my aspirations is to follow the course of the River Eden and to photograph all bridges and its feeder becks from Hellgill Force to Temple Sowerby, and maybe later to the coast.

Lake District Disappointment

I was extremely disappointed today at the decision of the planning committee at the Lake District National Park to reject the proposal by Honister Slate Mine to install a modern "Zip Wire" close to the position of the the one built in the 1920s for carrying slate.  This one would have carried people, that is those people who had previously climbed up the Via Ferrata, and who now would glide back down on the wire.

This would have been an excellent addition to the existing visitor facilities and was expected to appeal to, and increase the numbers of Cumbria's younger visitors. The decision today was extremely shortsighted.  I have dealt with the general principles as I see them in a long Opinion Piece "To Protect? Or To Preserve?" on my Around-England blog. I also commented on the Guardian North of England blog.

Lake District needs to be protected, and especially from those who want to hold back sensible tourism development. If it stays the same, without innovation, the economy of the county will slowly die.  I know there are some who believe that they're fighting for the public interest versus economic growth.  The fact is, however, that economic growth and the public interest of the people of Cumbria are on the same side. The development had the support of the County Council and the Tourist Board among many others. I have to ask which "public" is going to benefit from this backward-looking decision.  A sad day!

 

Lake District Walking Holidays

The English Lake District is one of the most popular destinations for walkers, especially hillwalkers, in the country. My new site now has a section to help plan your Lake District walking holiday.

Included in that section of the bookstore are books that give good advice on how to walk safely in the hills. See this article on the site blog on avoiding a fate as a statistic of the mountain rescue service. Walk safely.

Cumbria West and North

It is no insult to the Lake District to say that often I wish when reading about Cumbria there was less emphasis on the central Lake District locations and more attention given to the outer areas of the county. They get a rough deal.

In the past I've blogged about the Eden Valley but yesterday I spent part of the day visiting Workington, Maryport and Cockermouth. I have to say that the Workington visit was not too successful as the place I wanted to see was closed. My walk around Maryport harbour area, though, was very enjoyable as was a visit to the Senhouse Roman Museum.

I'll be writing more about it shortly but last night wrote a short piece on Cockermouth on the Around-England blog.

Lake District Guide Books

Since popular tourism developed in the nineteenth century there have been many Lake District guide books published. Today there is a wide range to choose from. I've put a a selection on my "Lake District in Books" site.

Click here: Lake District Guide Books

This is just one of the sections on the site. In addition to the main book pages there is also a blog with brief reviews of other Lake District books most of which are now out of print.

Kirkby Lonsdale and Derwentwater

In the past couple of days, following a brief break during introduction of the new site layout, I've returned to posting on the main Around-England blog. The first was a photo-walk in Kirkby Lonsdale, including the beautiful view of the Lune Valley so highly praised by John Ruskin in the 1870s and nowadays known as Ruskin's View.

The second refers to a walk by Derwentwater yesterday evening. I posted a photo immediately on returning home. It was a beautiful Lake District evening, yet another example of the unpredictability of Cumbrian weather, this time for the better; yesterday morning I could not have predicted that my wife and I would have been strolling by the water's edge in evening sunshine.