Coming soon but going back...

 (Pix credit 53A Models of Hull Collection)

Arrangements are in place to be away next week so we might was well start with something more historic that ties in, nay the historic, small railway station at Arnside, Westmorland not far from what will be our home base.

That I believe is a diesel local train passing around 1970 when I remember seeing and hearing a lot of that sort of train.

In the background is Morecambe Sands while in the town, you can see from the main street the viaduct over it.

I rather like it.

Lindeth Tower

There were a number of places nearby I visited last week and this was one.

Lindeth Tower stands on an elevated site on the fringes of the picturesque Lancashire coastal village of Silverdale and offers stunning views across the sands of Morecambe Bay and the mountains of the Lake District.

Lindeth Tower was once a favourite writing retreat of the Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell, and today the Tower provides peaceful and secluded self-catering holiday accommodation close to Leighton Moss bird reserve and within the Arnside & Silverdale AONB.

Looking out

 

While the weather certainly could of been better while away last week it did allow for some exploring and appreciation of views such as early evening view across Morecombe Bay such as this with the famous sands in full view.

Here the impact of modern Windfarms generating electricity can be see with the pylons of the National Grid and commercial development of this stretch of coast in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The base camp view

Here is the view from the front of the guest house I was staying in showing the dry stone walls of the nearby fields which has not been cut with the bay very much in view one one of the drier moments.

Dove House

Dove Cottage is a house on the edge of Grasmere in the Lake District of England which I really like.

It is best known as the home of the poet William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy Wordsworth from December 1799 to May 1808, where they spent over eight years of "plain living, but high thinking".

William throughout  this period wrote much of the poetry for which he is remembered today, including his "Ode: Intimations of Immortality", "Ode to Duty", "My Heart Leaps Up" and "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud", together with parts of his autobiographical epic, The Prelude. 

William Wordsworth married his wife Mary in 1802, and she and her sister joined the Wordsworths at Dove Cottage. 

The family quickly expanded, with the arrival of three children in four years, and the Wordsworths left Dove Cottage in 1808 to seek larger lodgings.

Today it has a Grade 1 listing and sees some 70,000 visitors per year.

Exploring - Conclusion

 

One thing you can't easily miss is livestock grazing very contentedly even if one member here seems to be thinking he's due a performance fee judging by his expression.

A bit father up, is the delights of the stream at Newby Bridge, Westmoreland which appears to be flowing quite rapidly on a overcast day.

The days away even with the restrictions we felt were necessary such as avoiding areas of very high visitor numbers and making sure there was good airflow at the guesthouse we stayed provided an opportunity to just relax and recover from the worries of the last eighteen or so months with the countryside helping to south jangled nerves.

Exploring - laneside recollections

Imagine setting out with Morecombe Bay in the distance with such lovely fields and you may understand why I loved it so much

Even out of woodland trails, you find yourself walking single file along narrow country roads such as this one that leads to Arnside with pretty wild flowers growing along the drystone walls.

The lakes are something else.

Exploring - talking a walk around

 

One thing you cannot go far without encountering are traditional drystone walls that criss-cross many a field such as this.

I noticed quite a variety of different tree species while exploring the area probably helped by the relatively high rainfall in this part of England.

A good number of properties in the area are made from stone such as this big rambling house I observed making my way towards Arnside, the details of which you can observe through the trees in the ground.

There were a good number of wild flowers to be found helped again by the climate and a relative lack of pollution.

The odd small circle you may spot in the pictures is from the rainstorms when taken and necessitated a drying out and cleaning after use of the camera.