Dru and Stephen wanted to show me around the lower lakes area of this county of Cumbria. There was a big burst of sun during the month of May, so a few outings were called for!
One day we went to Arnside - that's where we saw the boat called Driftwood that you saw in last week's post. It's a grand sort of place.
It has something of a seaside resort feel to it, although it is really on more of a wide estuary, where the River Kent joins Morecambe Bay. (It's the estuary with the summery shimmer that I am showing you - the luscious red sporty wheels are incidental... any day dreams of riding the lakesides with the wind in my fur are my business and mine alone....ahem....)
Another day was a ramble on Barbon Fell. This was a little bit more familiar to me. Hillsides and burns - or as they are called around here, 'becks'. Little runs of water not quite big enough to be called a river. Barbon Beck was a welcome sight for hot paws.
My new hubro, E, did take me up two local Wainwrights another day. That was definitely more of a challenge and closer to the sort of outings Gail would take me on. I really enjoyed that and, despite the dry weather, managed to get a bit of ditch-diving done. That's the only photo I have from that outing...
I like Wainwrights. It's not quite the same as Corbetts or Monroes, but it's still a good workout. I was quite ready for a nap when we got back.
Now you are wondering about the names? Well, the 214 fells documented in Alfred Wainwright's "Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells" range in height from 300 meters (985 feet) for Castle Crag to 978 meters (3210 feet) for Scafell Pike.
By comparison, Corbetts are Scottish mountains over 2,500 feet (762 metres) and under 3,000 feet (914.4 metres), with a drop of at least 500 feet (152 metres) between each listed hill and any adjacent higher one. There are 222 summits classified as Corbetts, and they are named after John Rooke Corbett, who originally listed them.
Then there are the magnificent Monroes. A Munro is a Scottish mountain with an elevation of more than 3,000 feet (914 metres). These lofty peaks take their name from Sir Hugh Munro (1856–1919), whose groundbreaking list of the 283 highest mountains in Scotland was first published as Munro’s Tables in the Scottish Mountaineering Club’s journal in 1891.
I wonder what the highest hill/mountain is that any of you have walked/climbed?
Other than this, the daily walk near home often brings us along the Lancaster Canal, where, once again, I can have a refreshing and cleansing dip!