July 17th, 2010
This blog and associated website – www.lakelandbelvedere.com – was launched just over a year ago and we have had lots of favourable comments about the site and the contents.
Today’s blog post represents a bit of a milestone – it’s the 50th entry since we started! We’ve not quite met the deadline we set of a posting every week, but we haven’t been too far short.
Like everyone else in the blogosphere we’d like people to read our posts, whether or not they want to stay at The Larches or visit the Belvedere. We like feedback as it helps us respond and find out what people are interested in.
The blog is intended to provide local news and colour, help build awareness about the environment, provide practical advice on fellside gardening and link you to events and issues affecting other areas and countries.
If you are reading this blog now or have done before and have:
• Enjoyed hearing about news from Cumbria
• Learnt about green and sustainability issues
• Got good ideas of Lake District walks or activities
• Been interested in our History of Belvederes section
• Used the foreign newspapers section in our virtual café
• Had your own children find things of interest on the website
• Checked out our Rooftop Buildings of the World photo gallery
• Liked our recommendations given for cafés, restaurants & shops
…then you can help us! There are three simple things you can do:
1. Email the address of the blog and website to a friend
2. Write a comment or suggestion on any of our blog posts
3. Get put on our email list for whenever we post a blog – just email us with the words: “Subscribe lakelandbelvedere.com”
Tags: "Green policies", "Lake District walks", Lake District cottage, Thornthwaite
Posted in Environment, The Larches | 2 Comments »
June 24th, 2010
Any time after midnight this coming Saturday you’re likely to see a motley bunch of enthusiasts outside Keswick’s Moot Hall ‘straining upon the start’. The reason? We’re just past the shortest night of the year – the optimum time for fell runners to test themselves on the rigours of the Bob Graham Round (BGR).
To join the select group of successful BGR completers, you have to cover on foot a journey of 66 miles involving 26,000 feet of ascent and of descent whilst climbing 42 Lakeland peaks in under 24 hours. It’s a tough test of endurance.
Yesterday I was out on the Langdale fells with our friend Raj and Ahmed, one of his support runners, fine tuning the route for Raj’s attempt on the BGR this coming weekend. Raj is raising money for the National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society, a charity supporting sufferers from this rare and debilitating disease. If you wish to support the charity you can donate by clicking here on the Just Giving site.
Apart from being super fit for the BGR, runners need to have the terrain and bearings hard wired into their brains. Smart route finding – cutting four or five minutes off each peak covered – can bring you three hours saved on your overall time.
We had a great scramble up via Gimmer Crag to Pike of Stickle (see photo above of Raj with the Pike on the right) and discovered a new line to Rossett Pike, saving 15 minutes on Raj’s last visit. This augurs well for the weekend and the 18 hours’ target time for the Round.
The pictures below catch the flavour of the day. On the left two possible routes are proposed and on the right the intrepid couple head off through the cloud with Ruby to climb Bow Fell.
POSTSCRIPT
Raj had an excellent day, but had to finish at Wasdale, about two-thirds of the full Bob Graham Round. By then he had covered 41 miles and climbed just under 18,000 feet. He’s learnt a lot from the experience and plans to make a second attempt on 4th June 2011.
Tags: "Lake District walks", Lake District cottage, Lake District walks Latrigg, Skiddaw, Thornthwaite
Posted in Local news, Walking | No Comments »
March 16th, 2010
We’ve seen them occasionally, but rabbits generally are not frequent visitors in Seldom Seen. However this last week we’ve had several sightings round the cottage. We’re not sure if it is one or two of them – and it’s an important point. Maybe they have been driven to higher ground following the winter floods.
We soon found the reason though. A pile of earth and slate chips (see foreground of the photos below) had been heaped up into the small herb garden – dug out from a hole, which dived deep under the newly created south lawn. It didn’t take long to find who was responsible as our Peter Rabbit was on shift duty all afternoon, collecting moss for a new comfortable burrow.
The pictures tell the story and now we are left with a problem. Rabbits and vegetable growing don’t go well together and planting is due to start this week in the new raised bed.
POSTSCRIPT – 17th March: The hole and the rabbit mystery deepens
Less than 24 hours after taking the photos above we returned today to the rabbit hole to discover that it had been completely filled in with a layer of moss placed on top covering the earth. Does anyone know what has happened here? It was not the work of any humans we are sure. We assume that yesterday was the work of a female rabbit – Petra not Peter! – creating a nest for her expected litter. Did she cover the hole in because the site was too busy or is she in the burrow, having been covered in by a mate? There is no obvious alternative exit that we can see. Let us have your answers and ideas on this.
Tags: 2009 November floods, Lake District cottage, Thornthwaite
Posted in The Larches, Wildlife | 2 Comments »
December 30th, 2009
You may remember ‘dreaming of a white Christmas’, but it’s not often these days that the snow actually falls on the right day. This year though it’s been different with cold weather and lots of snow – and ice – across Cumbria.
It’s not been great for driving and hundreds have been treated after falls on icy pavements and roads. But for children the snow has been a treat as this picture opposite shows as a young girl and her mother race down Coledale Common on a Christmas Day toboggan.
The second picture shows Skiddaw on Christmas day with a fine cover of snow. We remember it last like this sixteen years ago (see below), with snow covering the road outside The Larches and a snowy background behind. Though the front hedge at The Larches looks a little different, not much else has changed in Seldom Seen. It’s still a quiet retreat away from it all with marvellous views of the distant fells.
Tags: "Climate change", "Lake District walks", Braithwaite, Lake District walks Barrow, Thornthwaite
Posted in Local news, The Larches | No Comments »
December 29th, 2009
We’ve always thought that The Larches is in a great position at the foot of Whinlatter Forest but now we know that it’s also just minutes away from what is recognised as one of the region’s principal new sporting attractions – the Altura and Quercus MTB mountain bike trails, which start at the Forest Visitor Centre. The map below shows the position of the cottage just below the start of the MTB trails.
According to a report in the News and Star (28 December 2009) 12,000 people have tackled the new 7½ km Quercus trail and 10,000 have done the longer 19 km Altura route.
Bikes for renting are available at the Centre and there are opportunities also for coaching. There are plenty of other biking routes in the vicinity too, both on bridleways and on local roads. Books in The Larches’ library provide good examples and there is room to store bikes securely in the garage.
Tags: "Altura Trail", "Mountain biking", Thornthwaite, Whinlatter
Posted in Local news, The Larches | No Comments »
This blog and associated website – www.lakelandbelvedere.com – was launched just over a year ago and we have had lots of favourable comments about the site and the contents.
If you are reading this blog now or have done before and have:
