Artistic views

9:48am Friday 5th September 2008

Choose a fine day to enjoy Silloth, a small quiet town with glorious views. It nestles on the Cumbrian shore of the Solway Firth, facing across the wide estuary to Dumfries and Galloway. On a still day, when the sea is calm, Criffel - Dumfries’s high hill - is pleasingly reflected in the glassy water. On a less than still day, wrap up warm and enjoy the waves breaking against the shore and the clean invigorating air racing inland. If possible, stay to watch a sunset, fine enough to be recorded for posterity by J.M.W. Turner, the landscape artist.

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Raise your eyes to the hills

10:40am Friday 29th August 2008

With its one narrow access road, the Kentmere valley remains unspoilt. It has distinct paths and deciduous woodland with some Scots pine. It has superb outcrops, huge boulders and many small streams, which you cross on well-worn stone slabs. The view of the mountains as you move into the valley is spectacular, but this walk does not seek to reach the heights but provides a delightful low-level walk, which is comparatively dry underfoot and is generally sheltered during windy weather. Just before you return, ahead of you lies Kentmere reservoir, extensive, high and remote. It is up on the slopes, above the tarn, that the River Kent rises and journeys through the Kentmere valley and on to pass through Kendal.

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Discover the glories of limestone country

9:30am Friday 15th August 2008

This is a good walk of contrasts. It starts from Settle and very soon joins a wide walled track out into the quiet undulating countryside to the south of the town. Low-level paths lead you on to the extensive deciduous woodland at Cleatop Park. Finally, more easy-to-walk walled tracks bring you to the foot of the dramatic limestone hills, above the town. Ascend these by more paths leading up through the spectacular crags to Victoria Cave. After descending on a good track, the return is made on a high-level path above the River Ribble. The river doesn’t enter Settle but, once free of the hills, divides the ancient parish of Giggleswick from the newer parish of Settle and journeys on. Park at Greenfoot car park, Settle, grid ref 810634. To access this, if driving south along the A65, leave at the turn off for Settle. Once in the pleasing town turn left just beyond traffic lights, into the market square, and bear right. Ignore the narrow lane climbing steeply and go ahead on the lower road to the car park, not marked on the OS map.

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Roughten Gill: A walk of contrasts

9:40am Friday 1st August 2008

This is an exhilarating walk whether you stride off the main track to explore the depths of Roughten Gill to enjoy its plummeting waterfalls, or if you give the gill a miss and return along the side of the river, a delightful diversion in its own right.

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Prehistoric walk

9:30am Friday 18th July 2008

The interesting brochure you can obtain from the car park at Foulshaw Moss says that more than several thousand years ago the Witherslack Mosses were part of an extensive wetland in what is now the Lyth Valley and on the flat ground west of the Kent Estuary. The Mosses - Meathop, Foulshaw and Nicols - are raised peat bogs brought about by sphagnum moss that draws up, acidifies, and holds water like a giant sponge, creating waterlogged conditions as it grows. Sphagnum grows from the tip, leaving the lower part to die. Waterlogging halts decay of these dead bits that build up and up over thousands of years, to form deep domed mounds of peat that are raised many feet above the surrounding ground. The Witherslack Mosses have dried out partly as a result of forestry and the invasion of scrub. Over time, drainage and peat cutting led to the loss of more wetland and now only significant fragments remain. Specialised peatbog flora and fauna have been unable to thrive because of the area being too shaded and too dry. Recently conifers have been removed and also masses of rhododendrons have been cleared. Hundreds of peat and plastic dams have been installed to bring about the ‘sponge’ effect of the peat. At Foulshaw, the remains of a 15ft to 16ft wide prehistoric trackway has been uncovered. This is believed to have been constructed in the mid-Bronze Age to allow people to cross the once huge wetland. Trunks of ash and birch were laid side by side and supported on logs. Foulshaw Moss is open to the public. Nichols Moss, a really squelchy one, is only suitable for a hundred yards or so before you encounter pathless very wet moss. It is a delight to stand and look ahead but as there is no walkway do not continue. Pause just on its edge from where you might spot red deer. Meathop is a lovely walk but only for those with a permit from Cumbria Wildlife Trust or if you are a member. The parking is difficult. After the first short grassy track, follow a wider track, left, that winds round right by a pasture and into fine conifer woodland. Beyond this a wide walkway takes you out some distance into the moss, from where you will spot all sorts of interesting lowly plants. To visit Foulshaw Moss, on the A590, it is best to approach the entrance from the direction of Kendal. If coming from the opposite direction continue on past the entrance and make use of the Levens underpass to make a U-turn and approach from the north. This avoids trying to make a right turn across a narrow section of the busy A-road. The entrance is not signposted until you have turned off the road. The entrance turn, a cart track, lies just before a large layby on a narrow section of the A-road. Just beyond the turn, stands a huge sign saying ‘Dual carriageway a mile ahead’. To approach the entrance, drive the dual carriageway at Levens until it ends. Continue a short distance along the two-way road and begin to signal your left turn. Watch out for the large sign ahead. If you reach the layby you have gone too far.

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Early bird ramble

9:34am Friday 4th July 2008

p>Leighton Moss is England’s largest reed bed. It is located in a delightful wooded valley, its limestone floor covered with marine clay, overlaid with peat. Water from the surrounding hills drains into the valley and forms three main meres. About these grow the extensive reed beds which have to be controlled to prevent them encroaching upon the open water. The RSPB visitor centre has several bird-watching hides, overlooking the shallow meres, from where you might see bearded tits, marsh harriers, see or hear bitterns, and many more. Four of the hides are accessible to disabled visitors. The public hide gives you a welcome pause near the end of this walk. Park in the large car park opposite the Visitor Centre, grid ref 477751. If approaching from Kendal or Lancaster, the Visitor Centre is well signposted from the A6. There are good bus connections close to Silverdale train station or, of course you could take the train. The station is very close to the centre.

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New route opens

3:26pm Monday 23rd June 2008

Tarn Hows is now reconnected with the home of its creator. In 1835 the Monk Coniston estate was sold by the Knott family to James Garth Marshall and he was responsible for the creation of Tarn Hows. After his fortune declined, the house and gardens were sold to a Mr J.P. Bradshaw, in 1926. The rest of the estate, including all farmland and Tarn Hows, was purchased in 1930 by Beatrix Potter. She sold half of this at cost price to the National Trust (NT), which bought the land with a large donation by Sir Samuel Scott of Windermere. The remainder was passed to the NT after Beatrix’s death in 1943. In 1945 the NT purchased the hall and gardens, re-uniting the estate once more. Since then, Monk Coniston Hall has been leased by the NT to HF Holidays, and the hall and grounds have been closed to the general public. The hall remains private, but part of the original Victorian path, from Coniston Water to Tarn Hows, has been reopened by the NT whose staff, with the help of many volunteers, have worked hard clearing the grounds and vegetation. All this work has been supported by a £450,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant and £20,000 of Lake Distict Sustainability Fund grants. Walkers can access the start of this new route from the car park at the head of Coniston Water, grid ref 316978, reached by taking the A593 from Ambleside south to Coniston, or by taking the Steam Yacht Gondola to Monk Coniston Jetty.

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Norman conquest

9:47am Friday 6th June 2008

From either end of Wensleydale, Middleham is reached by a hill. The town grew up around the great Norman castle. Find time to walk through the two market places, both with a cross. Wander the cobbled alleys. Visit the church dedicated to St Mary and St Alkelda, the latter a saint who was strangled for refusing to renounce her faith. Middleham was once the home of a king. Today this lovely small town is renowned in the racing world for the breeding and training of horses.

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Bridging the gaps

10:17am Friday 23rd May 2008

The village of Threlkeld straggles across the lower slopes of Gategill Fell and, behind its cottages, soar the dramatic ridges of Blencathra. Across the valley lies Clough Head towering over Threlkeld Knotts. Through the low pastures between the two giants flows the delightful, Celtic-named River Glenderamackin, which shares the valley with the disused Penrith to Workington railway track, today a glorious walkway along the side of the River Greta, formed when the Glenderamackin joins with St John's Beck.

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RocknRolla opens Canadian festival

Updated 3:34pm Saturday 6th September 2008

Guy Ritchie's new film, RocknRolla, had its premiere across the pond at the opening night of the Toronto International Film Festival.

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