Carol and I headed across to Tebay last Friday for a NNAS committee meeting.
I was acting as duty driver and intended heading to Bessybeck trout fishery  to do some research :-))
I said my hello's had a quick cuppa and wandered off up the road. The sun was cracking the flags when I got there but there was a bit breeze to put a ripple on the water. I caught up with Ian the owner, we both used to fish on the Border Esk for many years, night fishing for Seatrout, one of my all time favourite occupations.
 Not a day I'd choose to go fishing he said as we watched the sun glinting of the water. Research, I assured him, Carol and I are thinking of bringing a family on Sunday, who want to learn to fish. Ian suggested we fish the Mallard lake as he had a large group of youngsters also fishing on Sunday. I went off  to test my flies in the Island Lake, another half dozen hopeful's were whipping the water with only the odd fish leaping out. Not really feeding, no one was having any success. I noticed after a while fishy noses appearing now and again in the ripples of the aerator fountain that was being thrashed to death with a huge green lure by a young lad  (well he was probably in his forties;-0) . He wandered off and gave me an odd look as I quickly moved in to replace him. I cast close to the fountain and the ripples were quickly pushing my flies outwards, as I saw a nose dimple the surface taking my fly, I tightened into a nice rainbow trout. My smug smile was replaced by a frown as the fish turned and spat  out my offering. I checked my three small north country spiders and ginked them up, two or three false casts in the air to dry the flies so they would float and I dropped them back along side the aerator. I could see one fly in the ripple, but not the other two, a gentle swirl beyond my fly made me wonder? No need to wonder as the line in my fingers tightened. YES... quickly turn to no???? as the line went slack?? I checked my flies again, ritually blew on each one in turn to clear the water they had picked up as the fish had drowned them. I cast a third time and again it was an action replay.  Somewhat bemused I watched some large dark olives dancing up and down on the breeze. I decided to change one of my flies and  try again. Greenwells Glory, you little beauty, you, I saw it sat wings upright riding the waves like a galleon in full sail, and a great big mouth came and slurped it in. I tightened the line and the fish moved down and away after a few anxious minutes I had a beautiful 4lb rainbow trout in the net.
All to soon it was time to pick up Carol from Tebay, the score for the day 6 all, six hooked and lost, and six in the bag. Another excellent day at Bessybeck.

 

For more information about places to fish in the lakes see the link below.
http://www.lakedistrictfishing.net/component/option,com_chsearch/Itemid,8/lang,en/index.php?option=com_mtree&task=viewlink&link_id=12&Itemid=8

This morning Carol and I headed out to climb on Buckbarrow. I know as we leave the road its going to be a short sharp shock. Not far though, about 15 mins of steep grass through the bracken and then bouldery scree to the bottom of the buttress. As the grass steepens I put my head down put, "my brain in neutral and my legs in low range". I smile as I do it and I am transported back to Rossett Ghyll in the late sixties. We had been sat in the ODG early evening enjoying a pint after a days climbing, when Sid Cross appeared through the door in the bottom bar. There's a rescue on and we need some volunteers, I raised my hand with a couple of others. Sid Cross looked me up and down " how many pints have you had?" Two I said, he went round the other volunteers, OK lads come round the back and we'll take your names. Into the rescue hut and we were entered on to the team sheet. There would be about 10 of us altogether 4 volunteers and 6 team members. There's a casualty just this side of Esk Hause and we're going up to carry him off. Oh the innocence of youth?? We got a ride along Mickleden in a Landie, bliss, at the bottom of Stake we stopped, someone asked if I would mind carrying the stretcher? In fact it was only half a stretcher, in fact half of one of the first Bell stretchers.
We went straight up Rossett, I was just behind Sid Cross and as he turned I said "This is steep, why don't we go up the packhorse route??" "We used to walk over here every weekend t'Wasdale Head" he mused a moment, "Just put your brain in neutral and your legs in low range and we'll be at the top in no time" he just smiled and plodded on.  That piece of advice has served me well and has been sagely handed down for over forty years. It still makes me smile.

My mind refuses to go into neutral as we head towards Buckbarrow carefully watching every footstep I begin to check off the tiny flowers hiding in the grass " Eyebright Carol?" more of a question than a statement. No I think it's Milkwort comes the reply, we're busy taking about different types of Milkwort when I hear "Lady's Bedstraw" then a clack clack just like two stones being clapped together. I look up just in front of me and see the white rump of a Wheatear as it flits up through the gorse and onto a boulder with another clack clack. This seems to turn my hearing on and I can hear a constant  "Little bit of bread and no cheese, Little bit of bread and no cheese" as two or three Yellowhammers are proclaiming their territories and in amongst it is the rising and falling song of the Meadow pipit. I climb ever upwards watching my feet passing through a myriad of small flowers and listening to the song of the fellside. A quick stumble through a group of large boulders and we are at the bottom of our climb.
I look up properly for the first time to take in the view back across the valley, along the Screes to Scafell, Scafell Pike has a thin veil of grey across it and is fast disappearing. The rains on its way. We quickly get our harnesses on and rack up, I get to the top of the climb and bring up Carol, as she arrives the first drops arrive. "Its raining" she says, "Drizzling" say I and we head back down to the sacs. It seems to have dried up and the veil of rain on the Scafells has gone. We set off up the next climb, a blunt arête with no gear for about15 feet and slightly damp lichen. As I get to the top of the route large drops of rain start to splat around me as I set up the belay anchors. As I take the rope in to bring up Carol I wonder how slippery those first 15 ft will be. After an initial start Carol goes back and then her helmet is quickly appearing at the top, as she climbs out of the top I notice she is now wearing rock slippers not the walking boots that I left her in. "It was wet" she declared.  It was raining as we stripped the belays and coiled the rope, and very slippery as we headed down the boulders and scree to the sacs. That's us, harnesses and gear put in sacs and Offski.

Not bad, two enjoyable  little routes and back home for lunch.

The early bird catches the ....

On Saturday morning I set off on my new dog walk with the pups. We walked through the bracken along to Greendale then up Greendale Ghyll heading for Tongue Gill as we got to Joss's seat the pups spotted a blackbird. On closer inspection, which was difficult as he was moving away from us, he appeared to be wearing his dinner jacket??? or, he had a white bib?? I struggled to see properly. With a little buzz of excitement I thought to myself  "I'm sure that was a Ring Ouzel", but I couldn't swear to it, and he'd gone. We carried onto Tongue Gill scouring the hillside for any sign of him or his mate, but no such luck. Having had a quick drink from the beck, we came back round the path under Buckbarrow heading for home. With eyes scouring the hillside and ears pricked, I began to tune in to the various bird song. Most of the scrawny hawthorns seemed to have a yellow hammer sat in the top proclaiming " Little bit of bread and no cheese", this reminded me of my father and walks in the Ribble valley. As I mused on family walks around Clitheroe and Chatburn, I heard a shrill tweet tweet. My ears pricked and strained to catch more, but all I could hear was the chit chat of chaffinches and skylarks singing as they climbed high over head. Above the larks I could hear the soft mewing of a Buzzard as I look for the noise I could see three of them circling high above the crag, calling to each other. As I watched them, two large black birds crossed the crag face, one of them performing aerobatics flipping upside down calling caa caa to each other. The size and rasping call and the wedge tail, it was a pair of raven performing their bonding flights. As we approached the road I stopped and grabbed the pups collars as a runner came along the road. I'm not sure he would appreciate the attention of two adoring Border Collie pups. As I did there was a commotion on the crag obviously something had disturbed the jackdaws that live in the crack line half way up the crag. the cawing filled the air, and I turned just in time to see a peregrine falcon swooping through the group of jackdaws. They had obviously gone too close to the peregrines nest. I looked to the runner to see his reaction, but he was in his own little world. Was it pain or concentration I wondered. I've been there... But as he passed me I noticed the earphones, I smiled and nodded as he went past, I hope he was listening to something good, because he was missing the sounds and sights of the world at its best......
Back in the office and a quick trip to the RSPB website and my tweet tweet definitely sounded like a Ring Ouzel.
On Sunday evening Carol and I took the pups out for their walk and in the gloaming of dusk we were treated to an almost continuous Tweet Tweet as we walked back from Tongue Gill. We never saw hide nor hair of the bird, but he seemed to follow us all the way across the front of Buckbarrow.

This link will take you to the RSPB site and Ring Ouzel page, you can listen to the tweet tweet of the Ring Ouzel. You will hear them between Wasdale and Ennerdale. Red Pike, Scoat Fell, Mirk Cove and through to Revelin Crag on Crag Fell. You might even see one if your lucky.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/r/ringouzel/index.aspx

carolclimb FACEBOOK

Catch up with on FACEBOOK

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Carolclimb-Outdoor-Adventures/176740729017597

Finally reaccessed my blog

For some reason I have been unable to access my blog. But now I will try and update it.

Fix the Fells 2011 Video http://vimeo.com/18388709

Love them or Hate them pitched paths are unforetunately needed given the present huge footfall across the Lake District.

This short film helps explain the whys and wherefores.

http://vimeo.com/18388709

Please support Fix the Fells, for more information how you can help, click the link below.

http://www.fixthefells.co.uk/

Help Save Our Forests

If you enjoy the Forests of Cumbria and England. Please take a few moments to read this blog.

Please help stop the Government selling off the Forestry Commission forests. This could severely affect the open access to these fantastic resorces we currently enjoy.

Please write to;

Caroline Spellman - Minister for the Environment  mailto:spellmanc@parliament.uk

Your M.P. (See Links below)

Register your complaint with Campaign Group 38 Degrees Petition

The campaign in Cumbria is ramping up see new website http://www.savelakelandsforests.org.uk/index.html  and Border TV article http://www.itv.com/border/cumbrian-forests76125/ from Friday last week. More to come over coming days.

The focus of the online campaign is the Campaign Group 38 Degrees Petition , please encourage anyone you know to sign this and write to your local MP. or promote 38 Degrees by printing off posters and flyers form their action centre.

  

A key issue over the next 3 weeks is to try and stop or delay the Public Bodies Bill ideally have clauses 17 and 18 removed. Without this bill the Government can only sell upto 15% of the public forest, although because of sensitivities in other parts of the country this could actually mean 40% of Cumbrian public forests unless there is significant protest in Cumbria like there has been in the Forest of Dean which might encourage Government to give Cumbria some reprieve.

What is the Governments Policy

Simply put the Government wants to sell all the public forests managed by the Forestry Commission. See Comment by John Vidal in the Guardian which quotes Jim Paice MP in a house of commons select committee confirming plans to sell off all the public forests. Jim Paice MP says "Part of our policy is clearly established: we wish to proceed with very substantial disposal of public forest estate, which could go to the extent of all of it…". This includes Ennerdale and Blengdale as well as Whinlatter, Dodd Wood, Grizedale and all other forests managed by the Forestry Commission in Cumbria. See Map of Cumbrian Forests for Sale

The Government says it will be running a public consultation soon but this will be about the various ways of disposing of the public forest not whether or not the public forest should be sold.

In addition to the above the Government has told the Forestry Commission to sell 15% of the public forests  in England over the next 4 years to raise £100 million towards the deficit reduction program. To make up for difficulties selling forests in other parts of the country its likely that some areas including North West England could be asked to sell as much as 30 to 40%. The sale of this 15% does not involve any consultation.

Key Issues

Government says Dedication under  Countryside Rights of Way Act (CROW) secures future access after sale.  However not all public forests are dedicated, eg Dodd Wood where the Osprey nest and viewpoints are is not dedicated. See Open Access Map. or Ennerdale where Bowness Knott Car park and much of the lakeshore and forest where the Smithy Beck trail is not dedicated , seeOpen Access Map

Open Access under CROW only protects the right to roam on foot. Future land owners are not required to maintain existing or provide future facilities such as car parks or way marked trails. Also CROW does access for cycling and horse riding and sports such as orienteering are not protected under CROW. 

A future landowner can change the way the forest is managed. Public Forests managed by the Forestry Commission are 100% sustainably certified under the international FSC standard compared to around 25% of the privately owned forests. 

The Government says these plans a part of its Big Society project to give business, communities and civil society a greater role in protecting and enhancing the natural envrionment. However the private sector already owns and manages 82% of the forests in England. The vast majority of forests will be out of reach of the local community to purchase. Forests currently sell for around £2000 to £3000/ha. So Ennerdale would be worth around £9million and even Lowther Park would be worth around £684,000.

Simple Forest Facts

The Forestry Commission is 70% self funded

The management of all the public forests in England costs the taxpayer around £10million pound a year, around a third of the annual amount given to the National Opera House and similar regional theatres by Government.

The Forestry Commission manages ony 18% of the forests in England but because these are well managed they produce 50% of the timber produced in England. 

Some Key Links

Save lakelands Forests website 

Original letter from DEFRA (Caroline Spelman MP) to MPSs setting out the Governments proposals 

Comment by Caroline Lucas Green Party MP for Brighton, 

Comment by John Vidal in the Guardian quotes Jim Paice MP in a house of commons select committee confirming plans to sell off all the public forests. Jim says "Part of our policy is clearly established: we wish to proceed with very substantial disposal of public forest estate, which could go to the extent of all of it…"

Independant newspaper report includes mention of Rigg wood in South Cumbria which was recently sold and the new owner has erected Keep Out and closed the car park and walks.

Guardian reports on protests in the Forest of Dean this has raised the profile but we need similar activity across the country.

Key Contact Details

Lord Inglewood

Westminster

House of Lords, London, SW1A 0PW
Tel: 020 7219 3190
inglewoodw@parliament.uk

Caroline Spellman - Minister for the Environment  mailto:spellmanc@parliament.uk

Tim Farron - Westmorland and Lonsdale tim@timfarron.co.uk

John Woodcock - Barrow john.woodcock.mp@parliament.uk

Rory Stewart - Penrith and the Borders - rory.stewart.mp@parliament.uk

Jamie Reed - Copeland - reedjr@parliament.uk

John Stevenson - Carlisle - john.stevenson.mp@parliament.uk

Tony Cunningham - Workington - cunninghamt@parliament.uk