Well, that was another week of ‘will it, won’t
it?’ - rain that is! Sometimes it did and sometimes it didn’t so
some planned activities did take place and others were not so lucky.
The dogs waiting where they saw a mink go to ground. Bottom left of the picture and the mink has resurfaced behind the dogs to watch them! |
I helped out with one of the lucky ones - a
guided walk looking at the geology of Borrowdale. Borrowdale has a lot to interest keen
geologists including the Skiddaw slates, the Borrowdale volcanics, a number of
metallic mineral deposits ... and of course the famous graphite (or black lead,
black cawke, wad, plumbago as it is variously known). There’s also the evidence of Neolithic
settlement.
Good camouflage |
At some time in the 16th century a
discovery of a large graphite deposit on the approaches to Grey Knotts from
Seathwaite was the trigger for two important developments. The first was the development of the world’s
first pencil industry – an industry that continues to this day although it no
longer uses local graphite.
Owl chick |
More
important in the 16th century was its use in lining the molds to
make smoother cannon balls that could be fired further. As the monarch of a maritime nation that made
much use of cannon balls, Elizabeth 1 exercised strict controls over this
valuable resource and the Crown monitored all aspects of the mining. The mine was guarded day and night by armed
guards. Despite that, there is evidence
that some individuals took the risk and profited from illegal activities! This
is where the saying the black market comes from.
The weekend was not so lucky with the
weather and the annual Borrowdale Show turned out to be a rather soggy
event. At the Trust we had prepared a
display of our work in Borrowdale. Either it was very popular or a lot of
people were taking advantage of the shelter we provided.
Parent on guard duty |
A decision has already been made to
cancel a Buttermere Fun Day that was to take place on September 23rd
– the field is too muddy.
Otter tracks (Library picture) |
The photographs today are of some of the
wild-life around here – there’s a limit to how interesting pictures of muddy
fields can be!
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