On-going stuff.

Our work on the new diversion channel above Braithwaite moved another step forward last week when we broke through the wall going out of the old dam.  It was a lot easier to do than ‘breaking in’ to the dam.  

None of this will pose a problem for walkers because the channel is narrow enough for them to hop over quite easily.  The next stage will be to install a 6m x 600mm pipe.  That shouldn’t be too much of a problem as the ground is soft at present.   Thankfully my fantastic volunteers are still with me on this one!

In stark contrast, the drilling at Force Crag is hard going just now.  The drill has encountered about 3 or 4 metres of very hard rock and a larger rig has been brought in.  If this doesn’t do the trick a change of drill bit or a relocation of the drill site will have to be tried.

Later in the week,  Alistair, our North Lakes General Manager hosted a meeting of Trust general and property managers at Bowe Barn.  This included a trip over to Derwent Island to look at work that will need to be done there and to generate ideas about how to make it more accessible for members of the public.  At present there are some open days with limited numbers of places.  Watch this space for open day dates. 

Evening walk.

Spot the squirrel

At the weekend Jan and I went to Edinburgh.  It’s nice to visit a city for a change and Edinburgh is a lovely place.   Of course the pandas are drawing large crowds at present.  Then, when I returned home and took Reiver for a walk on Friars Crag, just by being alert to the surroundings, I saw a red squirrel, a nuthatch and a tree-creeper.  We sometimes forget to take the time to see what is around us all the time – no queues and no charges!

Diversionary tactics!

Last week we were finally able to begin the task of diverting water from an old, inadequate drain into a new channel that will by-pass the village of Braithwaite and lessen future risk of flooding.  The Trust’s archaeologist, Jamie Lund had visited the site and researched archive material before we started work.

Ranger Joe at work & Reiver on inspection patrol.

One of our fantastic regular volunteers.

The existing drain runs under an extension to an old building that is now Coledale Inn.  It began life in 1824 as a carding mill but by 1867 had been purchased by Robert Wilson of the Cumberland Pencil Company.  In 1898 it was destroyed by fire.  Attempts were made to divert water from the old mill pond to douse the fire as the fire engine made its way from Keswick.  The splendidly-named English Lakes Visitor & Keswick Guardian reported on Dec 24^th 1898 that … the fire engine (horsed by a pair of good animals and driven by John Nelson of the Blencathra hotel) … made its way to the fire.  Perhaps predictably, all that remained the following day was the pitiful sight of the shell of the building.  A subsequent meeting of the shareholders (including Canon Rawnsley, one of the founders of the Trust) decided to sell the remains and it was then rebuilt as Coledale Inn.

So, this site has long been an important part of the village.  Once our project is complete, water will be channelled across the mill pond and out the other side to avoid building up a head of water there.  Following Jamie’s advice, this part of the channel has been dug out by hand to minimize the risk to the site.

More volunteer power.

I worked alone for one day; had a fellow ranger Joe with me on the second and then had three volunteers on the third so it has taken seven days of hand digging to complete this section.  We completed just over 30m which is brilliant.

Feet complaining?

Fortunately we can now bring in contractors with a JCB to complete the job. All being well that should reroute at least 80% of the flow that threatened the village with flooding. 

The end-of-the-day clean-up.

It hasn’t been a particularly glamorous task but sometimes we just have to get our heads down and get on with a job.  Sadly, there were no exciting archaeological finds to reward the hard graft!

Winter rescue skills practice

Although it isn’t exactly T-shirt weather here in the Lakes, it has definitely been an unseasonably warm start to 2012.  I did manage to do some ice climbing on Helvellyn a couple of weeks before Christmas but it has been really warm since then.  So I and a few other members of the Keswick Mountain Rescue Team had to head off to Cairngorm for a weekend to refresh and practice our winter skills. 

Cairngorm area January 2012

The walk in - patchy snow cover

 Even there the snow cover in many places is significantly less than we would have expected at this time of year.  One of the associated problems is that some areas hosting rarer plant species are more vulnerable to damage.

Most of the weekend was spent practicing skills that we don’t often have the opportunity to use but can be crucial on rare occasions. So we worked on generally Grades 1 and 2 mixed terrain practicing lowering and down-climbing sections, stomper belays and snow belays.

A bonus to the weekend was spotting a ptarmigan in winter plumage and arctic choughs.  Anything that overwinters in Cairngorm has to be a hardy bird!

Spot the Ptarmigan

  We returned to almost spring-like conditions in the Lakes. The days are bright and sunny but the crisp, frosty mornings remind us that it is still winter.  If a very cold spell sets in now, it will nip a lot of early growth amongst the vegetation.  For the time being though we can make progress with the Trust’s outdoor projects so I’ll be writing about those next time.

Derwentwater and Friars Crag

In this final approach to the Christmas period, we have focused our attention on ensuring that the Friars Crag area is at its best.  Every year large numbers of both visitors and locals make the walk from town, along the lake shore and down to the viewpoint at Friars Crag so we have made sure the path surfaces are in good condition. 

You can download a Trust guide to the walk here:

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/servlet/file/store5/item479318/version1/w-walk-friar_s_crag_dark_skies2010.pdf

Often we are asked for advice about star-gazing or sunset-watching.  Friars Crag is ideal for both.  It is well away from any street lighting which makes it ideal for star-gazing on clear nights and, viewed from the new seating, the sunsets reflected in the lake can be breath-taking.

On a clear day there are spectacular views along Derwentwater and beyond the Jaws of Borrowdale.  It seems strange now to think that, before travelling in the Lake District became fashionable in the Victorian era, this was considered to be a forbidding or even terrifying vista.  Now it is one of the most popular places to visit.  Its beauty has inspired countless thousands including Ruskin and Canon Rawnsley, one of the Trust’s founders.

With the new seating installed as part of the Derwentwater Foreshore Project, I’m expecting even more people taking advantage of those.  The turkey sandwiches are bound to taste good when the views are this good!

If/when you visit Friars Crag, remember to take your camera.  It is a very rare day when it would not be possible to take good pictures – even if it is raining!  

Thank you time

Now that we are coming to the end of the year, I got to thinking about all that has been achieved since January last.  We all appreciate what our volunteers do but taking the big view of a whole year really highlights the enormous contribution they make.

I have been lucky to work with huge numbers of enthusiastic and hard working people who contribute to a wide range of activities.  There are the Yorkshire contingent who came for a long weekend as they do each year.  Every year there are a couple of groups who spend a week on a working holiday – their base is either Isthmus Cottage or High Snab Farm.  We had international volunteers from 5 countries who came to work for a couple of days.  We’ve had a lot of young people with us this year as well.- school groups who stay in the youth hostel or Glaramara Outdoor Centre in Borrowdale.  They have joined in several projects from clearing drains to farm walks and educational experiences. 

We also have our regional NT volunteers.  They have covered a huge range of work from Jean and Jean (the volunteer volunteer-coordinators) to those who worked outdoors on maintenance (fixing gates, stiles, footpaths, bridges) to the litter-pickers and the dog-walkers who informally helped to maintain their favourite dog walk.  We have also had volunteers who have provided admin support.

…  and there will be people who quietly share our vision and play their part without ever making themselves known to us.  So, although we have a sense of having achieved a lot, we really do know that it would not be possible to do so much without all the fantastic people who give their time so willingly and enthusiastically. 

Many thanks to you all.

The pictures in this post tell the volunteers’ story better than words alone.

Them thar hills and goings on!

Regular readers of my blog will know that I have mentioned the disused Force Crag mine a few times.  If you are in the area in the next couple of weeks I guess the appearance of a drilling rig on the site might seem to be a bit odd.

There is nothing sinister going on!  Force Crag is the site of a DEFRA funded Water Framework Directive UK pilot project which is part of an initiative to improve the quality of water that flows from the mine and finds its way into Bassenthwaite Lake (a SSSI). The mine was once a source of zinc, lead and barites but it was abandoned after an underground collapse in 1991.  The National Trust is working in partnership with the Environment Agency, the Coal Authority and Newcastle University to pioneer a new technique for cleaning up the water.

During the drilling phase, the team will be taking core samples to look at the soil conditions at the site.  The drilling will also establish the levels of flooding in the mine to find out if it would be possible to drain it next year. We also need to know more about the mine and its surroundings before a decision is made about the best place to site a long-term treatment plant. And that’s the background story for the drilling that will be taking place for a few weeks. 

Given the weather we are having at present, the drilling team could be forgiven for wondering if they are really in Siberia rather than Coledale!  It has been a week of bitter winds, snow and hail but the work has continued.

To find out more about Force Crag Mine, why not come on one of our open days in 2012 for a guided tour?  The dates will be posted on www.nationaltrust.org.uk/events when they’ve been set.

Sheep-proofing a SSSI.

Last week saw me with a group of regular volunteers returning to work in Cat Ghyll.  The ghyll, which runs alongside Great Wood and up Walla Crag, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).  SSSI is a conservation label applied to protect sites of biological or geological interest.  What makes Cat Ghyll special is that it is home to some rare lichens.  (Lichens tend to be rather modest in appearance but for scientists they are highly-valued for their sensitivity to a wide range of environmental stressors like air quality and climate change.)

The long haul up the ghyll.

A well-earned rest stop!

Time to enjoy the view.

The protection of the site has been the Trust’s responsibility for some years now and we have been working on a long-term (200 years!) project to establish a corridor of hardwoods, mainly oaks, from the lake shore to the top of Walla Crag.  As part of that, it is essential to exclude grazing sheep from the site so that natural regeneration can take place.  Last week we needed to replace a rotting gate post.  In itself, that’s a relatively simple job but we had to carry all our materials up there before we could start so it actually took most of a day to complete.  But our volunteers don’t let us down and they did another great job.

Out with the old!

The sheep aren’t the only threats  of course.  Some time ago we put in place a stone pitched path to narrow the footprint made by walkers.  It’s human nature to find a stable route to walk and by providing that, we find that people don’t stray onto surrounding vegetation.  It’s all aimed at trying to find the best balance between the uses of the landscape and its protection.

Good job done.