England Coast Path - Maryport to Flimby

 

We are very fortunate in that the England Coast Path now covers virtually all of the Cumbrian coastline. You can walk from Green Road Station in the south of the county to Allonby in the north, a distance of around seventy miles. A lovely week's walking holiday, if you fancy it. Today we're going to start at Maryport pier and walk south to Flimby, about two and a quarter miles. Right at the start of the walk, on the shingle beach next to the pier, an Oystercatcher has chosen to nest.

There are plenty of other birds about such as these Whitethroats, Dunnocks and Linnets. These are all passerines, or perching birds (Order: Passeriformes). This is a very large order of birds, all of which have three toes facing forward and one toe facing backwards. The perfect arrangement for clinging on to long, thin branches, swaying in the wind.

It's a botanist's paradise along here. We have Northern Marsh Orchids, Wild Mignonette (a source of the yellow dye called weld), and down on the beach, some Sea Kale. The forced, blanched shoots of this plant used to be a highly expensive Victorian delicacy. The leaves are good as well, so I think we'll gather a few for us tea tonight (us tea = dinner northern dialect). There are a couple of other useful plants up here too: Ribwort Plantain and Comfrey. Both can be applied to the skin to relieve bites and stings, although comfrey is better known for using as a poultice to promote the healing of broken bones (it's old English name was knit-bone). As it happens, we can do a little experiment. Ishbel was stung by one of her bees yesterday, so we can use her as a guinea pig. (I like to live dangerously). The verdict? Both work, but comfrey is the more efficacious.

The flowers attract the butterflies, of course, including the Common Blue that we saw last week down at Drigg. This week, we've a chance to study them in a bit more detail. As you can see, the female (on the left) is very different to the male (on the right), but the markings on the underwing are the same. Unfortunately the Common Blue is not as common as it used to be. One of the reasons for this being the massive reduction in it's preferred host plant (Bird's Foot Trefoil, which you can see them feeding on here) due to habitat loss. There are also some Green-veined Whites about, which for some reason, seem to be more prevalent than the ubiquitous Small White this year. Finally, we have some very small, pale moths drifting about. These are Grass Rivulets who's larvae feed on the seeds of Yellow Rattle.

Here we are, down at Flimby, and there are some fabulous rock pools about. Unfortunately we don't have time to investigate them now as the tide's coming in. Just a note on the tides here on The Solway Firth: they are big (4-5m on average), quick, and have a disconcerting habit of coming in behind you. So, I think we'll make our way back to land while we can still do so without getting our feet wet. Come on Mattie! Before you have to swim for shore.

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Although you can simply boil Sea-kale as a vegetable, if you're feeling a bit more creative, here's a recipe from Mrs. Beeton's 1930s edition of her Household Management, This is just one of the books in the Beautiful Books Collection at SVCwithEtsy.

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All the best,

Steve

A Corpse Road in Cumbria

 

One of my birthday presents earlier this month was a small tome entitled The Corpse Roads of Cumbria by Alan Cleaver and Lesley Park. These paths, in centuries gone by, were used to transport the dead from remote villages to churches with consecrated burial grounds. One such path leads from Workington to St. Peter's at Camerton. Why anyone should want to lug a coffin three and a half miles along the banks of the Derwent to a remote church, when there were perfectly adequate churches with consecrated grounds in Workington itself, is a matter for conjecture. Whatever, it means that three centuries later we have a very pretty, and very interesting, right of way, ideal for a springtime stroll. So come with me, and let's explore.

About half a mile upstream we come to the spectacular Yearl Weir. This is a favourite spot for fish eating birds. This year's heronry is under construction in the trees behind and down below the weir a pair of Mergansers are looking for breakfast. Even the Carrion Crow is scavenging for titbits along the bank to present to his lady love. Meanwhile, just upstream from the weir the Mute Swans have concluded their courtship and the pen is already upon the nest whilst the cob patrols nearby.

The path rises over a hill and descends steeply through a wood. (Tallest pall bearers to the front, please). The ivy bedecked trees are surrounded by ferns, and the banks are strewn with Lesser Celandine, Wood Anemone, Primrose and Violet. A few Bluebells are just beginning to show and the wood is full of birdsong.

And this is our destination: St. Peter's church. We can sit overlooking the river and have a picnic lunch on the far side. I see that the bench is currently occupied by a small beetle. This is a Leaf Beetle, who goes by the name of Prasocuris glabra (See Getting to Know Your Beetles, you'll find them under POLYPHAGA – CUCUJIFORMA). This is by no means a common beetle, UK Beetle Recording only have 253 sightings over the last two centuries. There are also Bumblebees about as well as Drone Flies and Bee Flies pretending to look like bees, and a Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly (there seem to be a lot of these about this year).

As we make our way back through the fields it's nice to watch the rabbits amicably sharing the lush grass with the new lambs. This really has been an idyllic walk.

Build Your Own Nature Library

£10 on Amazon click on cover for details

I won't put The Corpse Roads of Cumbria in the nature library as it isn't a nature book as such. However, I do highly recommend it to anyone lucky enough to live in Cumbria, or to any of our many visitors to the county. As for beetles and other insects... well, there's only one book that's a must for every nature lover, isn't there?

£14.99 on Amazon click on cover for details

All the best,

Steve

Build Your Own Nature Library

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Sofia, Bulgaria Trip Report

 

Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, is an absolute delight – even in March when the temperature struggles to get above freezing. We were lucky; of the four full days we spent there we had wall-to-wall sunshine for three of them. We spent the first day getting our bearings (as you do) and merely went for a stroll in the park. Actually, a hike through seven of the main parks – Sofia is full of them. We clocked up ten miles. A cool, crisp winter's day with all the usual city birds but also quite a number of colourful Jays, easily spotted in the bare branches of the trees. We even had a glimpse of a Red Squirrel and I just managed a quick snap before he disappeared around the bole of the tree.

The city is dominated by the 7,520 foot Mount Vitosha, which we visited on our second day. Although wolves, martens, foxes and deer inhabit its forested slopes, we had to content ourselves with fungi, mosses and lichens. Recent research has revealed that there is an incredibly wide diversity of these in the comparatively small area that the massif occupies. 500 species of fungi, 326 species of moss and 200 species of lichen. These are some of them, but don't ask me what species they are. Despite the lack of wildlife it was a beautiful walk with plenty of little shelters to stop and soak up the atmosphere. Highly recommended.

And now to the subject of Bulgarian food. You'll either love it or loathe it. When I came back to the UK, I was surprised at the lack of offal on the supermarket shelves. Not even that midweek staple, liver. Not so in Bulgaria. Not only liver but kidneys, hearts, tripe, lights and pig's trotters were widely available. We found a superb local restaurant by the simple expedient of going into a small, non-touristy bar, and engaging the landlord and clientèle on the subject of the best place to eat. We dined there on three occasions, sampling such delights as pig knuckle stew and sautéed lamb brains (which taste surprisingly like fish and are served with a wedge of lemon). As I say, you'll either love it or loathe it. More conventional fare is also available for the gastronomically unadventurous.

Day three and we decided to investigate the history of this, the fourteenth largest city in the European Union, which has been inhabited for the last nine thousand years. The recorded history begins with the Romans in 29BC. They were succeeded by the Huns, Visigoths, Avars (who?) and Slavs before Khan Krum incorporated it into the Bulgarian Empire in 809. (Now you know where JK Rowling got the name of her Bulgarian quidditch captain!) The Ottomans had it from the 14^th to the 19^th century and in the early 20^th century it was a monarchy under Tsar Ferdinand who was related to our Queen Victoria (as were most of the European royals at that time). WWII saw it ally itself with Russia which continued until 1989 when the Bulgarian Communist Party began to drift away from Russia, eventually joining NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007. That's a quick potted history as I understand it.

And finally, a lighter excursion to the Museum of Illusions which was absolutely fascinating and totally defied the senses at times. Exhibits ranged from the sublime, such as the shadow skyline in the centre... to the ridiculous. As demonstrated by the carefully arranged mirrors which allowed Ishbel and I to merge into one with frightening results. Thanks to the museum staff for taking the pictures.

Having disentangled my clothes from a spaghetti nest of cables when I got home, here are a couple of items I'm thinking of getting for my next trip abroad. And if you fancy a trip to Bulgaria this year, I can recommend the Berlitz Travel Guide. Click on the pics for more info.

Universal Travel Adapter

Cable Organiser

Berlitz Travel Guide

All the best,

Steve

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Half Way To Sunderland

 

“How do you fancy walking half way to Sunderland?” I asked our Intrepid Local Guide.

She gave me a look that suggested the men in white coats were just a phone call away, as her home town is about 100 miles distant. There is, however, a village of the same name just up the road with a footpath connecting it to the village of Blindcrake, and it was to this that I was referring.

Bundling up Jack the Navigator Hound we're setting off for the hills and fields at the northern end of the Lake District. So, come and join us and let's see what we can find.

Scattering Rooks in all directions, Jack is soon at work trying to excavate a mole. Unsuccessfully, as it happens, so I've had to borrow this picture from Wikipedia. Moles are much maligned little creatures but, contrary to popular opinion, they do not eat plant bulbs. Their diet mainly consists of earthworms, insects, small invertebrates and slugs (which do eat plant bulbs). A group of moles is called a 'labour', the male is a boar and the female a sow and, a curious fact, they have two thumbs on each forepaw.

Climbing the hill, we start to get views of the northern fells and a glimpse of Bassenthwaite lake where we were last week. We also have a plant coming into flower. This is Stinking Hellebore, Helleborus foetidus, which, despite it's name, is not particularly smelly (unless my olfactory receptors have shut down in the cold). It is, however, poisonous, causing violent vomitting and delirium. Not one to add to our foraging list, but each flower can have up to ten nectaries (nectar producing glands) which makes it an excellent garden plant if you're a bee-keeper.

Last week I said that “Minibeasts are a bit thin on the ground in the UK during the winter months” and somebody kindly pointed out that they were still about; you just have to look for them. Lo and behold, if we turn over a few stones by this limestone outcrop, sure enough we have a little yellow and black beastie. As to what it is, even I'm a bit stumped with this one: 6 legs, so it's an insect, and I think I see only one pair of wings which would make it a fly of some sort.The antennae are very short, which would seem to confirm our suspicions but the eyes don't look large enough for a fly. What I should do, is take it home and check it out with a hand lens and The Quick Guide to Creepy-Crawlies but I haven't unpacked my insect boxes or my hand lens yet so I'll replace him under his stone.

Earlier in the week, I was discussing diatoms with you in Steve's Nature Plus and I see that we have a small gill here. I've located my water sampling kit and unearted the microscope so let's see who lives in these waters. Our Intrepid Local Guide seems to be admiring the scenery, so if you could just hand me that pipette...

There wereabout 10 different diatoms in the sample. These wonderful little lifeforms, neither plant nor animal, with bodies made of glass, are present in all the waters and soils of the world and do a lot towards oxygenating the planet. If you visit Steve's Nature Plus you can watch the one on the end chugging through the grains of sand like a slow moving goods train. Absolutely fascinating and quite mesmerising.

Back to the car now for a drop of hot soup, and there's a lovely little place down the road where we can look over the River Derwent on its way down to Cockermouth. There's something flitting around in those bushes down to the right. How lovely, it's a Long-tailed Tit, Aegithalos caudatus. I love the fact that animals invent things long before we humans say “Look what I've invented!”. The Long-tailed tit invented velcro. Its nest is made of lichen, feathers, spider egg cocoons and moss, with the moss providing the velcro hooks and the cocoons providing the velcro loops.

At this point, I normally say “see you next week” but now you can pop in and join me for a virtual cup of tea any time your browsing.

Enjoy your local nature, wherever you are,

Steve

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Idyllic Loweswater

Time to visit another one of those puddles in the hills, otherwise known as ‘The Lakes’. This one is a particularly idyllic lake called Loweswater and we should be able to walk all around it in a couple of hours. There’s a country lane down one side, a woodland trail along the other, and farmland at either end. So, we’ll start midway down the lane and head for the south eastern end. 

Not so many flowers along the roadside at this time of year, a few Red Campion and the odd DYC (a botanical term for difficult to identify dandelion-like plants, standing for damned yellow composites. Similar to the ornithologist’s LBJs – little brown jobs). This yellow flower, on the other hand, is easily recognisable as a Welsh Poppy which is native to the uplands of the western edge of Europe, from Iberia to up here in the north west of the UK. 

I see that we have a Great Cormorant drying his wings out on the lake. They do this because their feathers aren’t waterproof. This may seem odd for a diving bird that lives on fish, but waterproof feathers are more buoyant which would hinder their diving ability. Their plumage varies throughout the year, and also from year to year as they get older. Add to this, the fact that we have two different subspecies in the UK and you come to realise that Cormorants can be very variable indeed. This one, I suspect, is the subspecies Phalacrocoax carbo sinensis in its first winter plumage. 

Into the woods now and it’s mushroom time again. We’ll go into mushroom identification in more detail later, but as an introduction let’s have a look at three of the main types that we’re likely to come across on our perambulations. The first type is the Agarics [Order Agaricales]. These are the type with which we are most familiar and includes those that you buy in the supermarket for everyday use. They have stems that can be long, short, thick or spindly but all have gills on the underside of the cap. The second type is the Boletes [Order Boletes] which usually have short, thick stems but the underside of the cap is like a sponge and has no gills. The third type is the Brackets [order Polyporales] that have no stems but grow straight out of the side of a tree, living or dead, (or wood that used to be part of a tree). Their texture is not jelly-like. Jelly fungi are a different, complex group and you can see an example in An Urban Oasis. All types contain edible, inedible and poisonous varieties, so resist the urge to pick any just yet. 

As the flowers are becoming scarcer, so too are the insects that feed on their nectar. Being near water, there are plenty of midges about but, thankfully they don’t seem to be the biting kind. Non-biting midges, of which there are probably more than 10,000 species, form the fly family, Chironomidae. Another familiar fly family is the Muscidae, which includes the House Fly and the Stable Fly and because of their close connection with us humans [synanthropy, in scientific terminology] they can be seen at any time of the year. But hey, even Muscids can be pretty, if you look at them close enough.

And finally, as we wend our way back along the road, a magnificent Holly Tree in berry. Yes, Christmas is approaching, the book list is below, and I’ll say no more than that! Meanwhile, on the domestic front, I shall be moving into my new abode during the next few weeks so I’ll be up to my neck in paint brushes and things. So, I’ll see you in about three week’s time, when I’ve got things under some sort of control. Happy Hallowe’en, if I don’t see you before, 

Steve 

Steve's Books

The Quick Guide to Creepy-Crawlies All you need to know to identify any type of insect, spider, worm or snail very simply and find out more about it. Yvonne: This was a gift for a family so that the children can understand what they see on days out. The second was for me. Logical and easy to use. If you know anyone who likes nature you can be confident that gifting this book will give years of pleasure.
The Eggs of Saramova A science fiction novella for those who don't like science fiction. A fast-paced thriller that is, literally, out of this world (and it starts right here in Crete). Too new for reviews yet!
Not Just For Twisted Women by Steve Daniels  A light-hearted look at life through the eyes of the fairer sex. Janet: If you are short on time but enjoy reading and are maybe not into long extended novels then Not Just For... Twisted Women provides readers with concise stories that stand alone and most certainly entertain with their ultimate twists. Loved it. Helen: A very good read! Well written and entertaining! Margaret: Each quick tale gives a glimpse into a character's life and has an often humorous twist at the end. I would love to read more. Yvonne: These days many people find it hard to find the time to read a novel, so this book of short stories is ideal to dip into. It is also makes a good gift.

See sample pages of all my books and latest blogs, and keep abreast of latest publications here: http://author.to/SteveDaniels

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