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| What kind of fossils are these? |
For our first walk together in the New Year Andrew parked on Delph Lane and we made our way via Stang Yule up to 'my' cairn. There was a mid-grey sky, with only the gentlest of rather cold breezes.
We admired the view
over Bleasdale and walked along the grouse road, absorbed in discussions which unfortunately moved into Brexit territory. We passed the new butts, now
with numbers on them, and then the memorial to airmen who had lost their lives on these fells during WW2.
When we reached the bay
where the path starts over the moor I was delighted to see that stone steps
have been erected to make it easy mounting the peat hag.
My joy was somewhat decreased, however, when we discovered that the work, which included a short paved pathway on the moor itself, had been made for grousers to get to more new butts, one of which I had seen on my previous walk this way. At least we had a dry place in which to eat our lunch, albeit with the strong smell of creosote as accompaniment.
After our refreshment we continued on, finding the path reasonably dry - I would say the driest I have known it. We were soon at the pass, and after a brief pause we set off down Winny Bank. Many of the paving slabs have strange colourful rings on them(see top photo). They appear to be ingrained, and so possibly they are fossils. Later, at home, I tried to find examples of them on Google Images, but couldn't; a dedicated fossil guide is needed.
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| New steps on to Hazelhurst moor |
My joy was somewhat decreased, however, when we discovered that the work, which included a short paved pathway on the moor itself, had been made for grousers to get to more new butts, one of which I had seen on my previous walk this way. At least we had a dry place in which to eat our lunch, albeit with the strong smell of creosote as accompaniment.
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| A dry place in which to eat lunch |
After our refreshment we continued on, finding the path reasonably dry - I would say the driest I have known it. We were soon at the pass, and after a brief pause we set off down Winny Bank. Many of the paving slabs have strange colourful rings on them(see top photo). They appear to be ingrained, and so possibly they are fossils. Later, at home, I tried to find examples of them on Google Images, but couldn't; a dedicated fossil guide is needed.
We stopped for a few minutes at the Winny Bank cairn and then headed down to the
intake wall. We were
Now commenced
the slog along the tarmac, and by the time we reached Bleasdale Tower my
legs were dragging.
We
saw but few sheep in the fields, and the lamas had either been taken
away or were inside somewhere. Some heifers were under cover munching away on hay.
I was glad for the comfort of the seat when we reached the car. Andrew,
although still with energy to spare, admitted he wasn't in favour
of doing the circuit again - at least not straight away.
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| Parlick from above Woodend Wood |
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| Andrew checks out 'my' cairn |
Perhaps seven miles was a little too much for my old legs after so few walks in recent weeks. Had I been alone I would have walked more slowly and rested more often, though by the time we reached the car it was turned four and getting dark. At least we had been in the countryside, which is always a beneficial experience whatever the weather. (Isn't it?)
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