A Yorkshire Break - 12th to 14th September, 2017

A couple of years ago, Lindsay and I dropped in at the Yorkshire town of Helmsley to take a short break for lunch on our way back home from a stay in Scarborough. We instantly decided that we liked the town, and this feeling was reinforced when we found a local ice cream manufacturer that made the most wonderful ice creams and sold them in a cafe on-site, and then, just a few steps after leaving, found a bakery which sold the most amazing produce including cheese straws 'to die for'. So when Lindsay suggested to me a few weeks ago that it would be good to get away for a couple of nights, Helmsley came to mind - a break almost entirely based on the lure of ice cream and cheese straws!

Helmsley is less than three hours away from home so, on the Tuesday, we timed it so that we would be there around lunch time. We were lucky to find a convenient unrestricted parking space just off the main square and set off to the Ryeburn of Helmsley ice cream shop for an ice cream to set us up before lunch. 

To my concern, I'd noticed that the bakery seemed to have disappeared. We needed, therefore, to find lunch elsewhere, so we set off to look for sustenance. It didn't take long before we ran into a problem! We'd called in at the Oxfam charity shop and, as we were leaving, Lindsay lost her footing on the uneven floor and badly twisted her knee. We carried on for a while, stopping for a sandwich in a coffee shop, but soon Lindsay declared she was in real trouble. I supported her as we returned to the ice cream shop (any excuse!) and, having had our second indulgence of the day, I set off to try and find her a walking stick, which she thought would help her out. It took a while but I found one in the end.

During that time, I'd stopped someone who looked as if they might be 'local' to ask about the bakery. She told me that it was called Cinnamon Twist and was still there, but only open from Wednesday to Friday, and added that their cheese straws were fabulous - I knew we were talking about the same place!

By now, we were able to check in at the Royal Oak and so we headed up to our room and spent most of the rest of the day relaxing and resting Lindsay's knee. We did, however, pop over the road for dinner at the Helmsley Spice Indian restaurant. Lindsay very much enjoyed her meal, but I was a little hamstrung as I have an intolerance of capsicums (bell peppers) and they told me, to my surprise, that all their curries used a pre-prepared sauce that contained peppers! I was advised that my choice was limited to one of the dry tandoori meals, and so settled for a tandoori mixed-grill - it was, as you might expect, a bit dry! We both were also a bit disappointed by the garlic fried rice. We've had this in many places at many times and always the garlic has been well-toasted and contributed a tasty, but relatively subtle, flavour to the rice. This version had masses of slices of barely cooked garlic and was overpowering to the extent that we both spent time picking the garlic out of the rice. Having said that, the service was good, most of the food was fine, and the venue itself was comfortable. It was also obviously well thought of, as it seems that the rest of their customers were 'regulars'.

Our room and bed at the Royal Oak were very comfortable, and we managed a reasonable night's sleep, considering Lindsay's knee problem.

We were awake well before breakfast and I took some shots of the view from the window.

view from Room 3, Royal Oak, Helmsley

The breakfast buffet at the Royal Oak was excellent, and Lindsay's knee was much improved, so we were able to continue to explore the town after breakfast - after popping in for an ice cream of course! 

A visit to the now-open Cinnamon Twist bakery shop resulted in sandwiches (superb), cheese straws (even better than last time), and cakes being purchased for a picnic, after which we set off to explore the roads that travel up to the moors.

There had been very heavy rain in the night, and we'd only been going for less than ten minutes when we came to a ford. The water depth marker was all but up to the 2 foot (0.6 metre) mark, and the flow was an absolute torrent. Even a local in a huge 4x4 didn't risk it. Sadly, I didn't have the presence of mind to take a photo. We turned round and, fortunately, the diversion was not a serious one. 

Our prime targets were the two long dead-end roads which run up the east and west side of Farndale. I chose the east side first. The run was quite scenic but we soon ran into trouble again - there were Pheasant and Red-legged Partridge everywhere - hundreds of them - and all in the road! The Pheasant weren't too bad, and tended to dive into the side of the road, but the partridges took little notice of our approach and just wandered up the road a few metres ahead of us. The problem was so great that Lindsay had to get out of the car and walk ahead shooing the birds out of the way - not great with a bad knee, but the knee also prevented her from driving.  Eventually there was a horrible smell of burning clutch (we were creeping along in an uphill direction) and so we gave up and turned round.

Here's a few shots of a less obstinate bird!

Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa) - Farndale (east side)

Having decided that we'd look to see if the west side of Farndale was any less congested with game birds, we headed back to Church Houses. Noting a sign to the Daffy Caffy on a dead-end road, we thought a stop for refreshment and to give the car's clutch time to cool down might be a good idea. The proprietor of the cafe told us that there was a gentleman down in the York area who was breeding game birds and who then drove up to Farndale to release thousands of them by just off-loading them into the road. I suspect that we may have arrived just after he'd done this!

Farndale west side was somewhat more scenic and birds were seen but not photographed, and it didn't take long for us to reach the end of the road, and turn round again.

A quick perusal of the map had us heading for Gillamore, where we then turned north again for a very pleasant run on a minor road to Cockayne. Here we turned south on a very minor road towards Helmsley. We very soon found an unofficial-looking sign at a fork in the road which indicated that the right fork (which was the one we wanted to take) was not fit for motor vehicles. There was a moment of dilemma before I reckoned that we'd take that road anyway and turn round if it became impassable.

We soon found out why the sign was there, as any relatively low-slung car would have been in trouble. The road was very badly deformed, and we had to crawl along in places, avoiding large ridges and bits that were missing. We have absolutely no regrets, however, that we took this road as after a couple of miles (3km) it improved somewhat and we were out on open moors. 

Unfortunately it started tipping it down with rain soon after this!

Lindsay was the first to spot a Red Grouse. You can see the weather in this next image!

Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) - East Moors

Not wanting to miss out on this wonderful environment we stopped the car and waited for the rain to ease off somewhat before continuing. We were then seeing plenty more Red Grouse. There was still some colour in the heather which added to the scene.

Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) - East Moors

We hadn't realised that this road also forded a river but, fortunately, the ford was passable. 

We arrived back in Helmsley just in time for an ice cream before the shop closed!

That night we dined in at the Royal Oak. The food was good, and the service was very helpful, although we ate lightly as we'd overdone it with the picnic lunch!

The following day, after a good breakfast and checking out at the Royal Oak, and having fortified ourselves once more with an ice-cream, we headed north up through Bilsdale, as we'd been recommended it as being particularly scenic. In all honesty, we were both disappointed, and wished we'd returned to East Moors instead to see it in fine weather.  Having reached Stokesley, we headed homeward.

It had been a most enjoyable, if short, break and I believe that we are likely to return here sometime - maybe even next year.

Thank you for dropping by.

A Visit to Ketton Quarry - on 5th May, 2017

John had been unavailable for our semi-regular Thursday afternoon out on 4th, due to one of his dogs being unwell. We'd tentatively postponed our excursion until the following day but, in the event,  John didn't feel confident enough to leave the dog on the Friday either, so I set off late-morning for Ketton Quarry in Rutland in the hope of finding some butterflies, snakes and lizards to photograph. However, the weather looked questionable as, although it was sunny, there was a stiff breeze blowing.

I took the usual countrified route and, stopping at one of my Little Owl sites, found a Red-legged Partridge to photograph.

Red-legged  Partridge (Alectoris rufa)

Due to the windy conditions I was not surprised that the only Little Owl I saw was tucked well in at my Site No.34.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.34

 Further up the road a Meadow Pipit was on a roadside post.

Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)

I arrived at Ketton Quarry just before mid-day, and took the decision to have half my picnic lunch before setting off into the site.

Suitably refreshed, as I entered  the site I noticed that the leaves of the Twayblade Orchids were showing well. As I was hoping for some close-up work on butterflies, I took a shot of a dandelion head to check my settings. I found that I rather liked the results, so I kept one of the photos.

Dandelion sp. - Ketton Quarry

I spent some time in the  area which can be good for lizards and snakes, and also butterflies at times. In spite of it being nicely sheltered from the wind, it came up with nothing, so I headed up to an area which is a good place for Green Hairstreak butterfly at the right time of year. I found one almost immediately at the start of the usual hedgeline (also nicely sheltered and in the sun) but it stayed high in a bush and I couldn't get closer than around 3 metres.

Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) - Ketton Quarry

I continued along the hedgeline and, near the far end, found an extremely obliging specimen.

Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) - Ketton Quarry

For those of you unfamiliar with this tiny, but beautiful, butterfly, it is the only green butterfly found in UK . It is only just over half an inch (1.5 cm) from head to wing-tip. I've yet to find one settle with its wings open, but the upper side of the wings is a milk-chocolate brown.

Also in this area were a couple of Holly Blue butterflies. These are a bit bigger than the Green Hairstreak, but still very small. This one represents the female of the species, with its dark wing-tips. Sadly, this one also kept its distance.

Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) (female) - Ketton Quarry

Having spent some time here, I set off down into the adjacent hollow. Nothing of note was found here, but I did manage some shots of a female Brimstone butterfly and a Bee-fly.

Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) (female) - Ketton Quarry

Dark-edged Bee-fly (Bombylius major) - Ketton Quarry

On my way out of this area, I stopped at the hedge again, and took more shots of the Green Hairstreak and a Holly Blue (this time a male) which was a little more obliging. I tried getting a head-on image of the Green Hairstreak, but it had a very strange behavioural pattern - as I approached, it quickly turned from head-on to side-on. When I backed off it switched back again. I tried this many times - each time with the same result! In the second hairstreak image, you can just detect the brown of the upper wing surface.

Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) - Ketton Quarry

Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) (male) - Ketton Quarry

I next set off into an area which can be good for skipper butterflies, but none were seen. I only took some shots of a day-flying moth - the Common Heath.

Common Heath (Ematurga atomaria) - Ketton Quarry

On my way back towards the entrance, I stopped to shoot a male Brimstone.

Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) (male) - Ketton Quarry

As my return journey took me past the hedge that had been so rewarding, I had a quick look once more, and took some more shots. The first was of a wasp!

Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris) - Ketton Quarry

The second was of the male Holly Blue as, so far that day,  I'd not managed to capture the underside of this butterfly.

Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) (male) - Ketton Quarry

I headed back to the area that I'd started in, which I believe is known as 'The Barbecue' to local enthusiasts. I'd almost given up when I found my first Dingy Skipper of the year. This butterfly is even smaller than the Green Hairstreak.

Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages) (male) - Ketton Quarry

I had one last-ditch attempt to find some lizards, visiting a narrow gully where I'd seen lizards several times in the past, but there was a cold wind blasting up the gully, so I gave up, having the rest of my picnic lunch at 16h30, before I headed for home! 

Thus ended another rather rewarding, and highly enjoyable, day

Thank you for dropping by.

 

North Pennines - a Grouse or Two! - 13th to 16th October, 2015

No, not a grouse about the North Pennines, but Grouse in the North Pennines - more of that later!

I've not posted on Blogger for some time now as spirits have been a bit low. However, I was very much looking forward to taking a short break with my wife, Lindsay (that's 'with', not 'from'!), based on Middleton in Teesdale, County Durham. That break has set me up to get on with life.

Tuesday 13th October

We had a gentle start to the day, setting off from home at around 10h45. Our first stop was in Boston Spa, where we intended to have lunch at the Deli Cafe - a great favourite of ours. You can, therefore, probably imagine our disappointment when we discovered that the proprietor had, since our last visit, decided that he's going take one day off a week, and that day is Tuesday! We lunched in an establishment a few yards down the road, and ended up with the resolve that we'd never return there again under any circumstances.

We arrived at The Teesdale Hotel, in Middleton in Teesdale in the mid-afternoon and, after refreshing ourselves with a cup of tea, set out to explore this small town. We instantly took to the place and even managed to find a craft shop which sold English Lakes ice cream (and beautifully crafted they were too!). I'd met this make of ice cream a couple of months previously when passing this way with friends David and Miriam, and had been extremely impressed, so was pleased to find it here. Lindsay had 'Thunder and Lightning' and I had 'Raspberry Pavlova' - both were excellent!

That night we had a drink in the cosy bar of the hotel before taking dinner (very good) in their restaurant. We slept quite well after that, although it would have been better if the duvet, instead of being exactly the same size as the top of the bed, had had a bit of an overlap. Fortunately the room was warm so we didn't suffer from cold draughts at the edges!

Wednesday 14th October

This was a holiday for us both, rather than a birding break (although the Thursday did become somewhat 'birdy'!). After a good breakfast we set off southwards for The Bowes Museum. I'll not go into detail but this amazing place was a purpose-built museum, and the result of the philanthropy of an extremely wealthy couple (he was English, and she French). She was also an extremely talented artist. Tragically she died before the completion of the vision that was largely hers. We spent a very enjoyable couple of hours here before setting off again to somewhere for lunch.

The Bowes Museum - Barnard Castle

We had a very enjoyable light lunch at The Bowlees Centre, just north of Middleton and then set off on the short walk to the waterfall which is Low Force, and continued a short way beyond beside the River Tees. I didn't take any images of Low Force as the weather was a bit dull and I'd got a few decent ones in August.

There was a distant Dipper present in July, and this time there was one somewhat closer - but still rather distant (around 40 metres).

Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) - above Low Force

I watched the Dipper for around half an hour, but it never came any closer. Even more distant were a pair of Goosander, tucked behind an island at around 150 metres distance.

Goosander (Mergus merganser) - above Low Force

I'd left Lindsay sitting on a grassy knoll, watching the river, so dutifully returned to her so that we could set off back to the visitor centre. Sadly, the selection of flavours of English Lakes ice cream here was uninspiring.

Our next destination was the High Force Hotel, where we parked our car and walked to the High Force waterfall. Here you pay for the car park and entrance to the waterfall, but it saves a walk of around 2 km each way.

On the way to the falls we were amused by this sign.

beside the path to High Force

Also from the path to High Force I had my first sighting for the year of Kingfisher, but it flew past rapidly and I couldn't locate it again, so no photo. High Force is more spectacular than Low Force but not as beautiful. To my mind, the view a couple of hundred metres before you get there is better than the close-up view although you don't get the full impact of the thunderous noise of the water.

High Force  - Forest in Teesdale