Humberhead Peatlands
Today the weather gods sent me and Clint north east of here. It took an hour to get to Crowle. It's a large village that sits at the north end of The Isle of Axholme - west of The River Trent. Long ago, before effective land drainage schemes happened, I can imagine that the area had the characteristics of an inland island - especially in the wintertime.
Another large settlement on The Isle of Axholme is Epworth which was the home of John and Charles Wesley and therefore the birthplace of Methodism. It's also where Shirley's old secondary school is located.
Due west of Crowle is a vast area of peaty moorland known as The Humberhead Peatlands. It is a haven for birds and insects with adders and other reptiles. There are birch trees there and swathes of bracken. and evidence of past peat workings which happened on an industrial scale at the end of the nineteenth century. Nowadays the entire area is protected.
I walked in there but after a mile it became hard to find my way and I feared that I would get lost which, admittedly, might have met with the approval of a few of this blog's visitors. However, instead of pressing on into the wilderness, I decided, rather wisely I think, to retrace my steps. There were no other visitors and it had become impossible to distinguish between unofficial paths and the alleged public right of way that is supposed to connect Crowle with the village of Moorends beyond the sprawling bogland.
Dilapidated house in Crowle
Later, east of Crowle, I had another walk - this time in farmland. As the weather gods had promised, the sun shone and the temperature was balmy. Of course the London-based BBC TV weather presenter later assumed that the entire country had been languishing under a blanket of grey Atlantic cloud..."Well it's been a rather grey and chilly day today and there'll be more of the same tomorrow". Eh? Check your facts matey!
The track to Ealand Grange
Ah yes, the weather imperialism of a large city based broadcaster.
ReplyDeleteThe house, while it may be dilapidated is quite handsome with lovely brickwork and handsome bay windows.
"Weather imperialism" - I like that label Andrew. Shame that house has clearly been neglected for donkey's years.
Delete... ex Yorkshire semper aliquid novi.
ReplyDeleteOut of Yorkshire there is always something new.
Insects, birds, adders, reptiles. The Peatlands have it all.
Durer could have painted those grasses, mayflies, and scuttling lizards.
I had heard of the Isle of Axholme, but my mental map of England is hazy.
Humberhead Peatlands is as remote to me as Tartary.
Your photo reminds me of P.J. Kavanagh's descriptions of Tasmania in his travel book *Finding Connections.
In spite of global warning the Trent is still flowing, still nurturing eco-systems.
*What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?*
Haggerty
I didn't realise that you were so familiar with The Book of Matthew. It's a nice line. Though Crowle is in Lincolnshire, I walked over the border to reach The Humber Peatlands which are almost entirely within The People's Republic of Yorkshire.
DeletePlato said learning is a form of remembrance, a Pythagorean idea.
Delete*What went ye out to see?*
Perhaps the author of the Mattean narrative (who was not Matthew as Tom Wright said) was a Pythagorean too. I'm being fanciful.
Your posts remind me of places I have never seen, the same experience I get when reading Meike and Tasker.
Lincolnshire is now part of my memory as is Ludwigsburg.
*The universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.* J.B.S. Haldane.
Haggerty
Was Haldane queer then?
DeleteQuare, but not queer.
DeleteHaldane thought outside the chessboard, in antiquity he'd have been a Pythagorean.
Remember the movie of Brendan Behan's The Quare Fellow (1962)?
It starred Patrick McGoohan (The Prisoner TV) and Sylia Sims.
The Quare Fellow is due to get hanged and you never see him.
When the Irish used quare it can mean remarkable or strange.
Or it can mean, *Sure it's a quare windy day, Neil.*
Sylvia Sims was in a movie with Dirk Bogarde, Victim (1962).
It was a sensitive handling of gay men and hidden lives.
Guys asked *How can you be married to Sylvia Sims and not fancy her?*
Sylvia was entrancing in Ice Cold, Alex (1958).
She ended playing the Queen Mother in The Queen (2006).
Helen Mirren played Her Majesty.
A quare bit of casting.
Haggerty
Interesting that you find Ludwigsburg being part of your memory now. I wonder how it would feel if you came here and walked onto the market square or in the palace grounds which you have seen pictured so many times on my blog.
DeleteHappy you didn’t get lost,mate. And you without a mobile phone. Do you ever wonder how weather persons keep their jobs when all they can get correct at anytime is to tell you what has already happened!! By the way, the Colorado high elevations are expecting some snow this week …. Or so says the weather person!!
ReplyDeleteI thought the Colorado weather folk said there was going to be a heatwave or was it a hurricane? Perhaps a bombardment of meteors.
DeleteYou're wise not to challenge the bog. There are probably more dangers than just getting lost.
ReplyDeleteCompared to Canadian bogs, I suspect that The Humberhead Peatlands are minuscule Red.
DeleteSnapped, dead trees like in that first photo always give me the willies. Not sure why. They look so desolate. So glad you didn't get lost. They would have to send a search team out to find you.
ReplyDeleteI thought that only gentlemen could get "the willies" - whatever they might be.
Deletehttps://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20willies
DeleteAh, so ladies can also experience "the willies".
DeleteSome ladies have more experience than others with willies. Just saying:)
DeleteIs The Big Guy's real name Willie?
DeleteIs that house for sale? It looks the right size and style for me, and with a little cleaning and restoring (probably more than just a little), it could be a gem.
ReplyDeleteThe peatland pictures make me want to walk there. But I agree that it was wise not to press on when the path(s) became unclear.
There was no "For Sale" sign but if you made an offer, I suspect that the owners would snap your hand off! It is strange that the house sits at ninety degrees to the road, not facing it.
DeleteDo they not know that the sun is always shining up in God's own county?
ReplyDeleteThe Peatlands look rather bleak. I am not sure I would enjoy walking there, but then I am a wimp.
You can't be a wimp JayCee. You once went to Douglas on a Saturday!
DeleteI'm sure I would not have even attempted to fight my way through the wilderness of Humberhead Peatlands! However, I would have spent some time exploring that house. It looks rather sad and uncared for, although the grass looks as though it has been recently cut. I wonder what the story behind it is? With the shortage of property in the UK, it's surprising it's empty.
ReplyDeleteWell spotted Carol! The grass is neat. That is because to the left of the old house a new bungalow has arisen surrounded by lawn. Effectively, the old house has become a rather large garden ornament! By the way, I would have assisted you on your journey through The Humberhead Peatlands and God would have been on our side.
DeleteA garden ornament that would make a lovely guest annex if respectfully restored.
DeleteMaybe that is on the owner's "To Do" list.
DeleteSo can we assume that the original owners of that house have built themselves a nice little bungalow for their declining years, and are now letting their original home fall to pieces? It's such a shame, as the old house has all it's original features and appears to have escaped the ravages of modernisation over the years!
DeleteI think that assumption is correct ma'am.
DeleteYour stalwart blog readers would have set off to find you if you got lost.
ReplyDeleteI may have required the kiss of life Debby.
Delete"Check your facts matey!" ???? Moorlands? !!!!!
ReplyDeleteI didn't say Moorlands matey! I said Moorends. D'ye need specs?
DeleteThat second picture almost looks like Florida.
ReplyDeleteDisneyworld?
DeleteI think you were wise to turn round, visions of you sinking in a bog, the Hounds of Baskerville come to mind for untimely endings. But I am sure the natural flora was beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAt least I would have died in Nature.
DeleteLovely pictures and a lovely post. If only it hadn’t begun so unfortunately. Today the weather gods sent I? Really? A direct or indirect object should be in the objective case, laddie! Were you asleep that day in grammar class? Thinking about Hull City football, maybe?
ReplyDeleteOh heck I have been bobbed or is it bragued? Very sorry sir!
DeleteI guess I hold you to a higher standard because you were a teacher of English.
DeleteProbably wise to retrace your steps. Otherwise you might have sunk into the peat to become a petrified mummy discovered thousands of years from now. Maybe try it again in the winter when the vegetation isn't as high?
ReplyDeleteI could be the next Tollund Man!
Delete