Helmshore Weekend: It’s so wet!!

I am late in posting my weekend pictures due to “mourning” the loss of 7000 pictures from a corrupted SD card. I salvaged 2000, but the remainder are gone for good 😌

However, onward and upward!. I have managed to salvage some from the weekend.

If you’re wondering why the British talk about the weather so much, it’s because it’s so damn unpredictable. We have been promised a heatwave from Spain, and instead we have had rain!

It’s just been me and Pepper this weekend. I was woken up early to this happy face on Saturday morning.

We took a different route than usual up to Musbury Tor, and came across an unusual rabbit behind one of the farms. Perhaps an escaped pet, but I’ve seen it before over several years so it’s doing ok with its freedom!

I also saw a lovely pair of Roe Deer grazing.

I have been meaning to make a new batch of Beech Leaf Noyau for several years, so I used the alone time on the weekend to gather leaves and buy a bottle of gin to start the steeping. In about 10 days, I’ll finish it off then leave it in the cupboard to mature. You’re supposed to drink it in 18 months but last time I forgot about it and it matured for at least 4 years before I found it!

On Sunday, I ventured up to 13 Stones Hill, and around the Blue Lagoon.

The first spot was a buzzard, high above the quarry. I’ve been fiddling with my camera settings, so the picture is quite poor.

Later, a pair of Oystercatchers were nesting in the quarry. The high vantage point of the footpath gives a great view of the wildlife living in the disused quarry.

As we reached Windy Harbour farm it appears that the farmer is not happy about walkers on the Rossendale Way passing through the land, so the stiles were either damaged or in this case, missing and this gate has been thoroughly tied up to prevent access to the farm track which is part of the route. Pepper was outraged after being fed through gaps in the fencing!