Rambling 12/18/2010
Well, the Met Office got it right.....  ......but, it didn't stop number two son from accepting his mother's challenge to take her shopping in the Freelander (with new chunky tyres fitted in readiness for yesterday's MOT test). They can just be seen heading up the drive (above - to the right of the telegraph pole). The other photo (below) was taken to demonstrate the comparison with the previous day (below below). The fact that the tray - which was clearly visible in the earlier photo - has been covered in snow gives some idea of how much has fallen - and, by all accounts, more is due!  Add Comment Rambling 12/17/2010
 The Met Office are forecasting a heavy snowfall. So, as an exercise, I've taken this photo (above) from the kitchen window at 2.00 pm today and will take another one tomorrow. I was rather surprised, by the way, by the fact that a pigeon was visiting our 'feeding area'. Somewhat naively, perhaps (natural history isn't my forte), I had though they were more at home in urban - rather than rural - areas. Technically not 'Rambling', I suppose, but it seems to be the best place for this thread. Rambling 12/12/2010
Recently, whilst researching what I may have written at a particular time, I decided to move some blogs from the 'Miscellaneous' category (see right) into a new one called 'Thoughts' and, in so doing, realised that in another category, 'Rambling', although there are several photos taken on the hill where I wander, there aren't any photos of it. So, hopefully, this should redress that shortcoming..........  Rambling 12/03/2010
For the south east of England, last winter's snowfall was much heavier and deeper than usual and we didn't think our 'left-overs' were sufficient to sustain the local bird population and, some might recall, we invested in some extra provisions for them (below - left).........   This winter, however, although it has been significantly earlier than usual (it's rare to experience these conditions before Christmas in the UK), the snowfall has been just as heavy and we decided to make things easier for the birds by requisitioning our parrot's climbing frame (above - right).  Last April, following last winter's experiences, we discovered that our attempts to feed the birds had attracted the attention of local badgers and, since then, they seem to have added us to their nightly patrol around the area and they visit us every night - much to the delight of the agricultural merchant from whom we continue to buy the previously mentioned seed products. Badgers travel so low to the ground that they burrow through deep snow - and evidence that they continue to visit us during these severe weather conditions can be seen by their tracks (above) and, although I'm sure there may be some who might find it difficult to believe, on the night we had put out the climbing frame, we were surprised to hear one of them knocking on our back door. So far as we can make out, the reason for this is that they couldn't reach the food in the climbing frame. So, since then, we've put their food on a separate tray outside our back door (see above) which, to some extent, is sheltered from the snow by the outside staircase. Happily, we've had no complaints since. Rambling 11/21/2010
On a more positive note (than the previous Ramble blog), there are means of avoiding the mountain bikers on the hill where I live. Here's one...........  This is one of the rather well-constructed seats which can be found on the hill. Strategically placed plaques suggest that many were erected in memory of walkers who have enjoyed the area over the years. The one shown above, however, commemorates a couple of young men who perished on (I think) The Matterhorn.  Another attraction can be seen above. Interestingly, it was becoming landlord here which brought me to the area twenty-two years ago. Even more interesting, perhaps, is that in those days it was a popular meeting place for real bikers (i.e. those who wear leathers and keep to tarmacadamed surfaces). Rambling 11/19/2010
Sometime last year, I compiled a quite lengthy blog which was critical of mountain bikers and, as a consequence, received an e-mail from a lady who had some sort of commercial interest in the 'sport' (have a look at the Price List, by the way). So, in a conscious effort to present a 'balanced' argument, I published her e-mail in full. Unfortunately, however, I failed to conceal her personal details and, quite rightly, she complained and I decided to delete everything. In the meantime, apart from an occasional reference to 'bikers', I haven't revisted the subject at all. This, by the way, is the e-mail I received........ As you do not appear to be aware, the area that you enjoy walking in is owned and managed by The Hurtwood Trust for the benefit of all recreational users be they walkers, dog owners, horse riders or mountain bikers. After some years of conflict, local mountain biking groups are now regarded on equal terms with other Hurtwood users and, through The Friends of The Hurtwood, everyone now works together to ensure that the needs of all groups are addressed. The needs of the environment are also at the core of the work of The Friends of the Hurtwood. Unfortunately it is not always possible to use The Hurtwood without some damage to the environment. This is goes for walking, horse riding and mountain bike usage. Efforts have been made to limit erosion in problem areas such as in the initial pictures on your blog. In the case of mountain biking drainage is the key and the handful of purpose built trails are built with just this in mind. You also address the issue of mountain bikers using bridleways and footpaths. You seem to be unaware that cyclists of all kinds are entitled by law to access bridleways. This is therefore not an issue in The Hurtwood. Designated footpaths are another issue and should not be used by cyclists under any circumstances. However, the majority of the pictures on your blog show trails which are not designated footpaths and therefore are not solely for the use of any particular group. Indeed you yourself hint that the trails are naturally occurring animal tracks. Erosion by any activity is mostly related to the numbers of the people taking part in that activity. Mountain Biking is a growing sport and therefore is causing more issues than, for example, walking at the moment. Having said that, if hundreds of walkers suddenly descended on The Hurtwood, the footpaths would be suffering just as much from their footfalls. This has been the case for many years in The Lakes, Snowdonia, The Peak District and many other popular ramblers honeypots. To blame walkers for causing footpath erosion on Kinder Scout would obviously be irrational. Instead the landowner, The National trust I believe, has improved the footpaths across the moor thus removing the issue. This is exactly what The Friends of The Hurtwood are trying to do locally with mountain biking. You also seem to blame mountain bikers for following trails that seem impassible for walkers. This surely is an oxymoron? The trails you picture are clogged with Rhododendron bushes, a non-indiginous invader, which the landowner has made several attempts to curtail. The presence of the bushes and their root systems holds moisture in the ground for longer periods than in the plantations and on the Greensand and leads to the formation of puddles in the hummocky terrain. Hardly the fault of mountain bikers, more the fault of Victorian arborists. Just because mountain bike tracks go through the puddles does not mean that the puddles are caused by mountain bikers or any other user group. It should be noted that The Hurtwood is a working forest. By that I mean is that much of the area is forestry and is therefore subject to regular harvesting and replanting. The damage caused by recreational users pales into insignificance next to the "damage" caused by the day-to-day running of forestry operations; heavy machinery, felling and the associated erosion. Finally, as you are a regular Hurtwood user, can I recommend that you contribute to its upkeep by making a regular donation to The Friends of The Hurtwood charity and help safeguard the natural beauty of the Hurtwood for future generations. Putting aside the somewhat pompous tone of the letter, as someone who spent my formative years living in Snowdonia, raised a family in The Peak District, have access to a timeshare property in The Lake District and actually live on the hill in question - the apparent assumption that I require what amounts to a lecture on rural matters borders on being contemptible. Furthermore, the writer failed to properly address the fundamental issue which I had raised - and that was the reluctance of some mountain bikers to keep to the designated paths and bridleways (the banked track shown below, for example) which, along with several others in the area was specifically constructed for mountain bikes. What's more, many of the bridlepaths were constructed with cambers and foundations which encourage drainage to occur.  Anyway, returning to the present. For some reason or another, I don't seem to have been out and about as much this year as last. Maybe that's the reason I've not been reminded of the circumstances which prompted me to write the aforementioned blog in the first place. During today's walk, however, in addition to witnessing mountain bikers wantonly discarding plastic bottles and sandwich containers as they rode along, I was reminded of what had annoyed me previously - and these photos (below) illustrate the damage mountain bikes can to to unprepared tracks. The one on the left was originally an animal track which was also used by hikers. Mountain bikes have transformed parts of it into a quagmire. Apart from the fact that it's unlikely that anyone would choose to 'paddle' through the puddles, to imply that walkers could have caused as much much damage as cyclists (see letter) is ludicrous.   Many of these tracks, by the way, are clearly designated as footpaths (below - left). Sadly, however, some of the signs seem to have mysteriously 'disappeared' (below - right) and, despite the fact that it would have involved dismounting and lifting bikes over the barrier, tyre tracks clearly reveal the fact that cyclists have ridden along them.   Obviously, as I had conceded in my original blog, the vast majority of mountain bikers are responsible citizens. Many (if not most) come from respectable backgrounds and wouldn't dream of violating the countryside. That said, however, I doubt if many understand the contempt in which they are held by some of the indigenous population - and that is solely as a result of the behaviour of a small minority. To imagine these miscreants don't exist is futile. To try to defend them is naive. Rambling 11/15/2010
Although I've put this blog into the 'Rambling' section, I didn't actually travel any further than our back door to take this rather nice photo of distant clouds beyond the early morning mist over the Surrey Hills.  AUTUMNAL MIST Rambling 10/08/2010
Selling CDs at his concerts, for example, or when I've been driving him around the country, it's reasonable to suppose I may have met some of Lloyd's fans without them knowing who I was. Accordingly, one of the intriguing aspects of the world wide web (and, in particular, sites like Twitter) is that, I've become 're-acquainted' with people with whom I may already have met - but only as a result of the internet have we started to engaged in a dialogue. One such person is Melanie. However, although she is a massive fan of Lloyd (she saw him Paris earlier this year, is going to see him there again in a couple of weeks - and, as if that wasn't enough, is seeing him again in Exeter at the end of the month) we didn't actually meet (for the first time, at any rate) at a concert - but as passing acquaintances who happened to live and work in the same area. In the meantime, she has moved abroad and is studying at The Open University. Going on from that - and I'm not quite sure how she stumbled across it, the photographs in this Rambling blog remind her of her time in this area. At the moment, she is back here for a few days. So I met up with Melanie (shown below), her sister-in-law, two nephews, and two dogs for a stroll on her beloved hill. I'm calling it my first tweetmeet - and I don't want to hear any rude remarks about edible animal dangly bits. BTW, on very clear days, from where we're standing, it's possible to see London in one direction and The English Channel in the other.  HOLMBURY HILL Rambling 10/05/2010
Today's walk was the first this year during autumn and I'll let the photographs do the talking (click on photo to enlarge).     Rambling 09/19/2010
Earlier in the week (last week now, of course, because it's the Sabbath) I forgot to make a blog of a walk I undertook. For some reason or another an exile from the area had stumbled across this blog - and since they had expressed a fondness for the views form the top of the hill upon which I live, it had been my intention to take some photos for them. In the event, my walk was confined to the lower reaches; so, rather than waste the journey, here's a view across the valley towards a neighbouring hill (the one with the tower folly).  Not far from where the last photo was taken, I passed a secluded hollow which, during the summer months, had been as dry as a bone and hardly worthy of a second glance. However, recent heavy rain had turned it into a pleasant little nook.  |
