A Tale of Two Paddles
With the lioness and cub away for a few days and me left to look after the cats, dog, hamster & two goldfish I was able to get out both days over the weekend. Just for a change I have illustrated this blogg with a few computer enhanced images which give the impression of a series of paintings rather than the usual photos –let me know what you think.
Saturday: Lancaster Canal – tee shirt and shorts weather
Being marooned in gloom and low cloud on the east coast I decided to head west with a fist full of maps without any real plan as to what to do. By the time I got to the M6 and heading south in glorious sunshine I was toying with the idea of the Lakes or the Lancaster canal at Carnforth. As I got to J36 for the Lakes I was still in two minds but the car decided to stay on the motorway for Carnforth and the Lancaster Canal.What a good decision it turned out to be.
The Lancaster canal can be accessed at numerous points but I chose to put in just on the south side of Carnforth where the A6 runs alongside. Easy parking for a couple of cars with care.
The plan was to head north east for the 4 mile paddle to the head of navigation at Tewitsfield and return. One of the delights of this stretch of canal is that it’s never straight for more than a couple of hundred yards so new views are opening up all of the time. In Carnforth the centre of activity on the waterway is this point where there are moorings and a canal side pub.
The towpath was very busy with walkers and cyclists and everyone seemed in a very jolly mood. Are folk in Carnforth always like this or was it just the weather?
Carnforth is soon left and after a brief flirtation with the M6 the route heads out into lovely countryside with super views north west towards Morecombe Bay and Cumbria. A feature of the canal are the lovely stone bridges that cross it at many points carrying minor lanes and tracks.
Until Capernwray the route was roughly NE into a stiff breeze but at this point it goes through a series of Twists and turns which would have a sign up if it was a road. The scenery in this part is particularly good with lovely gardens fronting the canal with a few moorings and fields full of lambs.
There were a lot of boat owners out either just working on their boats or sitting and enjoying the sunshine. Some were even doing what boats are for, going from A – B like this crew negotiating a particularly tight couple of bends.
Well it’s tight if you’re a 70ft narrow boat.
The end of the navigation at Tewitsfield is currently rather a building site with a large development just starting on one side and the noisy M6 on the other. There is a car park here so the whole journey could have been done from north to south. This picture makes it look more idilic than it felt.
The head of navigation is only so for canal boats as beyond this is are the “Northern Reaches” a stretch of canal heading towards Kendal cut off from the rest by the M6 and a derelict lock. This is a stretch to save for another time. After quickly turning round I stopped for lunch at a picnic site a little way back.
The return trip was a delight as the prevailing wind was behind me nearly all of the way. I would have sped along if it hadn’t been for all of the friendly people who stopped and chatted along the way – boat owners, birdwatchers, dog walkers, cyclists, even a canoeing instructor who had just finished a taster session with a group of children.
All to soon I was back in Carnforth after a delightful day out.
I would have to label this “The Friendly Canal”. Well worth a visit if you havn’t been. A quick pack up and a stop for the largest ice cream I could find rounded off a great day.
Sunday: Birdwatching on the Northumberland coast
As a contrast to yesterdays sunshine Sunday on the east coast was cloudy but brighter than the last few days. As high tide was mid afternoon and I had to visit the in-laws in the morning I timed it to arrive at my usual put in at the Braids picnic site at Amble about one o’clock. You can park almost within touching distance of the sea so I was soon on the water heading across the estuary to the sand dunes on the far side.
As I’ve described in other bloggs the old wrecks are a noticeable feature of the view.
Drifting around these taking pictures you have to be careful not to get tangled up in the wreckage. I always mean to try and find out the history of them. They make good perches for birds.
A brew up on the beach at the most exposed part of the harbour with views out into the north sea was high on the list of todays activities
and was a prelude to ducking back into the shelter of the dunes and drifting along watching the sea birds and waders with the binoculars. Eider ducks are numerous in this area but like most birds don’t like you getting to close.
This pair weren't hanging around.
Ruddy shelducks were well in evidence on the mud flats but I didn’t want to disturb them by trying to get to close and contended myself with views with the binoculars.
Drifting along with the breeze I headed right up to the north end of the estuary in an area of salt marsh and mudflats. With the tide full and only a few inches of water under me the sun even tried to come out. This landscape always reminds me of the one described in The Snow Goose By Paul Galico which is set on the Essex marshes. Hard to compose a good picture of this sort of landscape, this was about the best I could do.
Just in case you thought this was a strenuous trip here I am relaxing with my feet up enjoying being on the water.
Scooting back across the estuary on an ebb tide with the water draining out as if the plug had been pulled it was soon back and time for a final brew while the ranger deflated – as good an excuse as anything.
You get asked odd things some times. While drinking tea looking out over the water a couple stopped and told me they were visitors and please did I know where the sea was? As I was looking at fishing boats bobbing around on the waves with sea weed on the beach this struck me as strange until I realised that they were right you actually couldn’t see the sea as it was hidden by the spit of land made up of the sand dunes opposite.
A relaxed and very different day to Saturday but that’s what’s so great about canoeing.
Hope you liked the computer generated art work - It was fun playing around with the images.
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Originally Posted by aslan
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