Picture Postcard Furness

Ulverston and the Coniston fells


Sunset from Sandscale haws


Sunset in Ulverston


The Isle of Man

How lucky are we here in 'Postcard' Furness?
Yesterday I sat at Rampside and had another reminder of how lucky I am, to live in an area like this is the dream of many people, and we should all be so aware of what we have around here.

When I was growing up in my native West Yorkshire home, we used to have family holidays to the seaside. We would go to lovely resorts like Morecambe and Blackpool on the west coast, and Scarborough and Bridlington on the east coast, and although I lived in a lovely place, these were quite a contrast to my locality.

Coming from so far inland to the coast was so exiting, we could smell the sea air from over a mile away as we neared our destination, and the sight of Blackpool tower and Scarborough cliffs or the glimmer of the sea brought so much joy to us. The sound of Gulls filled the air; bells and music rang out from children’s rides and the smell of candyfloss and doughnuts from the colourful shops on the sea front teased our taste-buds.

Donkey rides took children out onto the golden sands and tractors pulled trains of people far out to the edge of the awaiting tide. Deckchairs lined the promenade where men wearing knotted handkerchiefs on their heads, hired them for their families, and then sat with their trousers rolled up and ate icecreams while the kids played football, built sandcastles or watched Punch and Judy shows.

So here I was back in the present, looking out over the glimmering sea, and surrounded by tourists who thought, quite rightly, what a wonderful place this is. The nicely painted lifeboat station, Walney lighthouse, Little boats bobbing about on the sea, Blackpool tower standing proudly in the distance and the hills behind Morecambe, reaching back to Ingleton in Yorkshire, all reminding me of my good fortune and wonderful life.

Maybe we do take it for granted, I’m sure we all do, but if we take the time to look around us we will see what an incredible corner of England this is. From the Furness area we can see so many places like:
o Blackpool
o Morecambe
o Black Combe
o Yorkshire
o Skiddaw in Keswick
o Scafell pike in Wasdale
o The Isle of Man
o North Wales

Furness is a beautiful area surrounded by nature reserves and green countryside, it is also dotted with quaint little villages and flanked by two incredibly important estuaries. The views of the Cumbria Mountains are astonishing in the early mornings and at sunset as the colours change by the minute, and the incredible sunsets we get here are undeniably astonishing. Then there are the sounds of Gulls and other birds such as Eider, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover and the many thousands of wintering wading birds, all this and the sight of Seals bobbing about in the water around the rocky shores all make Furness a place of outstanding beauty.

Next time you see an icecream-eating tourist, taking photos of something you take for granted, look again and think about how lucky you are.


Ulverston


Rampside Lifeboat station and Piel island


Roa island

Childhood memories

When I was nowt but a lad, many years ago in my native Yorkshire town of Keighley, I used to cycle up into the hills and moors above such places as Cowling, Bingly and Skipton. The memories I have kept so close to my heart are of the things I used to see, smell and hear, little things that brought so much happiness to me back then.

I remember many an occasion when I would be sitting quiet amongst the Heather, and listening to beautiful calls of the Curlew, Lapwing and Meadow Pipit. I also remember being amazed by the long musical song of Skylarks, I would watch them take to the sky with fast hovering wings and marvel at the length and sweetness of their song.

Sometimes I would hear a Skylark singing high above me, I would squint and screw my face up as I peered into the blinding sunlight in hope of seeing a tiny dot way up against the blue sky.

One of the other sounds that always brought joy to me was the Yellowhammers' call, I was always amazed by the Canary-yellow plumage of this bird and I loved the call that quite often seemed to be coming from a long way off, the birds often calling from the tops of Gorse or small trees.

Coming from a farming family I also loved the smell of the fields after they had been cut, I would play in the hay as it was being loaded onto the carts or after it had been stored away in the old barn. The smell of cows is also a happy smell to me, mucking out the barn was to me a pleasant experience and a job I loved, I still love the smell of cow-muck, especially on a cold winter’s day.

As adults we never loose our childhood memories. Sights, smells, tastes and sounds bring great cheer to our hearts for the rest of our lives. The smell of cooking or baking does it for most people, the smell of grandma’s jam tarts, lemon cakes or parking pig and toffee on bonfire night will always stay with me.

So why do I bring all this up? Well today I cycled over the hills above Ulverston and found the time to sit quiet amongst the Heather again. Once again i could smell the cut grass in the fields. I closed my eyes to listened to the Curlew, Lapwing and Meadow Pipit.
I found my mind take a trip back to my Yorkshire moors as a Skylark rose up above me and reached for the sky, to sing that familiar song that always takes me back to my childhood days.

Isn’t it lovely how we can so easily become that child we once were? Some of the simple things we have all around us so easily re-kindle our childhood memories.