Uploads from Silanov, tagged wiesen

Lush meadows

nobody@flickr.com (Silanov) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:55:13 -0700

Silanov posted a photo:

The valley of Borrowdale seen from the foot of Skiddaw, Lake District, Cumbria

Some background information:

Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale. As it lies within the historic county boundaries of Cumberland, it's sometimes referred to as Cumberland Borrowdale in order to distinguish it from another Borrowdale in the historic county of Westmorland.

The valley rises in the central Lake District and runs north carrying the River Derwent into the lake of Derwent Water. The waters of the river have their origins over a wide area of the central massif of the Lake District north of Esk Hause and Stake Pass, including draining the northern end of Scafell including Great End, the eastern side of the Dale Head massif, the western part of the Central Fells and all of the Glaramara ridge. Near Rosthwaite the side valley of Langstrath joins the main valley from Seathwaite before the combined waters negotiate the narrow gap known as the Jaws of Borrowdale. Here it is flanked by the rocky crags of Castle Crag and Grange Fell. The valley then opens before the river empties into Derwent Water, overlooked by Catbells, Skiddaw and Walla Crag.

Borrowdale lends its name to the Borrowdale Volcanic Group, a geological development from the Ordovician period. This rock formation makes up most of the mountains at the head of Borrowdale, including Scafell Pike and Great Gable.

Some time prior to 1565 an enormous deposit of graphite was discovered near the Seathwaite hamlet in Borrowdale parish. The locals found out that it was very useful for marking sheep. This particular deposit of graphite was extremely pure and solid. As it could also easily be sawed into sticks, the pencil industry was born in nearby Keswick. To the present no other deposit of graphite could ever be found in this solid form all over the world.

Nowadays the valley is a very popular tourist location, with hotels, guesthouses, holiday cottages, bed and breakfasts, youth hostels and campsites, catering for the lowland visitor as well as the hill-walker who can choose from a very wide range of popular mountains, including all the above-mentioned fells as well as England's highest, Scafell Pike.

A horseshoe for hikers

nobody@flickr.com (Silanov) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 03:12:43 -0700

Silanov posted a photo:

View from Wray Castle towards Windermere and Fairfield Horseshoe, Lake District, Cumbria

Some background information:

Windermere is the largest natural lake in England. It’s situated in the county of Cumbria and entirely within the Lake District National Park. Windermere is a ribbon lake, which means that it’s long, narrow and finger-like. It was formed 13,000 years ago during the last major ice age by two glaciers, one from the Troutbeck valley and the other from the Fairfield Horseshoe.

The lake is drained from its southernmost point by the River Leven. It is replenished by the rivers Brathay, Rothay, Trout Beck, Cunsey Beck and several other lesser streams. The lake is largely surrounded by foothills of the Lake District which provide pleasant low-level walks. To the north and north-east are the higher fells of central Lakeland.

Windermere has an overall length of about 18 km and an overall width of about 1 1/2 km. The maximum water depth is ca. 67 m. There are two towns on the lake, Ambleside and Bowness-on-Windermere. The town of Windermere does not directly touch the lake. Windermere contains 18 islands. By far the largest, Belle Isle, is privately owned.

Fairfield Horseshoe is a famous mountain ridge nearby the town of Ambleside in close proximity to Windermere. It takes in all the fells that surround the valley of the Rydal Beck. The highest peaks, which are included, are the ones of Dove Crag (792 metres), Hart Crag (822 metres) and Fairfield (873 metres).

The walking tour of Fairfield Horseshoe is extremely popular among hikers, but care should be taken on the summit of Fairfield in poor visibility as the plateau of that mountain is very flat and can be quite confusing with the danger of steep drops to the north and west. The eastern side of Fairfield Horseshoe from Low Sweden Bridge near Ambleside to the slopes of Hart Crag follows a high dry stone wall for six kilometres, making navigation simple even in poor weather conditions.

There’s a Fairfield Horseshoe Fell Race, which takes place annually in May. It was first organised by the Lake District Mountain Trial Association in 1966 and is over 14 kilometres long with more than 900 metres of ascent.