Obelsik in riverside park
Bridge over River Kent
River Kent in Kendal
Kendal Parish Church
Archive for July, 2014
Dark Green Fritillary
Posted: July 30, 2014 in Butterflies and Moths, Cumbria, Natural History, UKTags: Dark Green Fritillary
These are some pictures of a Dark Green Fritillary taken at lakeside on Lake Windermere in Cumbria.
Museum of Lakeland Life(3): Kendal Mint cake
Posted: July 29, 2014 in Cumbria, UKTags: Kendal, Kendal mint cake, Museum of Lakeland life
Kendal Mint Cake is one of the things that Kendal is famous for. It holds the record for the highest confectionery eaten in the world as it was carried up Mount Everest by the expedition of Sir Edmund Hilary in 1953. Hilary and Sirdar Tensing ate Kendal Mint Cake on the top of the mountain. It had also been used on the 1914 trans-antartic expedition led by Shackleton. The reason why Kendal Mint Cake is so popular with mountaineers, hill-walkers and explorers is the high energy value (sugar-carbohydrate-calories) within it. Kendal Mint Cake is not really a ‘cake’ but a high calorie sugar bar flavoured with mint, which can help sustain maximum levels of exertion with just a few bites, it is also an incredibly light weight and compact food source to carry.
It is reputed that Mint Cake was first made in 1869 at the Kendal factory of Wipers, a confectionery company, when a batch of sugar boiling went wrong. However the new ‘cake’ soon caught on and other companies were founded in competition, Quiggins in 1880; Wilsons in 1913 and Romneys in 1919. Only the later is still not producing mint cake as it merged with Wipers in 1988 continuing to produce under the Wipers brand.
The Museum has a display dedicated to the various makes of mint cake.
42085: Fairburn 2-6-4
Posted: July 28, 2014 in History, TrainsTags: Fairburn 42085, Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway
42085 is one of 2 Fairburn’s that are now working at the Lakeside and Haverthwiate railway in Cumbria. It was built at Brighton in 1951 for British Railways and saw brief service on the southern region being stationed at Brighton and then Stewarts Lane in south London. In 1952 it was transferred to Gateshead and subsequently saw service at a number of depots in the north-east before being transferred to Leeds in 1965. It was purchased from BR in October 1965 and transferred to the Lakeside and Haverthwaite railway.
Video by johnmn2009
Kendal is the major town in Southern Lakeland and has a population of around 25000. The town is mentioned in the doomsday book of the 11th century, although occupation can be dated earlier. A site 2 miles to the south of the current town centre was a Roman fort from around 90 AD through to around 270 AD. It is mast famous for the production of Kendal Mint Cake, tobacco and snuff, although today tourism plays a large part in the towns economy. It has been nicknamed ‘Auld Grey Town’ due to the extensive use of grey limestone in buildings.
River Kent in Kendal
I found Kendal to be a wonderful open place with the river running through the town and lovely streets and places to visit and to get something to eat. We also visited the Quaker tapestry museum ( housed in the Towns Quauker meeting house) which houses a tapestry telling the story of the Quakers, which was interesting.
The High Street
Bridge over River Kent
Abbot Hall (now an Art Gallery)
Museum of Lakeland life (2): Lakeland House
Posted: July 26, 2014 in Cumbria, UKTags: Kendal, Lakeland Farmhouse, Museum of Lakeland life
Inside the Museum of Lakeland Life in Kendal there are reconstructed rooms from a Lakeland farm house in the c 18th century. It must have been quite a wealthy farm judging by the rooms. Fascinating to see.
Living room fireplace
Bedroom
Kitchen
Living room
Sitting room
Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway (3): 3698 Repulse
Posted: July 25, 2014 in Cumbria, Trains, UKTags: 3698 Repulse, Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway
3698 Repulse is an example of the Hunslett austerity class of industrial locomotives. It was built in 1950 and saw service for the National Coal board for 25 years before being withdrawn in 1975. It was purchased by the LHR in 1976 and restored and was operating the train service on the day we visited.
Naturelog: Kendal
Posted: July 24, 2014 in Birds, Cumbria, Natural History, UKTags: Dipper, Goosander, Grey Wagtail, Kendal
We visited Kendal in Southern Lakeland twice during our holiday. There was an information board by the River Kent as it runs through the town which told us what a great birdwatching site it was. Guess what we saw nothing the first time we were there. Thankfully we went back for another visit and this time we got all the local specialities.
River Kent in Kendal
It did not take us long to find a Grey Wagtail on the shingle at the edge of the river.
Grey Wagtail
There was a party of 5 Goosander lazing on the rocks in the middle of the river giving excellent views.
Goosander
2 down 1 to go. Now where was that Dipper? Eventually without any sightings we began to walk back to the car park. Then suddenly a small dark bird flew past us down the river. yes it been there all the time but we hadn’t seen it. We walked down the river but couldnt locate where it had gone. Sue suggested that we go onto the road bridge over the Kent and look from there. Looking over the far side we found the bird right below us. It seemed completely unaware of us and allowed me to take photos and video it before it finally moved off.
Dipper
Dipper
Just goes to show even with resident birds two visits to the same place can produce two very different outcomes – that’s nature watching for you!
Museum of Lakeland Life in Kendal
The Museum of Lakeland life in Kendal is a wonderful place containing a rather eclectic collection of items to do with everyday life in Lakeland. It includes a replica mine and a reconstruction of the rooms of a Lakeland house and shops plus a exhibition on the children’s character ‘Postman Pat’ which was written in Kendal.
From reconstruction of a Lakeland house
Wooden pig from a brush company in Kendal specialising in pig bristles
The clock from Hawkshead church (1845)
Lakeland lead miner
The pharmacy
Naturelog: Morecombe Bay
Posted: July 22, 2014 in Birds, Lancashire, Natural History, UKTags: Avocet, Black-headed Gull, Oystercatcher, Redshank, RSPB Leighton Moss, RSPB Morecombe Bay
About a mile from the RSPB reserve at Leighton Moss is the RSPB reserve at Morecombe Bay. This is a series of pools and mudflats and is at its best when the wading birds are driven off the mudflats in the bay and the estuary of the river Kent by the rising tide and need somewhere to roost and feed above the tide line.
Redshank
Oystercatcher
In addition birds such as Avocet and Black-headed Gull breed around the pools.
Avocet on nest
Avocet
Black-headed Gull
