Blimey that was cold...

What a great day out on Friday and one that will live with me always. I set off from Penrith at 8am and the roads were fine until I started to drive out of Keswick. A sheet of ice greeted me then and just how I got down that hill in a straight line I'll never know. Steady away for the rest of the journey, through Grasmere, Ambleside and up then over the tiny ice track down into Langdale, finally reaching Blea Tarn car-park around 10 minutes late. 

There were 9 of us, all ages, both men and women from every background, but with one mission that day, to plant 300 Junipers on yonder hills. 

Mike first introduced everyone, then went through a bit of health and safety, though luck would play more of a part that day.

We had heavy spades, pick axes and 2 tubs of Junipers to carry what seemed like, a very long way. Oh, did I mention our lunches and cameras! We were all dressed warmly, we would need to be, it was bitterly cold and the breeze was cutting. We set off for the tops, treading carefully up the frozen fell tracks as the wind increased and the occasional snow shower whizzed by. After about an hour, we reached our destination and the view was spectacular. I explained to everyone that I was there to record all this on film and felt a bit of a cheat because I wasn't going to get as dirty as everyone else. That proved wrong after I lost my footing a few times!

The areas for planting were very carefully selected by Mike and then followed a quick demo on 'how to plant a 3 year old Juniper'. Then they started, five or more hours of graft in appalling conditions, but all seemed to love every minute of it. First clearing a small patch in the grass with the spade, then making a hole with the pick axe if the spade failed. Then lovingly popping the little shrub in the ground, patting the soil in around it by hand and treading all around to firm in the soil.

Mike knew exactly what the plan was to give these small plants the best possible chance of survival. He pointed to existing Juniper stands on nearby fells and we all listened with interest to his great knowledge on the subject.

There were worms up there, are they mad?

Lunch break was welcome, half an hour to drink some coffee, have a few sarnies and a bit of chocolate, though I gave up on my Snickers bar, it was frozen solid. I admired the way they all just got stuck in with such enthusiasm, they loved being there, not for any other reason than wanting to improve the Juniper crop for the pleasure of future generations; people who would never know the toil of that day. I got about 300 stills and 2 hours of film, perhaps 50% ruined by ice crystals forming on the lens and the light wasn't brilliant, but some good stuff. The sound quality was impossible, I would have liked to do a few short interviews, but when you think that on several occasions we were just blown off our feet, we were just feeling lucky to stay safe.

I came down from the fells that day feeling just amazing. Amazed that I had got up there, done the job, and got down safely, but also amazed by the sheer   resilience, dedication and determination of those 8 people. They might have had an easier day working in a Siberian open cast coal mine…hats off to them. You know I can't remember a single name, so please get in touch when you read this and I'll get some photos to you. Here's a few more for now…

Arnside...

Last week I headed up to a place that I'd never been  before, and what a very pleasant surprise.

Arnside is a stunning little town, about 6 miles from junction 36 on the M6. I had an appointment to see Bill, and was greeted at the door by his lovely wife Shirley. I spent a couple of hours there and recorded a great interview in which Bill told me all about his childhood and family links to the Sedgwick Gunpowder Mills. He remembered keeping the raw ingredients, sulphur and saltpetre in the house, the latter was used for meat processing. He also remembered the gunpowder which they kept in a jar for personal use! Bill showed me a photo of himself as a young lad on a motorbike which he bought for £3 and he had so much history laid out on the table that I will have to visit again. He has done his own research and as far as Juniper is concerned, Bill doesn't think that it was a major source of wood for the charcoal, and that much of the wood was imported, brought in on the canal, which was diverted from its planned route to service the mill area. Much of this interview along with many others will form part of my final piece in trying to conclude the roll that Juniper had to play back in the days of the Gunpowder Mills.

It's cold outside, yes, but not as cold as I think I might be tomorrow! I am joining Mike and other members of the Cumbria Wildlife Trust on a walk up to Busk Pike (NY306 040). Not just for fun of course because they are going up to plant Junipers and I am tagging along to film and hopefully interview some of the planters. After all, why would you climb up there on a winters day, rather than sit at home drinking coffee?

If you can cope with it, winter on the Cumbrian fells is the most magical place, but come prepared, it's no walk in the park.