Small Stone Circles

Off the beaten track lies this stone circle in the Duddon Valley.  I think this one is technically, or should I say archaeologically,  a ring cairn which also serve a ceremonial purpose and  were constructed in the Bronze Age between about 2000 and 1000BC. This is its most simple form.  Their location in the landscape is important and I would think the its position in relation to the hill is significant.  There are records of about 118 sites within the Lake District National Park which fall into two groups those on the lower fells and ones like this one much higher up and more isolated. What they all have in common is that they are positioned so there are spectacular landscape views from the site but the circles themselves are not easy to see from a distance.

especially when the bracken is all around.

or when you are sitting in the sun and try to record some skylarks only they stop singing. 

 Walking on this path with views over the estuary one would never guess there was a small but perfectly formed stone circle nearby.  Put on that Superman uniform fly over the estuary into the distance and land on

a larger stone circle made of limestone and known locally the Druid's Circle. Unusual because it is concentric and consists of this  inner circle of 12 stones and a wider outer circle of 20 which are hidden in the bracken  (one or two barley visible in this photo).   There are only 30 concentric stone circles in the whole of Britain, the most famous of which is Stonehenge. The 'Druid's Circle' was excavated in 1911 and 1921 and proved that the circles enclosed a paved area covering burials dated by the type of urn found as the late Bronze Age.  Generally archaeologists suggest that burial is not the primary function and when it does take place it was after the stone circle had been in use for some time.

Water is often associated with stone circles, it is known to have strong ritual or ceremonial significance and here on Birkrigg Common the stones are set overlooking Morecambe Bay. Ideal for looking at spectacular sunsets.  Just below is the village of Bardsea and the church steeple.

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Buccleuch Dock

Buccleuch Dock

This week has been unremittingly grey but yesterday afternoon the sun reappeared to tell us it was still shining above the clouds.  The mist and grey of the week still seemed to hover in the air as I took this photo in the late afternoon.  The three corvettes just seen in the distance are still looking for a buyer if you are interested.  Originally built on the Clyde for the Brunei Navy who then decided they didn't want them so they are now moored in Barrow. 

If I turn the other way on the dockside

Princess Selandia

there is another ship waiting for a buyer, this used to be a nightclub with the car deck converted to the "Blue Lagoon", perhaps it will end up in Denmark where it was built. The sun was 50 minutes from sunset (which on Thursday was 16:14) and shining horizontally behind the ship.

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Random Reflections

Liverpool

A group gathering perhaps deciding where to go next, one impatient to get going and me clicking rapidly to catch the reflection of the White Star building and them before a decision is made to move.

Whenever I am here I can never resist yet another photograph of Albert Dock so here is my most recent attempt

The rust colours of Autumn in the Rusland valley after much rain the beeches reflect in a puddle

The rays of sun glitter on the tarn as the leaves rustle

Tarn Hows

The low cloud of morning will soon retreat and then after a days walk it will be time to

Tarn Hows

 repose and reflect on the day sitting by the water.

"A lake is a landscapes most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth's eye looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature" Henry David Thoreau

An entry to ABC Wednesday. A journey through the alphabet

First Snow of the Season

Today it has been endless rain so being an optimist and in anticipation of the clear days to come here is the first snow on the hills from earlier in the week.  Cold and ice on the tops but

 

as can be seen warm enough for shorts for this cyclist on the Grizedale Forest paths.

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Quintessentially Cute

"You Looking At Me? Yes I'm quite adorable"

 

One Quite cute critter giving me the eye. Question - what is it? I think it is a ground squirrel with that fluffy tail but we don't have any in these quarters so my knowledge is questionable.  At first glance I thought it was a meerkat

Meerkat family

but no their more pointy faces are here as they chill out having some quiet time together.

Humboldt Penguins

Maybe the penguins forming an orderly queue for lunch in Antwerp Zoo know.

These quadrupeds don't know they have only seen our native squirrels but lambs are quintessentially cute, I just long to stroke those ears.

One ball of fluff wandering on the road. It looks like a Silkie chicken. Their name comes from their feathers feeling like silk, their placid nature making them ideal pets.  For the purpose of this post of course they are also quite cute.

An entry to ABC Wednesday. A journey through the alphabet.

Autumn Ending

Rusland Beeches

The start of Autumn for me is always the tree of intense red that will appear on Barrow's Abbey Road, it will appear early and is the first sign of Autumn.  The trees in the Rusland Valley will still be green. The planet turns some more and by the first week in November the Rusland valley beeches will be the last to put on a show - it always feels like a grand finale (accentuated this year by the first snow appearing on the hills, but not seen in this sheltered valley).

With the water table so high after months of rain I even got the added benefit of part of the road being slightly flooded in the photograph.     

Tidal Reflections

Morecambe Bay looking south

The tide has just retreated, the day is still and the clouds reflect on the damp sand.  Where the clouds gather two shapes are just visible, zoom in 12 miles across the bay to the large buildings,

 

.

and the sun, as it descends, glows on the side of Heysham Nuclear Power Station.  We don't want anything glowing from the inside!  The little white dots on the sand are the seagulls enjoying a damp buffet.

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