Another Amble

Still trying to yomp my way thin[ner], I took a toddle by what turned out to be an accidentally more scenic route to Ryder's Hill*. You've seen very bad pics from up there too often, so let's put something else up,

Half-decently sharp!

Stonechats don't usually behave like that.

Mardle valley Cuckoo

[normal service resumes]

Willow Warbler

[or does it!]

Ahem.

I then headed past Snowdon

The Middle Cairn

Snowdon doesn't seem much, just a lump on a ridge, but it's one of the ones you have to suffer to get to. A maze of deep gerts to the West, a very steep side of the Mardle to the East, a steep ascent from the South, and Snowdon Plain to the North. 'Plain'? That's Moorspeak for bog, of course... It's not a dangerously deep one, but it is very very wide. Right up to the edge of a deep gert, for those trying to get around it, oh ho ho.

Views are almost as good as Ryder's, plus you have some actual shelter from the wind.

I pressed on to my pet skywatching point on Outer [stuff the OS, the outside of the ridge is Outer and I don't care what anybody says] Puper's.

I saw no kites.

I did see this

Bit of a view

And

"Where's that figgin'

Cuckoo?!?"

Three Buzzards had a slight discussion about whose territory it was, and a Cuckoo was not seen.

Spot the Hawthorns

Eventually I tore myself away. I had a river to cross, after all.

But first, joy and satisfaction;

Joy!

You've already seen the satisfaction, getting that darned Cuckoo - albeit on the other side of the valley - I also got across the Mardle without getting wet feets, which wasn't bad as my traditional crossing point's been scoured out and is now quite deep in spots...

Another one..!?!

This is getting a bit silly now. Though this one was sitting on a track, clearly picked up and dropped by someone, so not much archaeological value.

Finally, an insect, as we need one.

Sphecodes sp.!

[need a lens to tell them apart..]

Anyways, twas a not bad day.

Be Seeing You...

[[* An embarrassing case of watching the path not where it was going... In my defence, I wasn't expecting a new one to have been walked in in the couple of years since I last took the short cut up Ryder's, especially one following a similar line to the one I thought I was on. ]]