A Short Stroll Around Anthorn
Getting to know our temporary home
I can’t believe it is already a week since we left York and moved to the little village of Anthorn in Cumbria, England.
Mind you, we haven’t actually been here for a week. A few days after moving we had to go back to York for a pre-arranged dental appointment, followed by a night in Sheffield where I had yet another procedure on my foot. So the past week has been a bit of a blur, to say the least.
Anyway, today my foot felt ready for a gentle stroll. Anthorn is so quiet and peaceful, but SO windy. A fact that is immediately apparent as everyone has to tie up their wheelie bins to stop them blowing over, and put bricks on them to keep the lids closed.
From our house it takes literally a minute to walk to the estuary of the River Wampool - part of the Solway coast. We waited for one of several heavy storm showers to pass before setting off. Though the sky still looked pretty threatening.
Today the tide was high, and the extensive sand and mudflats were completely covered. Creeks I had previously seen empty were full, and the wind was whipping spray from the crests of the waves.
Just outside Anthorn is a collection of masts known as the Anthorn Radio Station. These include a NATO VLF (very low frequency) transmitter (apparently used to communicate with submarines), and transmitters for the National Time Signal for Britain (source).
The masts are very close to our house and also visible for miles around, acting as a useful landmark.
As we walk past a field in the direction of the masts, some of the sheep in the field are curious about our presence.
Bright yellow tansies are flowering by the roadside, adding a splash of welcome colour.
After walking towards the masts for a short distance we take a lane on our right. Here there is an impressive row of beech trees.
After passing by the trees, we take another right turn to make a short loop back to the village. On the way we see a lovely speckled wood butterfly on some equally speckled blackberry leaves - evidence of blackberry leaf rust fungus.
Another right turn brings us quickly back to the village - enough today for a sore foot.
The weather for the next week looks very unsettled, but we are hoping to get in a visit to at least one of several local nature reserves. Hopefully more photos will follow soon. In the meantime, take care, and thank you so much for reading.
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Welcome to Cumbria (and the brick-lidded bins)!
It’s interesting to see more of your temporary home, those beech trees are fab. Thanks for sharing.