Animals of October

To see the true English countryside, follow a walk from an out-of-print guidebook published in the nineties in a part of the land less visited. We have such a book, bought from some charity shop, centred around the Pendle Hill area of Lancashire. Pendle is a haunted place, the Salem of England, famous for its history of witches. There is a 'Pendle way' signposted by cartoon witch silhouettes and pubs that lean hard into Halloween trade. There are plentiful public footpaths and interesting sights to see, but there is less glamour or preservation here than in the Lake District or the Yorkshire Dales. We're north of Burnley, west of Leeds, just shy of the Forest of Bowland, in a curious nook where its easy to sense how a monolithic hill imposed enough psychic force upon locals to convince them of supernatural goings-on.  The countryside here feels angry: we remark upon the sheer amount of signs telling us not to do things: no camping, no picnics, no straying off the path, no f...

I'm really very late in posting here today because I decided to forego a stint of writing this morning in favour of a quick solo adventure to the wild and rugged moorland above Manchester. I mentioned yesterday how Hannah was off gallivanting with her best mate in the Lakes and I asked her to send me pictures of animal encounters. I soon got a flurry of messages, led by the words 'Beltie for blog' which accompanied this lovely snap of this lovely cow. It is indeed known as a Beltie, by virtue of the white stripe across its back, and it grazes upon the fens above Coniston Water in the Lake District, mostly minding its own business. Two more pictures soon followed; one showing a cheeky robin who ambushed the fair travelers demanding tasty morsels, and an idyllic and romantic snap of a single swan upon a tarn at sunset. All very nice, all very pretty, meanwhile I was sprawled out on the sofa eating jelly tots watching some very manly men beat each other up in The Raid 2. And w...