Bassenthwaite Lake and Mugo in walking gear.
On Saturday there was an ambitious plan to climb Skiddaw via Ullock Pike (see map of route). Ullock Pike is described as a very distinctive peak resembling a small “Matterhorn”. Indeed! My first view was with mists swirling around it’s heights; impossibly high, dauntingly distant and scarily imposing all had me wondering on the wisdom of this venture. And indeed it was too high, too distant and above all too weathered in to continue far up the path. All the same it was a joy to be in the Lakes once again and I thought you’d like to share that with me. Thus the photo.

All the same we, my Throssel walking companion and I, were out for about two hours or there abouts. In Keswick we met up for lunch with a small group of sangha members who’d been retreating all morning. Before that though we made a pilgrimage to Love The Lakes, a shop stocking all sorts of goodies and in particular some really wonderful photographs. Serving the customers was Sean of StridingEdge photo diary fame, his two dogs carpeted the floor. What a happy encounter. Happy and glad to show my appreciation of his photography skills. Leaving the shop I pondered on this humble and tolerant chap! I guess it takes a special person to consistently climb the fells, spring, summer, autumn and winter. And to consistently produce such inspiring photographs too.

Sitting over lunch with some sturdy hill walkers I confessed that some years back I’d lost the drive to struggling to the top of mountains. Oh the pain of it, mental and physical pain that is. From what they said in response it’s common for even seasoned walkers to question what they are doing! I guess we keep on coming back for more in spite of swirling mists, precipitous path and the stress.

The specter of a steaming mug of tea at the end of a walk has cheered many a straggler to take the next step.

From my time in Norfolk:

Little Snoring: St Andrew, Norfolk
Late afternoon on a sunny autumn day. Sitting peaceably in this lovely old church with its detached round tower. So light and bright with the sun coming through the clear glass windows. Almost fairytale. The church and surrounding yard set apart from the village of Little Snoring. Ah, tis good to sit in these old churches. They don’t worry about religious denomination. The walls are thick, the roof solid, the pews hard!

I became quite fascinated by the very many round tower churches in Norfolk. So many of them there is even a Round Tower Churches Society.

What a huge tragedy!

Once home to a magnificent array of sculptures, the limestone caves were severely damaged in the early twentieth century when much of their contents were chiseled away and offered for sale on the international art market. In 2003, the Xiangtangshan research team of the Center for the Art of East Asia at the University of Chicago began an intensive documentation project on the caves and their removed sculptures. Like the exhibition Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan, on view at the Sackler Gallery from February 26–July 31, 2011, and a publication with the same title, this Explore and Learn feature shares the results of that research. Using 3-D imaging, the team was able to digitally match fragments to their original locations, making it possible to envision some of the caves as they appeared before their tragic despoliation. Read and see more here

What a wonderful and creative way for us to visit these caves now.

A death in a certain kind of way.