I felt so sorry for John Davison, now close to, no, past retirement he says, when he popped up on the BBC’s evening programme Look North, yesterday evening, to chat about the loss of his 15 month old calf due…
Category: Environment
Harry Hare checks out the garden
He pops in of an evening, and laconically lopes around the place, seemingly heedless of Kali cat’s presence, though always on the lookout in case she should pounce out of nowhere. Yesterday I managed to catch him through the camera…
Berry picking time . . .
We should be grateful that the blackbird, a clear favourite in our garden apart from beloved Gordon the guinea fowl, doesn’t seem to fancy the red currants! He’s decimated the lovely soft juicy black currants (I knew he was after…
Wildflower joys . . .
As I write, Earnest the neighbour’s pea cock is stretched out indolently between the white elder and the pink one in the sunshine, between the wild roses and the rampant honeysuckle, as if he owns the place. Maybe he does,…
Allen Valley Bowls Club
Penny Little emails me a few notes to help with today’s diary entry, which I will try to supplement with what I know of the past two decades, anyway. The Allen Valley Bowls Club was formed in 1953, on its…
Deneholme Wood and/or Allen Banks and Staward Gorge
To get to woodland now in Allendale, the easiest and best thing to do is to traipse cheerfully down the birch tree colonnade in the Recreation Ground to the new entrance to Deneholme Wood. Enjoy the wooded view before navigating…
Little signs of the times . . .
It’s almost, but not quite, like those iconic BurmaShave advertisements that once graced Highway 66 across America’s great southwest, since there’s really no overt punchline: Except that the real punchline in the Recreation Ground’s lovely little signs is that contemporary…
Hay Meadows of the North Pennines
If you want to understand something of the importance of the traditional hay meadows of the North Pennines, the place to go is to the online archive of Neil Diment’s investigations, served by the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural…
The Salt Store at the Council Depot
The new salt store has gone up in the Council Depot behind the Suez Waste Disposal Centre, off Shilburn Road. Unless your view is directly affected, it’s surprisingly hard to spot. But this vantage point, from beside the Fire Tower,…
The Walk to the Chimneys
Images of the Allendale Chimneys and flue courses courtesy of Doc Phil Brown’s amazing collection, in particular his depiction of a walk around Allendale. Today’s entry is the third in our Saturday series of free things to do with the…