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Mosser, Lorton and the New Bridge Date & start time: 20th - 25th January 2011. Location of Start of walk : Roadside, Loweswater Lake, Cumbria, Uk ( NY 128 218 ) Places visited : The old Mosser Road towards Wilkes How and back. Walk details : 2.75 mls, 500 ft of ascent, 1 hrs 30 mins including watching the sunset. Highest point : Graythwaite Woods 815 ft - 250 m. Walked with : Ann and the dogs, Harry and Bethan on the walk, followed by my visit to Lorton a few days later. Weather : She got the beautiful sunset with a cloud inversion . . . I got the rain ! [ Alter the settings to zoom or change the Map, use Everytrail to download the Gps route ] |
A compendium of a few days in January when the fine weather gave lovely sunsets only to be followed by a few dull days with rain. Ann has a walk out on Thursday and I follow with a visit to Lorton on the following Tuesday. The Lorton Bridge is officially open so I take the opportunity for a stroll around the village. This is one of Ann's favourite afternoon walks. The old road to Mosser only has occasional vehicles as it is in such poor condition so is great for walking the dogs. It takes you up onto the reverse side of Fellbarrow, bringing you out into the last of the sunshine on days like this. There is a heavy coastal cloud inversion and the whole of the Solway Firth is hidden from view. Up here, however, the sun is shining. The line of high ground peeping out across the swirling cloud of the Solway in the distance is Scotland. Behind are the slopes of Fellbarrow, Smithy Fell and Loftbarrow but in front is a rather large flooded area of track so we turn back making this the mid point of the walk. Walking back with the sun in my face as it sets lower in the sky. It still throws rich colours onto the remnants of the Winter bracken on the fell side Rich brown colours in the sun and a hint of white where the frost has held on the north facing slopes. Looking down on the headland above Whitehaven Harbour Zooming in over Mockerkin at the distant view. Time for bed . . . for the sun at least. - - - o o o - - - Over the weekend it was announced that the road bridge at Lorton would finally be open to traffic. Unfortunately I was working that day and couldn't get across so I'm grateful to Les Web of the Mellbreak Communities Web Site for use of his pictures. [ See his report on the link above ]
- - - o o o - - - After slight delays due to the winter weather the bridge is finally open and the village is once again reunited. At last the long drive up the valley to Scale Hill bridge, or down to Southwaite Bridge, will be thing of the past for many people. Our thoughts have been with other flood victims in Australia or South America in recent weeks, at least here in Cumbria, life is getting back to normal. - - - o o o - - - Just a day late for the opening, I had the chance to go across and see the newly opened bridge and while there took the opportunity to walk around Lorton Village. One Loweswatercam Viewer (who wishes to remain anonymous) asked if I could take a picture of the Blue Houses. [ I hope these are the ones you meant ]
The old Wesleyan Chapel has been converted into a delightful cottage but is currently up for sale. (Click here for the estate agent's sales details) Behind the old Chapel I go in search of the old Horseshoe Pub, a favourite haunt in the youth of yet another Loweswatercam viewer, Lloyd in New Zealand. Tucked up a short back road is a group of old cottages, each with a name that reminds you of days gone by.
The bags of rubbish are purely temporary as the old pub is undergoing complete renovation. The property closed as a pub many years ago, became a lovely home and is set to make someone a lovely home yet again, once the builders have done their work.
This used to be the side room and the doorway led through to a dining room or snooker room, the builder wasn't totally sure. Many thanks for permission for the brief glimpse inside during the renovations. No this was not the plan the builders were using, it was one sent to me by Lloyd Stridiron from New Zealand who enquired after the old building . . . RmH
Corner Cottage and its neighbour with their distinctive outside steps.
The Brewery served three pubs – The Rising Sun and The Horseshoe in High Lorton, and The Packhorse in Low Lorton. The Wheat Sheaf came at a later date and is now the only remaining pub. The famous Lorton Yew Tree stands behind the Village Hall on the bank of Whit Beck in High Lorton and is said to be at least 1,000 years old. It was once much larger than it is today, having been reduced in size by a storm shortly after Wordsworth immortalised it in a poem he wrote in 1803, ‘Yew Trees’. In 1652 George Fox, the founder of the Quakers, preached under the tree and John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, is also said to have preached under it in 1752. [Sources of information: an entry on Wikipedia ”A Cumberland Valley, A History of the Parish of Lorton” by Ron George] [ information again via the Mellbreak Communities Web Site / Lorton Page] The Village shop, still run by the Eland Family.
The new stone confirms the fact that I'm standing on the newly opened bridge . . . to take a photo of Bridgend House from this angle has been impossible for the last year. Open for traffic but still just some landscaping work to complete . . . some flower beds and maybe a coat of paint on the steel girders someone suggested ? My official drive over, twenty four hours after the post van !
The official Plaque commemorating the re-building. A year on and the Old Mill still has the builders in, trying to complete their renovations after the flood. Likewise the bungalow still has much to be done after their underpinning and renovation work. Still it's a welcome relief to all those that use the crossing, that the bridge is finally open just fourteen months after the floods hit the area. - - - o o o - - - |
Technical note: Pictures taken with either Ann's Canon 75 or my Canon G10 digital camera. Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder. This site best viewed with . . . a link restored for the local community. Go to Top . . . © RmH.2011 . . . Email me here Previous walk - 19th January 2011 Hen Comb and the Sunset A previous time up here - 19th November 2010 Lorton Bridge ~ One Year On Next walk - 29th January 2011 Mosser Track from Lorton
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