Category: Dexploration

Or the riverside stroll

Another lovely day dawned in Eskdale. I nosed around the curtain and saw the sun shining and heard the birds twittering in the trees. I wondered what the day would hold for me. I was a bit tired and I needed some extra yoga stretches before I could get going. I took dad out for our normal stroll around the village and I double checked that Raffa wasn’t at the Bowerhouse Inn. Sadly she wasn’t. Back to the cottage, breakfast was eaten by us all and mum suggested we take a gentle stroll along the river to Dalegarth and Boot. This sounded like fun as the words “gentle stroll” and “Beagle Harrier” aren’t usually found in the same county as each other.

I was shackled to my dad and off we went.

It was a lovely warm early summers day for a “gentle” stroll. We went through gates, fields, pastures and woods to get to Dalegarth, via Stanley Ghyll Fall, which is also known as Dalegarth Falls.

We wandered along the footpath and I got so many scents that I was in Beagle Harrier heaven again. I was really liking Eskdale valley, the longer I stayed the more I liked it. I was allowed to wade in the rivers, which was good for my warm paws.

We even went to the Boot Inn where I had to apologise to numerous people as dad had decided to wear shorts due to it being nice and warm. It was such a lovely walk that we even took our time wandering back towards the cottage in the afternoon.

It was quite some walk and I flopped onto my bed for a snooze. Whilst I was asleep, mum & dad decided to continue their age old traditional of sending postcards to people. I woke up and I realised that my paw had cramp and I hobbled around like a tripod hound, looking very sorry for myself. It worked as I then had 2 servants (aka mum & dad) gently massaging my paw to make it feel better. And then I got some extra food and water to rehydrate me and to help me snooze a little more easily.

Eventually we all decided to go to the pub for some food and drinks. I got to snooze on my settle mat again, just to rest my weary paws, and make myself ready for the final days shenanigans tomorrow.

I could definitely get used to this.

Or The Drigg Dash

Tuesday morning started with the sun shining and birds singing in the trees. Pretty much the same as for the last 3 days so I was beginning to like this place very much. Once dad had decided to get out of bed, we went out for our morning patrol around the village, via the railway line and around the base of Muncaster Fell. I wondered to myself if I would ever get to the summit? Maybe one day.

I was feeling a bit weary by now. I am used to walking 5-7 miles a day back home in posh Bucks, but here there are mountains, sheep, ferns, becks, red squirrels and so many other sights and sounds to assault my senses. I checked to see if Raffa was still here, I aroooed at the pub but there was no answer. I had sad ears, I was going to miss her & auntie J for the rest of my holibob.  Having returned to the lovely cottage, we were about to go to a place called St Bees as they had a proper beach there, and mum & dad had never been to this strange sounding place. When I heard the name it got me wondering what bees had done to be sainted, despite making honey and making good targets for me to chase at home in my grounds? In any case, that would have to wait as the nice man who owned the Cottage told us about a place called Drigg which was much closer and he said was great for letting “the dog run around”. This sounded ideal to me but there is a slight problem with it. I never go off lead. I have escaped 3 times already and worried mum & dad senseless so I am permanently shackled to one or the other of them. Anyway, off we went and found this place called Drigg. Wow!! It is indeed great.

The tide was out and my eyes couldn’t believe how much room I had to pull and sniff and wander about, singing the song of the Beagle as much as possible. We walked to the edge of the sea, I remembered not to drink the horrid water, and then we strolled further along the beach.

This was awesome. I tried to get to the top of the sand dunes, however a combination of very loose sand and an immovable object called dad, meant I was thwarted in my efforts. It didn’t matter though, as we all had fun. I even found a jellyfish but I was quickly told not to touch.

Returning to Eskdale later in the day, it appeared I still had some zooms in my paws. So mum & dad found a circular route through some forest paths and tracks and off we went. I was walking gently as I could feel my tiredness coming back. We strolled through a place called Giggle Alley which had a Japanese Garden on a side path. It is a bit overgrown but is being looked after by the local people. It was fun seeing some of the plants and shrubs that I have in my garden in posh Bucks too.

When we got to the forest track, I immediately got the scent of my mortal enemy, the squirrel. I was reined in significantly as the tress have red squirrels in them and I am not allowed to try and get them. In fact I wouldn’t try to nom them anyway, as they are protected and I quite like them. Unlike their grey cousins. We took in the sights and smells of the forest track for a few miles. Returning to the cottage, we all felt a bit tired.

We managed to drag ourselves to the pub in the evening and I laid under the table watching the world go by. I took up my now usual place under the table. The gravy bones appeared and I snoozed a while, before returning to the Cottage to complete another great day in Eskdale.

I could get used to this..

Or Ravenglass rambles with Raffa.

I was beginning to warm to Eskdale by Monday. I woke up, looked out of the window, saw the sun shine and wondered where we would go today. I took dad for another stroll around the village to make sure he was fully acquainted with the area. By the time we returned to the cottage, mum was ready to go and it was off to the pub to meet with Raffa & auntie J.

We walked back to the La’al Ratty train station and saw the train arrive in the station. This made dad run to make sure we got our seats on the train to Ravenglass. We were off to see some Roman history today. We were going to stroll on the beach and let the humans eat cake and drink coffee. The train trundled along the foot of Muncaster Fell as we all enjoyed the smell of steam and smoke from sitting directly behind the driver.
When we got to Ravenglass we made straight for the beach and saw that tide was out. I had never been to the beach, so I had never tasted seawater. I was warned by Raffa that it didn’t taste too great but being a boy I didn’t bother listening. She was right, it was horrible.

We did enjoy seeing all the small boats though. It is a nice place with some lovely views over the confluence of the rivers Mite & Irt. As predicted the humans retired to a cafe for coffee and cake. Raffa & I lazed about on our settle mats and woofed about our trip whilst they ate and drank. Soon we decided to explore Ravenglass a little more and found a place called the Roman Bath House.

It looked a bit leaky to Raffa & me, which was fortunate as neither of us like baths.

On the return La’al Ratty train journey, it was clear that the humans hadn’t learned anything as we sat directly behind the driver again.

We escorted Raffa & Auntie J back to the pub and we all said goodbye, as they had to go home. I had sad ears. We had enjoyed having their company and I could woof with Raffa. Now I had to put up with my mum & dad for the remaining days.

There was one final surprise for me for the day, as we went to a different pub in the evening for food & some drink. The George IV was a bit quieter than the Bowerhouse Inn. I was missing Raffa already. I laid under the table, hoping they had a good journey home.

Tomorrow would bring new fun and excitement. I couldn’t wait..

Or Windy Wastwater.

Another beautiful morning broke in Eskdale and I was whisked around for an early morning stroll. I had a great wander and snootered around the lanes and paths near our cottage. After some tea and toast it was off to meet Raffa & auntie J for our daily shenanigans. This time dad was driving and I had suspicious ears. We picked up Raffa & auntie J outside the pub, where they were staying and off we went, on another adventure. We arrived at a place called Wasdale and when the boot was opened, the scenery was wonderful. Well, it would have been if the wind wasn’t so strong that my ears were hitting me in the face.

We didn’t exactly stroll around the shore of Wastwater, rather we marched against the wind.

Everyone was laughing and smiling, whilst Raffa & I were arooing at each other to look at the view, watch out for flying ears and make sure we were soundly attached to a human.

Fortunately I was attached to an immovable object, called dad. We aroooed at Scafell Pike, we aroooed at sheep, we even aroooed at each other, it was so much fun. When we were back in the car, we thought the trip was over but oh no, how wrong we were. Within a short time we arrived at Wasdale Head and the humans took the opportunity to go to the pub for coffee and buns – again.

I still had some zooms in me, so dad took me off for a brisk walk into Mosedale, whilst the ladies relaxed and chattered.

Upon our return we decided it was best if we head off home and regroup later, for the highlight of the day. The pub quiz at the Bowerhouse Inn.

We met in the late afternoon and readied ourselves for the Pub Quiz. The humans tried their best to answer the questions and didn’t do too bad, to be honest. I think that Raffa & I would have got top marks though, if the categories were food, aroooing, sheep & snoozing. Having had dinner and all thoroughly enjoyed the day, we wandered off to rest our weary heads.

The fun would continue however – the following day..

Morning broke as I nosed around the curtains. I was still in the Lake District so it was Beagle Harrier heaven for me. I was told that I was off for a stroll around Eskdale with dad. He muttered something about getting some “zooms out of me before we met Raffa and auntie J”. So off we went, meeting Oscar the Black Labrador on the corner and then wandering about the fields and fells. By the time we got back mum was ready so I wolfed down my breakfast (nothing changes apparently) and we were off to meet Raffa & auntie J for our trip on the La’al Ratty narrow gauge railway. We had decided to go to Dalegarth for the day. It was near a place called Boot and as we have a friend called Boot, we thought it would be fun to send pictures of us at Boot, to our pal. As usual the humans had their cameras ready throughout the day and we had our pictures taken at the station before we had great fun riding the train.

When we arrived at Dalegarth we also met Marley the Beagle and we aroooed each other. We strolled about, taking in the scenery, which of course included all the deer, squirrels, rabbits and other creatures scents.

For lunch we decided to go to the Boot Inn, which is really nice and very dog friendly. There were many people there, as well as plenty of other furs for Raffa & I to greet.

Whilst the humans had coffee and cake, Raffa & I were busy planning our afternoons escapades which we decided would be a stroll back to the river via St Catherine’s Church. This was fun, because Raffa & I were snootering for so long that we missed our train back home so this gave the humans an excuse to have another coffee.

It must have been dads lucky day as I still had some extra zooms so we went for a brisk walk of a couple of miles. The views are great so we took our time strolling around.

Once back on the La’al ratty we laughed and had fun until we had to alight at our stations. We all decided to meet up later. Fortunately auntie J had reserved a table in the Bowerhouse Inn, as it was busy and the humans ate their noms and chattered whilst Raffa & I quietly plotted our next days exploits.

The fun would continue…

I did wonder what was happening on Thursday. During the day I went out for a walk and it seemed to go on and on. Dad was working for the day so it wasn’t really until night-time that I began to think something was out of the ordinary. There were bags being packed and these included my food and beds. I was very suspicious ears.

On Friday I was rudely awoken far too early. By the time I returned from a stroll around my garden the car was on the drive ready to go. I was whisked into my crate and we were off. Where was I going? I had no idea, but we went whizzing along on the motorway.

After what seemed a lifetime in dog years, we arrived at a place called Eskdale. The boot was opened and the fresh smell of Cumbrian country air filled my nostrils. I was back in Beagle Harrier heaven. I remembered this from last year, when I was in Patterdale. We were staying in a cottage called The Coach House and it looked really nice. Inside it lived up to expectations, it was lovely and cosy. We unpacked our bags and I went out for an exploration with Dad.

I met a black Labrador dog named Oscar who greeted me as I wandered past his house. He said it was nice round here, and he wasn’t wrong. Even on my short stroll with dad, I was loving the sights and smells.

After a while we went to a pub for some beer & food. It should be noted that I didn’t get any beer or food but I did get some gravy bones from the nice barman. I was tired so just wanted to lay down on my settle mat but I kept on seeing other dogs.  I aroooed them all, being the friendly Beagle Harrier that I am. This announced my presence in the pub, much to the amusement of quite a few people. Soon some visitors arrived that I knew. It was Raffa and her mum, auntie J. They had come to visit Eskdale too. This was of course great news as it allowed me to have a sensible conversation with Raff, and not listen to mum & dad wittering on about stuff. Eventually it was time to go back to our sleeping quarters, and we agreed to meet up the next day.

Let the fun begin.

I am a very lucky Beagle Harrier. I get to stroll and snoop around some lovely countryside where I live. I have 2 humans who are, of course, very willing to help me explore the byways of the Chiltern Hills.

Our town lies in the confluence of about 5 different small valleys leading to some great places, many of which have been explored. As I have been here for a while and I have been able to walk at all times of the day I have seen the seasons and elements change throughout my time. 

Thankfully the local farmers allow permitted access to quite a number of the fields and paths, which I love to explore and sniff out the squirrels, deer and foxes which live here.

Sometimes I even manage to get out in the chilly cold, with the frost still on the grass, or even with snow. Sadly snow seems to suppress the smells for me, which means I walk with less pulling. 

I live quite close to somewhere called London. And the Chilterns are really nice so if you want to share my views, come and see the Chilterns for yourself.