If you look up to the sky tonight you cannot help but notice a large ring of light around the moon, this is known by meteorologists as a 22º halo, this is because the radius of the halo is always approximately 22 degrees. An old saying has it that a “ring around the moon meansContinue reading ““Ring Around The Moon Means Rain Soon””
Tag Archives: #Northwestnatureandhistory
The Dog Rose
The Dog Rose, Rosa canina, is a deciduous shrub native to the British isles, it is found in a wide variety of habitats but prefers hedgerows and scrubby patches of woodland, where it grows in a sprawling manner, its stems arching over each other and getting entangled with other briars and shrubs. It usually reachesContinue reading “The Dog Rose”
Captain Richard Pooley and Wray Endowed School
To the North of Bowland, where the waters of the Roeburn meet the Hindburn, sits the attractive little village of Wray. Largely built of 18th century sandstone cottages Wray has always been an industrious, self-sufficient community, historically a textile town, with mills powered by the flow of the two lively rivers tumbling down from theContinue reading “Captain Richard Pooley and Wray Endowed School”
The Water Ouzel
The Dipper, or Water Ouzel Cinclus cinclus, (cinclus originating from a Greek word ‘kinklos’, meaning ‘small’) is the British isle’s only aquatic song-bird, it is sleek yet dumpy at the same time with beautifully dark, chestnut coloured plumage and one of the finest swimmers you will ever witness. Aquatically Adept An expert swimmer the DipperContinue reading “The Water Ouzel”
The Abandoned Steam Crane in Jumbles Quarry
Stocks reservoir sits at the head of the Hodder valley in Lancashire and was constructed over the latter half of the 1920s, opening in July 1932, you can read about the history of the reservoir here; Sources of Stone For the construction of the dam and its many associated buildings, culverts, causeways, bridges etc nearbyContinue reading “The Abandoned Steam Crane in Jumbles Quarry”
The Wood Mouse
The Wood Mouse Apodemus sylvaticus, (Apodemus deriving from the Ancient Greek for ‘away from home’, and sylvaticus coming from the Latin for ‘of the woods’), is a very common rodent of the British countryside and quite a handsome looking wee beastie, with a dark brown back, yellow/brown flanks, white chest and belly. They are oftenContinue reading “The Wood Mouse”
The Rocks Beneath Our Feet, Part Two, Norber Erratics
Norber Erratics are fascinating and unique geological formations scattered on the western flanks of Ingleborough in Ribblesdale near to the village of Austwick. They are formed from over a hundred precariously balanced boulders and widely thought to be the best example of glacial erratics in the British isles, erratic referring to the fact that theyContinue reading “The Rocks Beneath Our Feet, Part Two, Norber Erratics”
The Queen of the Forest
The Goshawk, Accipiter gentilis, (Accipiter being Latin for ‘hawk’, which comes from accipere, ‘to grasp’, and gentilis meaning ‘noble’,) known as the ‘Queen of the Forest’, is quite a large raptor, with the adult standing up to 70cm tall and having a wingspan of around 1 metre. As with other raptors, like the Peregrine andContinue reading “The Queen of the Forest”
Northwest Nature and History 