Five New Seats on Tarras Valley Nature Reserve

Langholm Walks Group have been working with Tarras valley Nature Reserve to provide 5 new Recycled Plastic Seats on the lower part of Tarras Valley Nature Reserve. This is the first one just above the new ponds and it overlooks the furthermost pond from high up above it.

The view from the seat

Charlie and Mike who placed the brass plaques on the seats today. We walked about 4 miles to do this job on a glorious sunny day and it was a most enjoyable morning.

This is the highest up seat on the new path from Hallpath to Broomholmshiels. It has a wonderful view of the Esk valley

Mike and myself this morning. The easiest way to do this walk is from the ponds to Hallpath as the climb up the hill is much more gradual.

Langholm from the seat

Lower down the hill toward Hallpath is the second seat on this path and it has probably the best view of Langholm in the distance 

Charlie and me enjoying the wonderful view of Langholm

Looking across the valley from the seat

This seat is on the lower path from The Round House to Broomholm and it is just before you turn down to Jenny Nobles Gill

This was 2 hours after we started doing this job this morning so Charlie and Mike are glad to have a rest

The view from this seat and there is a special request on the brass plaque so please follow the instructions

The final seat to be completed today is overlooking an ancient Oak a bit further along the path.

A spot supremely blessed

The view of the ancient Oak from the seat. Langholm Walks Group would like to say a special thank you to Kevan Hotson and his son for putting the seats together and to Simon Richardson's team for placing these seats in difficult places. We would also like to say a special THANK YOU to Jenny at Tarras Valley Nature Reserve for all her work in putting this project together. It's been a great team effort and we are all sure many people will enjoy sitting on these seats for many years to come. There should be a full article in the E & L Advertiser about this project soon.

A Great day at The Benty Show

Yesterday we headed up to Bentpath early morning so Gaye could enter 6 of her lovely house plants into the Benty Show. We had them all in the tent by 9.00am and then went for Coffee to Wilma and George's house and to look round Wilma's beautiful garden, which it turned out was an award winning garden as she won the Shield for Best Garden in the valley. 

This was an award winner last year but the flowers are just a week later this year so Wilma didn't enter it in the show. 

The plants in our car boot, with the exception of the beautiful Japanese flowering one which Gaye held onto in the back seat for our drive up the valley. 

Wilma's lovely greenhouse and the area surrounding it was full of plants in pots.

 

After Coffee I headed back to the Show to see the Sheep Judging. My reason for this was the entry in the Sheep classes of Tarras Valley Nature Reserve Shepherd William Nixon from Cooms Farm which is now owned by TVNR and as a subscriber to the buyout from Buccleuch I feel I own at least one of the Sheep on show. 

Due to the decline in sheep farming in the area with many of the Buccleuch Farms being sold off for forestry there are fewer farms left to enter sheep. The remaining few farmers and Shepherds had however supported the show very well by putting more in than usual so it was still a large turnout of sheep.

It was great watching the judge at work and it took him a wee while to reduce each class down to 4 sheep from which the eventual winner would be selected.

William with his prize winning ram

This was yet another class with over a dozen sheep 

The judge looking at the teeth of one of the sheep

Another class and another win for TVNR and Cooms Farm

The Best in the Show

After we had a lovely lunch in Benty Hall we headed back to the main tent where Gaye Discovered she had won First prize with her Japanese Floweing plant. She also won 2 seconds in other classes.

William being presented with the first of his 4 trophies for the day

Just some of the rosettes for TVNR Cooms Farm and Shepherd William Nixon

The top award

A proud man and a well deserved win. 

Our friend Wilma collecting the first of her 2 Cups and 1 Shield

A lovely view of the showfield with Westerkirk Church in the background

Four Cups for Cooms Farm and TVNR

Last of the Summer Wine Walkers Back Together Again

On a bitterly cold day for May this was the first time The Last of the Summer Wine Walkers had been together for almost a year and we selected a walk round the lower part of The Tarras Valley Nature Reserve since we had all contributed to its purchase. The Cumbrian Fells in the distance give an idea of how cold it was.

 The group all together next to the Tarras river and if you look carefully you will see the coal seam in the banking of the river. 

Elizabeth and Sandria leading the way across this rickety old bridge

John on this famous Tarras bridge recently repaired by John Murray of Claygate and an excellent job he has made of it as well.

Tom proceeding with great care

Me next to the Coal Seams on the Tarras. These are the same coal seams that are also in West Cumbria

Crossing a stream now.

John and David crossing the bridge. We walked 4 miles and then completed our get together with an excellent lunch at Whitshiels. The girl who served us was excellent and a real character so was well tipped for her efforts. As she was masked up I probably won't recognise her if I met her in the street but she just made an excellent ending to a good day.