From up on Whitbarrow, a glimpse of fells to the north I feel on top of the world up on Whitbarrow. The cloudscape is wonderful and sunbursts highlight golden grasses. Carpets of purple thyme and yellow lady's bedstraw border the track. When the sun breaks through bright white cumulous there's a herbal fragrance and the sound of grasshoppers that fall silent if I step too close. I hear skylark faintly, then higher on the ridge their song is louder. Soon they'll fall silent, their breeding season accomplished. Meadow pipit sing and families of stonechat call in the scrub.
A wonderful day, peaceful and serene. From up on Whitbarrow a panorama opens up around us. The day is precious, and rare. Chris Fawkes, weather-man, has to remind us this is summer. Rain and more rain, and it's cold with gusts of wind at intervals. Those bursts of sound from grasshopper come only with moments of fleeting warmth. Flora is lavish but there are very few butterflies. There's one speckled wood and a glimpse of one or two dark butterflies.
We look south to Arnside and the railway bridge over the Kent Estuary. Looking north, the broad ridge lies before us over limestone grassland and toward the distant fells. A splendid panorama. The closure of the Brigsteer Bridge has been a shock. Our usual drive across the Lyth Valley is impossible and we are forced to take a longer detour. Scout Scar is out of reach with no plan and no timescale to restore access for walkers. So every opportunity of an outing is most welcome and if it rains, it rains. Today proves to be the best day of the week and rain holds off.
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