The mysterious dog who walked himself - May 2015

A walk around Buttermere with boy2, John and Usko; on Bank Holiday Monday 25th May.

We were guided by TBW (That Book Woman) but really the walk is so well laid out that we didn't need her at all; so I don't know if she lied about the ascent in this walk, because I didn't read the words ;-)

The dog in the blog title is *not* my dog, I hasten to clarify... Chance would be a very fine thing with Usko! Especially with his adrenaline-fuelled state with sheep in the area. No, Usko remained correctly on lead at all times.  However, the Littlest Hobo has competition in the little guy we met... I shall refer to him (or her, and given this creature's 'just getting on with it' I wonder if he is a she actually... Little bit sexist?! I'll get my coat...). Anyway I shall refer to the dog as 'Tash' which stands for 'Tiny and Scruffy Hobo'. (S)he doesn't appear mysterious, but looks a bit like a small Scrappy Doo, with less energy.

We weren't organised enough to make sandwiches for ourselves, and also leave bread for the remaining two boys to eat at home. So we made the difficult sacrifice of eating on arrival at The Crofthouse Farm Cafe (a delicious smoked applewood cheese and tomato chutney wholemeal baguette for me, with a pot of tea, obvs).  And that's where I first saw Tashdog trot past us as we sat at the outside tables.  I assumed Tash's owners were just behind (or perhaps in front) and got on with enjoying my meal, and watching as boy2 and John tried photographing the cheeky birds who hung around waiting for crumbs (and were obviously pro's at doing so). 

Because we'd only decided on the morning to go for this walk, we hadn't prepared very well (hence the packed lunch being forgone).  We also had two cameras, both of which were on critically low battery from the get-go.  That didn't stop us getting some good snaps though, and we had our phones for some more grainy  moody shots.

One thing I was sorry to miss capturing on camera was the pair of swallows who flew, dived and danced through the sky at various points around the lake.  A wonder to behold.

So, having finished our fuelling, we set off to the northern end of the lake.  

National Trust signs up with "50 things to do before you're 11 and 3/4" were common on this walk.

We spotted Tash trotting along the water's edge, and assumed (s)he had found his family and was busying himself while they sought to try and encourage a lamb back on to the correct side of the fence. (Dad saying "Just leave it, it'll be fine" and teenage daughter replying "No, it's OK, I'm sorting it").  But then Tash seemed to tag on to another family a bit further along the lake. "Ah, good" I thought.

But no, Tash trotted past that family, and on towards a bridge.

And we didn't see Tash again until some nearby waterfalls, where (s)he obviously fooled several families in to thinking (s)he belonged with a different family... until we caught each other's eyes, and it became apparent (s)he belonged to none of us. "Uh-oh" I thought, "we've been letting him through gates and all sorts. I hope his owners find him soon".  At this point Usko and Tash introduced themselves to one another and started barking and snarling, so we moved on to avoid further conflict.

Dog on a rock looking handsome, as he does

Dog on a rock looking regal and a bit snooty: lord of all he surveys

Sign for hobbits

Lakeside Woodland

Boy2 negotiates another log walk. 

This photo taken after Usko had stopped barking. First at another dog he wanted to play with, then with a *baby* (rolls eyes) who'd had the misfortune to be dressed in a teddy bear hat with ears, consequently making Usko feel her to be another suitable playmate he was denied access to.

The combination of sunny spells and clouds together made for some ethereal scenes

Pit stop at the southern end of the lake

A tunnel through the rock... this walk had a bit of everything

Interesting what grows in the woods. Grrrrrr!

Google did something arty with my photo, but I quite like it ;-)

It was after this that we spotted Tashdog again. (S)he had obviously found his way around in front of us and was mooching at the lakeside again.

Told you (s)he was tiny

And then we worked out how Tash had got around so fast... (s)he has obviously walked this lake many times before. Tash *knows* this lake. If there's no-one to open a gate, Tash just heads down to where the fence ends and pops through a small-dog-sized gap.

And that's where Tash and the Gills parted company properly. As we headed away from the lake, and on up towards the village, Tash bore left to the top end of Buttermere again. Perhaps (s)he was going to check up on the lamb previously being persuaded back to thefield.  I wonder if Tash has an owner in Buttermere? or whether (s)he is a stray, stuck on a loop of endlessly walking around the lake?!

Sour Milk Gill through the trees. Nope I've no idea either.

John captured this fella on camera while Usko found another chicken under a LandRover and proceeded to bark at it.

On arrival at the village, we sampled the delights of various flavours of home made ice-cream at Syke Farm Tea Room. I would tell you haw amazing it was, but it hardly touched the sides!!

So finally, we came full circle to approach the famous Fish Inn (once home to the 'Maid of Buttermere' Mary Robinson, of whom I'm not sufficiently cultured to have heard, before this walk. 

Those of you who read my previous blog entry with disdain as I outlined how we'd snuck not one but two children under the barrier of the public toilets, will be relieved to know that I paid the full and appropriate sum of 20p for a wee and handwash before we headed home.

And on the way home, the sun decided it would be a good time to make an appearance. So I tried to take some photos which from a moving car was more tricky than I imagined. Still, this one came out OK:

Beautiful views for us to travel home to, and the unique experience of being accompanied on this walk by a random dog.  I will not forget Buttermere :-)