Wild Cat Island

Who would have thought there were puffins on Wild Cat Island at the southern end of Coniston Water? I don't recall mention of them in Swallows and Amazons. But here's the evidence, perched on a rock, close to its breeding burrow just above the Secret Harbour where we had pulled up the canoes.

Four of us spent much of today receiving some much needed tuition from Wolfy in the skills of paddling a Canadian canoe. By the end of it we could confidently keep the canoes in a straight line without frantically switching the paddle from the port to starboard side and back. It was the first time I had been out in a canoe for quite a few years, but then I had never really acquired any skills to lose....until today. We have a second session in 4 weeks time, and the plan is to go out by ourselves in between. There is something a little magical about canoeing on the lakes, even in the middle of winter. There was snow falling for a while, and with the reflections there was an illusion that the snowflakes were bouncing off the water.

Tomorrow is another exciting day - a blipmeet/dogmeet in Arnside.