Damp but not despondent

We had heavy rainfall overnight, so when we woke this morning the beck behind our lodge was in spate, thundering down from the fells, swollen beyond recognition from the bubbling stream that greeted us when we arrived here.

The rain continued throughout the day, heavy enough to keep us inside, except for a short walk at lunchtime to the little village of Chapel Stile a few hundred yards up the road. There we popped in to Brambles, the first floor café over the Co-op Shop, where we enjoyed a delicious meal of brie and caramelised onion quiche with salad made by Samantha, who has owned and run the café since the year 2000. There's a photo of the bunting-bedecked Co-op in extras.

By this evening the rain had reduced to mere drizzle, so I left Smithers reading his book and I set off out into the village with my camera for a short photoshoot. The mist lay very low over the fells, giving the place an ethereal feel, and there was hardly anyone about. A lone jay flew over near me and there was a fair bit of birdsong to lift the spirits, together with the plaintive bleating of the Herdies across the common.

Today’s collage tries to give a flavour of the day; the fast flowing beck, damp flowers and the mist-covered hills.