The world beneath your feet

Up on the moor again today - there's definitely an autumnal chill in the air - it was fantastically brisk - but still the air clarity is awful & there's a sense we really need that downpour.
I know this sort of landscape isn't to everyone's taste - I've even heard words like 'bleak' used to describe it - but its not - its beautiful on a different scale. Even a rudimentary understanding of geology lets you play out the millennia in front of your eyes - the strangely placed rocks (erratics), the limestone pavement - the ridiculous curves and folds of the Howgills - almost close enough to touch - all these speak to you on a truly grand scale - the very flatness of this upland area tells its own story, & its a dramatic one.
But there's another scale on which here is just as precious; indeed quite possibly even more beautiful. In summer the grasses are alive with colour - regular readers will have seen orchids, tormetil, harebells and many many more - but taking the time to stop & get close to the ground - a different worlds appears - down in the grikes and clints are protected plants, oh so rare ferns, hunting spiders in turn hunted by shrews in turn hunted by martens - in a world that seems preposterous up close - walking across it is an adventure in itself. These are tiny canyons - carrying on for metres and miles - these fells are home to one of the largest limestone pavements in Europe.

And that's how I spent my morning - rehearsing for an audition - hopefully soon that'll become a tale to tell - sketching out grant proposal's and strategies - and watching the pooch stunningly fail to catch anything despite all of her best shock & awe pounces into the heather.