Overlooked Duddon Sands
31st January 2017
Overlooked Duddon Sands
31st January 2017
The quiet and stunning Sands of the Duddon Estuary is an overlooked part of the UK.
Held within the cupped hands of Black Combe and Bank House Moor, this fine thread of water tumbles out of the mountain valley to slowly expand on its journey westward towards the Irish Sea. However, these seeming calm waters started their journey from the very highest mountains of England, where the nature and behaviour of the river was a lot wilder and fickle.
Born in the very heart of the Lake District, the River Duddon tumbles down through steep mountain architecture and as the water crashes and falls the surroundings and character changes. High up, in the tight confines of the mountainous Duddon Valley, the water tumbles and bursts through volcanic gorges and crevasses. Here the temprement of the Duddon is of keenness combined with a sense of frivolous abandon. It is capricious and any subtle weather changes can create unpredictable effects.
Like the contrasting personalities of Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde the effects of weather can reveal two different rivers. A storm will encourage the rise of the Duddon's inner monster, as it crashes aggressively onwards, forcing anything or anyone out of its way. Then, if a prolonged dry period is experienced, the once proud Beck is cowtailed and becomes meek and insular. So easily it is a spit, a simper, and on occasions a mere trickle.
However, despite the vagaries of the weather 'up' the valley, further west the waters flow they start to regroup, collect and enlarge. This is now a slow, more tempered and more wise Duddon as it has, like traveling to new countries, been enveloped by new geology and new inhabitants. The Duddon has traveled to new environments and in so doing developed a milder demeanour.
Through all the tumult, twisting and crashing the Duddon has matured, where a more seasoned personality is revealed. It is also now that the waters enter the estuary and encounters the sands.
The Sands of the Estaury tame the waters of the Duddon. They embrace and curl gently into the river, soothing and calming to create a more serene, tranquil environment. Here the Sands help create a quietness that diffuses over the landscape. These rusty brown sands, stained by the iron content that leaches through their grains, slowly and gently, but with a pervading pressure, teas the Duddon onward towards its destiny.
The journey has been transforming and transcendental on many levels. Where once the Duddon was accompanied by the song of Long Tail Tits and Grey Wagtails, with Buzzards and Peregrines swirling above enveloping crags, now there are Curlews, Oyster Catchers and Turnstones in amongst the dunes and seaweed. These new companions are not catching airborn insects or hunting small mammals, but now flipping over weeds and pecking the sands looking for invertebrates. The waters formed and changed by different actions and different cultures along its route.
The scene is ordered, gentle and peaceful. On the horizon Black Combe looks on with a parental eye. There is little interruption to the reverie and few come here to share or experience the very natural peace and beauty that exists, though we too can experience this 'journey'. .......The quiet and stunning Sands of the Duddon Estuary is overlooked.
* The authorities are planning to erect massive electricity pylons along the edge, and eventually across the mouth of the estuary. It is clear this will ruin the aesthetic beauty of the Sands, but may also have a negative impact on the diverse wildlife that lives in and around the dunes and waters edges. It seems the Duddon Estaury is overlooked no more!
31st January 2017
The quiet and stunning Sands of the Duddon Estuary is an overlooked part of the UK.
Held within the cupped hands of Black Combe and Bank House Moor, this fine thread of water tumbles out of the mountain valley to slowly expand on its journey westward towards the Irish Sea. However, these seeming calm waters started their journey from the very highest mountains of England, where the nature and behaviour of the river was a lot wilder and fickle.
Born in the very heart of the Lake District, the River Duddon tumbles down through steep mountain architecture and as the water crashes and falls the surroundings and character changes. High up, in the tight confines of the mountainous Duddon Valley, the water tumbles and bursts through volcanic gorges and crevasses. Here the temprement of the Duddon is of keenness combined with a sense of frivolous abandon. It is capricious and any subtle weather changes can create unpredictable effects.
Like the contrasting personalities of Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde the effects of weather can reveal two different rivers. A storm will encourage the rise of the Duddon's inner monster, as it crashes aggressively onwards, forcing anything or anyone out of its way. Then, if a prolonged dry period is experienced, the once proud Beck is cowtailed and becomes meek and insular. So easily it is a spit, a simper, and on occasions a mere trickle.
However, despite the vagaries of the weather 'up' the valley, further west the waters flow they start to regroup, collect and enlarge. This is now a slow, more tempered and more wise Duddon as it has, like traveling to new countries, been enveloped by new geology and new inhabitants. The Duddon has traveled to new environments and in so doing developed a milder demeanour.
Through all the tumult, twisting and crashing the Duddon has matured, where a more seasoned personality is revealed. It is also now that the waters enter the estuary and encounters the sands.
The Sands of the Estaury tame the waters of the Duddon. They embrace and curl gently into the river, soothing and calming to create a more serene, tranquil environment. Here the Sands help create a quietness that diffuses over the landscape. These rusty brown sands, stained by the iron content that leaches through their grains, slowly and gently, but with a pervading pressure, teas the Duddon onward towards its destiny.
The journey has been transforming and transcendental on many levels. Where once the Duddon was accompanied by the song of Long Tail Tits and Grey Wagtails, with Buzzards and Peregrines swirling above enveloping crags, now there are Curlews, Oyster Catchers and Turnstones in amongst the dunes and seaweed. These new companions are not catching airborn insects or hunting small mammals, but now flipping over weeds and pecking the sands looking for invertebrates. The waters formed and changed by different actions and different cultures along its route.
The scene is ordered, gentle and peaceful. On the horizon Black Combe looks on with a parental eye. There is little interruption to the reverie and few come here to share or experience the very natural peace and beauty that exists, though we too can experience this 'journey'. .......The quiet and stunning Sands of the Duddon Estuary is overlooked.
* The authorities are planning to erect massive electricity pylons along the edge, and eventually across the mouth of the estuary. It is clear this will ruin the aesthetic beauty of the Sands, but may also have a negative impact on the diverse wildlife that lives in and around the dunes and waters edges. It seems the Duddon Estaury is overlooked no more!