By following the path uphill north from Stainforth we are walking along both "Ribble Way" and "The A Pennine Journey trail".- two long distance paths in one go. We go past the church and detour for 10 metres to glance in the window at the art gallery, and then up the track to the field from whence it is UPHILL, steeper and steeper through two grassy fields. It is cold and very sunny.
I have written about this stream on my lichen walks before. Some of these pictures are by Sally Waterson
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| Haw frost in the shade of the walls |
Geological Detour
The rocks here are the rocks below the Carboniferous limestone and much older. The rocks here are Silurian Rock..Mnemonic: - Cows Often Sit Down Carefully. Perhaps, Their Joints Creak? Persistent, Early Oiling Might Prevent Painful Rheumatism.
- Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, Pliocene, Pleistocene, and Recent
It seems that Geology names change even faster than lichen names. these might have been called Austwick Formation Sandstones recently but if you look at this paper in 2012 by the British Geological Society it might have changed .. Actually this is a great link - Do click on the map at the top left in the link and keep clicking through to get it magnified.. You will see some descriptions of some really local places around Stainforth -- in geological terms that are just as arcane as lichen descriptions.
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| The Austwick Formation |
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| Up we climb |
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| Hi |
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Sitting near lichens such as Xanthoparmelia conspersa and Rhizocarpon geographicum, we look at the sheet for Pray-and-Fast for the Climate - 1 December 2023 - COP28 has just started in Dubai, UAE. The first day produced some good news in that The rich countries got slightly further forward in sorting out giving some money to the countries that will suffer great damage by climate change and rising sea levels. "The COP28 delegates agreed to operationalise the fund on the first day of the
conference. The moment was applauded by all in the room and marks a recognition of the reality of loss and damage and
the obligation of those most responsible to assist those least responsible. It is a significant step and starting point towards
greater equity" –
(Post script written mid December: - but by the end of the conference, the oil rich and fossil fuel rich countries seem to have slowed down the rate of response to the climate crisis , ,, meaning that that sea-level rise and global warming will be even greater. )
So we sat on these rocks and surveyed our place in history and geological time. And felt empathy and sadness for the people in Gaza being bombed and losing whole families and nowhere safe to go, and for people in Ukraine in fear of the Russians, and people in Russia having to send people off to war. And people in many countries where they cannot protest or even write articles without being put into jail. |
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| We carried on over a wall and here the land flattened out thought the stream had cut a valley. There are lots of new trees. You can see Ingleborough in the distance. The land above the trees is rather boggy - but maybe that will keep the valley side damp if we have droughts, whilst the trees are growing. |
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The path carries on towards Moorhead Lane. You can see Pen y Ghent and Fountains Fell in the distance. We are at 328m or 1076 feet above sea level
But it is 2.45pm and we only have an hour or so left of daylight. So we turn round
and go back down the hill |
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| See Pendle in the distance |
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| Homeward bound. |
See more Climate walks in the Settle Area
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