Climate Walk - Foss Gill, Airton Meeting House and Farm Shop - 1 Feb 2024

Geoff, Jane, Philippa (Phil) and I set off for Calton near Airton.

We planned to visit Foss Gill, look at the Quaker Meeting House at Airton, and visit the town end Farm Shop which sells local products.

As arranged, we met Janathan who lives in Calton.

We parked in the hamlet next to the recycling/salt bin. On the wall opposite were lots of mosses, beautifully swollen with the damp left from yesterdays rain. Mosses: Syntrichia intermedia, (Intermediate Screw Moss) Hypnum cupressiforme, Homalothecium sericeum Lichens: Aspicilia calcarea, Caloplaca flavescens; 

We walked up the village. Jonathan showed us the olive tree that has born fruit and survived the frost earlier this month.

We carried on down to the wood. Interesting new bridge.

Near the wooden foot bridge we had just walked across to get there was lots of Cladonia pocillum and a black jelly lichen.

Here is some calcite. There are lots of geological faults in this valley. 

This link explains the geology a bit, but not much.

https://www.cucaera.co.uk/grp/?refs=SD9159&map=ordnance&vcs=true&graticule=true&nsgrids=false&zoom=13&lat=54.02989386366022&lon=-2.128834107932536&distinct=false&bedrock=true&superficial=false&sketches=

A fungus

I need to look this moss up. It was growing on an old retaining wall at ground level on the bank of the wood.

We stopped by the seat in the wood.

We used the sheet from Pray and Fast for the planet February 2024

We split up and each found a quiet spot and listened to hear what we could hear.  and see what we could see.

It was a good exercise - even if the white noise provided by the "white noising" of the stream drowned any rustling leaves.  No birds.  In the distance the shooting at Coniston Cold Range stopped, and then we heard a helicopter.  Ahh and maybe a crow.  I forced my self to stay awake - the stream sounded just like the App I had used last night in bed to try and get back to sleep.. I was the one who still had a good view up the beautiful gill -quite light since it is winter so it is not shaded by tree leaves. - and I enjoyed the view.

Time to go on. We thanked Jonathan for leading us.

I called in briefly to say hello to Alison and Robert Crisp

We continued to the Friends Meeting House. My original plan had been for Geoff to say a few words about the history of the Meeting House. But we had seen what we thought was an Art Exhibition advertised on the door.  When we turned up we discovered it was in fact an Art workshop which was just finishing. However Cindy the Warden at the Meeting House who had been leading the workshop welcomed us in and her remaining art person Sally and she gave us cusp of tea and showed us round.  They had been drawing a photo of a carving of a horse reckoned to be over 30,000 years old.

The meeting house had lovely wooden panelling. and woolly woven wool on the benches

Looking down from the upstairs gallery.

Then is was time to visit the Farm Shop at Airton. Late lunch at 2.50pm.

Demonstrating the chacuterie: made of best nape of pork and Yorkshire Dales Gin (from Bell Busk)

Brie cheese made a mile away.

Display of gin made at Bell Busk

Then it was time for home