Lakes Local Jan 13

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January 2013

Four Year Campaign Reaches Final Stages Back to the Future 1950 to 2013 New Year, New Start A return to ‘From Cattle to Cars’ World Stage Marmalade Putting the Buzz into Lakes Local Peaks & Pathways - Haystacks Support local, with your local Penrith Co-operative Society phone: 01768 899111

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2 • LakesLocal

The Penrith Co-op Society

WINTER SALE NOW ON

A visit to your only department store in Penrith, two floors of ideas for your home and a food hall full of local Cumbrian products 19 Burrowgate, Penrith CA11 7TD Tel: 01768 862366 LakesLocal

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LakesLocal •

Dear Residents & Businesses

A thank you to all our customers for your support in 2012.

Welcome to your first Lakes Local of 2013 - out a little later than normal! It is the first January Lakes Local that we have produced.

As the momentum of our plans to remain traditional but also continue with the innovation of ideas with the community in 2013 we have a whole list of updates and plans on page 7

Launching the Lakes Local was only achieved through the support of Cumbrian businesses that needed to promote their name through doors in the North Lakes area. We are now onto our 9th issue with a distribution of 13,000. The full details are available at www.cumbrianlocal.co.uk of our distribution area. With regards to our background and history, there is also a library of every Cumbrian Local publication produced since November 2010, which, like you are doing now, you can read for free. The publications are presented in an easy to read format, allowing you to adjust the size of the text.

Here is a snap shot We are continuing with our regular food demonstrations every week.

Reading your Lakes Local is not the only thing for free. Whilst we can’t always print press releases, we are always happy to mention local events and if you have a story, it’s always worth dropping us a line or giving us a call. You can also log on to our facebook page and drop us a line. At present your Lakes Local goes through every door in CA12 and CA13.

Help us to help you - just like someone said recently, how can I tell people about the Keswick Film Festival? Well, here is a date and a link

We will be introducing new local products in our store every month, which you can try when they arrive If you haven’t got your new members privilege card sign up soon, many local businesses now offer discounts and deals when you present your card

St James Court, Keswick CA12 5EF Tel: 01768 772688 Keswick is a part of the Penrith co-operative society other stores include Penrith, Shap, Lazonby, Hallbankgate, Westgate, Frosterley, Stanhope and St Johns Chapel phone: 01768 899111

The 14th Keswick Film Festival ~ 21st-24th February 2013 www. keswickfilmclub.org/kff/ John Hurt and Anwen Rees Myers will be there and so will Tony Britten.

In this year’s Lakes Local, we will continue to do as we always do. We will be pushing the campaign for people to think local. A project Cumbrian Local Publications is firmly behind with other local businesses is local honey. We have our first ‘Bee’ article on page 14 by local Bee Keeper Melanie Vincent. Working Continued on page 4

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with the Penrith Co-operative Society, Cumbrian Local Publications has agreed to be a bee hive sponsor along with other local companies. The sponsorship is for the set up of a local bee hive, which is one of a number hives being built and set up in Cumbria to provide local honey and honey products. Bee Keeper Melanie Vincent will be instrumental in this project, which underpins the importance of local businesses assisting with the production of locally produced Cumbrian products. The progress will be followed in 2013. If this is a project you would like to know more about, please drop me a line at lee@cumbrianlocalpublications.co.uk

Content Winter Sale at your Local Co-op Opening Editorial 2013 the year of Local Food Better Life Mobility Group Four Year Campaign Reaches Final Stages Back to the Future Cumbria Oak Sale now on Love Solar Renewables New Year, new Start at Fitzpark A return to ‘From Cattle for Cars World Stage Marmalade Eden Valley Windows Sale now on Putting the Buzz into Lakes Local Cumbria Renewables Carrock Design & Build Coal in Cumbria Wainwrights Feature Peaks & Pathways Lakes Local Rate Card

A thought to finish on - how many of us bought on line before Christmas and signed on for the sales this new year on line? Do we ever think of shopping local on line? Many local, independent businesses are on line but can they be found?

We will be looking at how we can re-focus on line locally and maybe do something that for generations has worked and take part in more social, interactive sales with our local businesses. You can’t put a price on service, but it’s a question we’ll be asking people. Let us know your views and how we might help in focusing local people to buy locally on line.

Until next time, please enjoy your Lakes Local.

Page 5

Page7

Page 10-11

Page 12

A whole year of food Demos and new products at Penrith Co-operative Society Innovation and Tradition

Page 9

Back to the Future in Askham with a special presentation to the Community

It’s a return to the full story From Cattle to Cars & 45 years in Business at Jim Walton

2 3-4 5 6 6 7 8 8 9 10 - 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

New Year, New Start at Fitzpark

Pages 16

World Stage Marmalade

Carrock Design & Build Celebrate Double Federation of Master Builders Awards Recognition

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January 2013

Phone: 01768 899 111

Email: info@lakeslocal.co.uk www.lakeslocal.co.uk Four Year Campaign Reaches Final Stages Back to the Future 1950 to 2013 New Year, New Start A return to ‘From Cattle to Cars’ World Stage Marmalade Putting the Buzz into Lakes Local Peaks & Pathways - Haystacks Support local, with your local Penrith Co-operative Society phone: 01768 899111

LakesLocal

phone: 01768 899111

www.lakeslocal.co.uk

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Cumbrian Local Publications Ltd Sandgate House, 33 Sandgate, Penrith Cumbria CA11 7TJ Lakes Local Notice: Lakes Local prints various articles, features, and advertisements.

Although these appear in Lakes Local, any opinions expressed are the opinion of the author, these are not necessarily the opinion of the publisher.

LakesLocal • 5

2013 is the year of local food at the Penrith Co-operative Society You might be passing through, or making a special visit, you could be ordering your local food for a local delivery. We are not ringing out the changes but bringing back tradition. In 2012 we started our search for more local, more low mileage food and thanks to Eden Valley Home Improvements we had a demonstration kitchen installed on the ground floor adjacent to our cookware department.

This has enabled us to commence local food demonstrations with local producers inviting local chefs to prepare dishes using locally sourced products that are all available from your Penrith Co-op Society Stores. In 2013 our aim is to introduce the real taste of local, selecting and preparing the best available from the areas around our stores.

Dates for Demos: • W/C 28th January Bread and Marmalade week • W/C 4th February Chocolate week, Flowers, Wines and Valentines Friday 8th February Saturday 9th February Chinese New Year Demo with Spice King • W/C 11th February Pancake week and Ice Cream Demo’s

Buy 1 get 1 FREE

If you haven’t got your card then you won’t be making the best of the members offers available from local businesses like Penrith Outdoor Pursuits, Jim Walton, Cumbria Oak, Eden Valley Windows, Fitz Park Dental Practice, Hedgehog books, Love Solar, Lakeland Sheds and many, many more. Just look for this sign, on a window or on a vehicle. phone: 01768 899111

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For a FREE Home Demonstration or Brochure FREEPHONE 0800 533 5099 www.betterlifemobilitygroup.co.uk

LATER A BACK L SUPPO R CHAI T R

Four Year Campaign at Final Stages

By Lee Quinn The readers of Lakes Local, Eden Local and Border City Times have become familiar with the campaign for Eden FM Community Radio. On 29th January 2013, an important part of this campaign comes to an end.

From 25th November 2011 up until 22nd December 2012, Eden FM Radio successfully completed three 28 day temporary RSL’s (Restricted Service Licences).

These had to be 5 months apart. Since the start of 2012, Eden FM has been on air via the internet for one year, in between the odd power cut, broadband and of course the usual IT problems that you get with donated computers that have to run 24 hours a day 365 days of the year.

Eden FM Radio is a ‘not for profit’ limited company.

It has to be in order to submit its application to be a full-time community radio with a transmitter frequency on an FM wave band. You can’t just switch on and get a license and transmit. You have to wait until Ofcom agree for the region that you are based in and intend to broadcast from, is given permission to apply. You can LakesLocal

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be waiting for up to three or fours years for this to happen. The application window is open for three months.

Then you wait after its submitted whilst the application is processed. The timescale for this is subject to the number of applications that have been received, their locality and the strength of their application and experience.

My reason for writing this summary of events, is to make a simple point. Without the support of some key individuals, community groups, clubs, organisations, other associations, charities and local businesses, none of this would have been possible. A project that has gathered so much support is real recognition of what can be achieved as a community project. So now we wait, but in the meantime, as Chairman of Eden FM, I Just need to say thank to all those who have believed in this project; especially Ullswater Road Garage, our sponsor Penrith Co-operative Society and over 50 local businesses for the support over the last 2 years.

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LakesLocal • 7

Back to the Future

Mike Slee and Andrew Plasom-Scott and John Mills

The Penrith Co-op Society Into the new year and marking what was the Penrith Co-op Society’s 122nd was the launch of the Penrith Co-operative Society loyalty card.

simpler times and Penrith co-op are delighted to present this picture to the parish and everything that it represents.”

Pictured are Eden District Councillor Mike Slee and Andrew Plasom-Scott, Chairman of Helton and Askham parish council, receiving one of one hundred limited edition prints from John Mills, Chief Executive Officer of Penrith Co-operative Society, of a scene painted by Rowland Hilder back in 1950 of Askham village and this will be displayed in the village hall.

John Mills explained the reasoning for the return to Askham for this special delivery and went on to say ; “The society has used this iconic image on its recently launched loyalty card, as it represents the connection the society has with rural communities. In the past the travelling shop, as pictured, was a meeting point to gather news and to buy groceries. Penrith Society was and is still very much part of village life, bringing the high street to the village, delivering on a daily basis. Some things have changed over the years, but a visit to picturesque Askham reminds us of the

Andrew Plasom-Scott added; “We are delighted to receive this gift from Penrith Co-op. When you look at the picture and compare the scene to Askham today, it is remarkable how little the village has changed. This is in part what makes the area such a delightful place to live.”

The new Co-op loyalty card marks the strengthening of its membership in the community and over the coming months, a growing number of local businesses have chosen to display a replica card in their windows and on their work vehicles, offering special discounts and offers to their customers if they present their Penrith Co-operative society card.

If you would like information on how to own one of these limited edition prints, please contact Penrith Co-operative on 01768 862366.

phone: 01768 899111

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Cumbria’s Renewable Energy Experts

Solar PV, Solar Thermal, Biomass boilers, Heat pumps Whatever your renewable energy requirements for your home or business, we have the solution.

Established in Cumbria in 2009 we have over 300 installations throughout Cumbria and surrounding counties.

Call now for a no obligation survey & quote, we look forward to hearing from you.

Penrith; 01768 806578, E mail info@love-solar.co.uk web; www.love-solar.co.uk LakesLocal

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LakesLocal •

New Year New Start

Now that the Christmas festivities are over it’s time to start making those New Year resolutions and thinking about a healthier lifestyle after all the excess! People often overlook the health of their mouth and teeth and maybe a dental checkup is not at the top of a list of priorities for things to do in the New Year. As we have discussed in previous articles it is really important to get a dentist to check your teeth, gums, the lining of your mouth and neck at least once every twelve months. By visiting the dentist regularly it allows the early detection of tooth decay, gum disease, oral cancer and sometimes diseases that affect other parts of the body but show symptoms in the mouth.

The dentist and the rest of the dental team can also give advice to reduce the risk of the problems mentioned above.

One of the factors that may put a lot of people off going to the dentist is cost. Knowing how much to budget for dental treatment in the current climate is very important. At the Fitz Park Dental Practice we work with Denplan and have achieved Denplan Excel accreditation. We offer two payment plans to our patients. For £12.44/month patients receive the following benefits: • No large amounts of treatment needed before joining • Six monthly examinations and hygienist visits. This ensures ongoing preventative care for long term dental health.

• 20% discount on private treatments • 10% discount on all oral hygiene products purchased in the Practice • World wide trauma & emergency call-out insurance • Extended payment facility for large cost items Alternatively patients can simply pay £5.09/month and receive the benefits below: • No large amounts of treatment needed before joining

• Twelve monthly examinations • World wide trauma and emergency call-out insurance • Extended payment facility for large cost items Very few things can be bought for as little as 16p/day and this is a small price to pay for the peace of mind that your oral health is being monitored and dental advice is readily available. We always aim to see patients who have dental pain on the day that they contact the Practice.

As well as routine dental treatments, preventative programmes and hygienist services we are able to provide more advanced services such as: • Dental implants • Crowns, bridges and veneers • Tooth whitening We pride ourselves on being a family run Practice with a dedicated team who genuinely care about each individuals oral health and treatment. Come and meet our friendly and caring team who aim to put you at ease in an environment which allows easy communication in a professional but relaxed environment.

Whether your New Year’s resolution is to simply have a dental checkup on a regular basis and establish a preventative programme for your teeth and mouth or make a change to improve your smile the team at the Fitz Park Dental Practice is able to provide it.

As a New Year promotion we are offering free consultations to patients who book an appointment in February. Simply quote the Lakes Local when ringing to book your appointment.

Happy New Year from all the Team at the Fitz Park Dental Practice.

Fitz Park Dental Practice, 31 Station Street, Keswick, CA12 5HH Tel 017687 73020 Email info@fitzdental.co.uk www.fitzdental.co.uk General Dental Council registration numbers (G.D.C. numbers) Stewart Blayney 59384 and Simon Welch 75410

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“From Cattle to Cars” Back in 2011, I spent time with The Walton family retracing their history. When the article was released the distribution then for Eden Local was around 16,000, and as the article was much talked about then as a celebration of them reaching 45 years as a family business, I am pleased to have been asked to re presented it with some slight updated changes, to Eden Local and Lakes Local readers. As a true family business you can always be assured that a Walton is always on site, whilst the cars have changed the service today is still built on customer service and satisfaction, for many customers this has been a life time guarantee.

Here’s a story about a man who has placed his name and his family in front of the community for over 45 years. Last month, I was invited to write about the history of the Walton family and over the coming months, I will present their business to Eden Local readers. The familiar name to many and local in the Eden area is Jim Walton. Today, he is the name of a Toyota dealership on the Gilwilly Industrial Estate. I met with Alan Walton and discussed where it began. Then to fill any gaps, I met with Ann, his mam, who is still very much involved in keeping an eye on the family business since Jim passed away.

Jim Walton was a part of the family business, which meant cattle back in the 1960s. They lived at Thornycroft Farm, Johnby , near Penrith. When he was old enough, Jim would be on the road in a truck moving

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45 YEARS 1 96

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cattle about for market, travelling to Cockermouth, Hexham and as Ann recalls, he had to go to Stirling once a week, which meant a two day trip staying overnight on Wednesdays.

Married in January 1968, their first child, Paula came along in the November. From my conversation in tracing back the dates of the business’ history, it was by using the dates of the children’s birthdays that key times in the development of the start of Jim’s passion were recalled, which was buying and selling cars.

He had an idea and with the support of Ann, they took a big step. He had his eye on the future, but in the immediate future, it was a Morris Minor Van, which we reckon was a Series 2. You don’t see many of these around today. This vehicle was made from 1962 to 1971. It was a series A striaght-4, 48hp 0 - 60 mph in about 52 seconds. It had a

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top speed of 63 mph and would do around 36 miles to the gallon (7.8 litres). Jim knew what he wanted but Tommy Dayson, the owner of the Morris Van, who was also the owner of the Cafe, which was once sited

LakesLocal • 11

at 1 Castlegate where the Salsa Mexcian Bistro is now, wasn’t sure about selling. He eventually did, but on his terms it was to be advertised in the Herald and if Jim wanted it, he would have to pay the asking price. The Herald traditionally came out on Saturday and Jim popped into to Mary Tweddles newsagents in Castletown on the Friday night and from under the counter acquired a Herald. He made the call and secured the vehicle, but the conditions that applied meant that he couldn’t have the vehicle until after the milk run on the Saturday morning! It was around 1970. The first bit of Jim Walton’s stock was acquired, tagged to the time of the birth of James Walton junior and in our family photo, here is Jim and his daughter Paula at Thornycroft a short time later.

The stock was to grow.

I looked at some old photos with Alan Walton and we did the naming of the makes of cars like Austin Morris , Ford Escort Mark 1, Consul Classic 315 and what sounds a bit strange today but was traditional then, the Morris Oxford and the Austin Cambridge. My first car was a powder blue 1970 Austin Morris 1300, which cost £175. So from the Prefab building on the farm, which had a pit and a pot belly stove, the business expanded and grew. It then moved early seventies to its landmark site where it traded for over 20 years in Southend Road and the image that we have is a rare scene of the way it was on Southend Road and the Victoria Road site, Penrith. Alan Walton was born in 1972 and what started off as the acquisition of one unit, over the years became many; from one unit to several backing onto the town football ground, as it was then.

To complete the expansion, Jim Walton made one of the biggest decisions for his family business, which back then was a massive change. He linked with a Japanese family by the name of Toyoda. They were a family business, established in the manufacturing of automated weaving looms in Japan who had started automobile production in 1933. The name as we know it now and launched in the UK in the early seventies was Toyota. Unlike today, all the cars were imported from Japan. Jim Walton had to buy them from a stockist, Terry Oates in Willington.

Never a straight forward purchase in order to buy the Celica model, quite popular in their day, as part of the deal Jim had to buy the Toyota Crown, which was not as popular. This was like the Lexus of its day but ahead of its time. The name Corolla is part of Toyota’s naming tradition of using the name Crown for primary models;

the Corona, for example, gets its name from the Latin for crown; Corolla is Latin for small crown; and Camry is an anglicised pronunciation of the Japanese for crown.

Japanese cars were to have a massive impact on the UK and the American markets. The cars came with extras, like heaters and radios, cigarette lighters and other little gadgets. In my discussion with Alan, we talked about some English cars that didn’t have heating, just manually operated vents. One of the additional extras, partly due to climate I should imagine, was that in the late 70s and early 80s, Jim Walton was rust proofing cars, which was a bit like spraying treacle on the bottom of the cars, which meant them having to clean the cars in paraffin to remove any splashes. In 1983, the Walton family had a new arrival, Lisa and in 1984 Stephen arrived.

In 2011, it’s a different story. With the Southend Road development, the family relocated to its site where it celebrated its 40th year back in 2008. The new showroom, service and parts centre at Gilwilly Industrial Estate was officially open in December 2005. Jim Walton retired in 2003 due to ill health, which later took him out of the life he loved and the family business that for most of his life was a passion and a profession. Today Alan runs the business with his brothers James and Stephen all working at the Gilwilly Jim Walton site, still having as they have always done, regular meetings of the family business with mam, Ann, every week. Their aim is as it has always been to serve the community and to continue the Walton tradition of selling cars and probably one of the best Japanese cars, which as a brand in 2008, sold 3 times more than its nearest competitor.

Many thanks to the Walton Family for sharing the history of their family.

Jim Walton (Penrith) Limited Cowper Road, Gilwilly Industrial Estate Penrith, Cumbria CA11 9BN Telephone 01768 864555 Fax 01768 867280 Parts Direct 01768 865428 Fax 01768 892979 im@jimwalton.toyota.co.uk Showroom open Monday to Saturday 8.30am - 5.30pm Jim’s three sons Alan, James and Stephen

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Could your homemade marmalade be the toast of the town?

World’s Original Marmalade Awards & Festival 2 & 3 March 2013 kicks off National Marmalade Week 2-9 March 2013 “Ever wondered whether your homemade marmalade is a cut above the rest? Enter the Marmalade Awards and we’ll tell you!”

That’s the call from organisers of the prestigious preserves contest, held at Dalemain in Cumbria, which attracts thousands of entries from all over the world.

Everyone who sends in a jar gets their marmalade tasted by a panel of expert judges and then gets sent a personalised mark card with feedback on how the marmalade can be improved - or if they are lucky a gold, silver or bronze award. Judges for 2013 include Pam Corbin and the WI. The overall winners of the competition get their marmalade sold at the iconic grocer, Fortnum and Mason in London. Their recipe will be carefully reproduced and sold on those revered shelves with a percentage of profits going to charity.

Entries to the 2013 awards are now open and jars from every type of marmalade maker are welcomed with categories catering for children, serious artisan and commercial producers, B&B owners and even those abroad in the international class. Homemade categories for the 2013 contest include Forces marmalade where the Army, Navy and RAF are invited to pit their marmalade against each other and the heritage category, for recipes handed down through generations, as well as one for marmalade making novices sponsored by the Jam Jar Shop.

Last year over 1,700 people entered the competition from Alaska to the British Virgin Islands, from the Highlands to Cornwall. Pensioner Hazel Rushton scooped the top prize in the homemade competition and Cranfield Foods beat off tough competition to top the artisan contest. Both now have their preserves stocked at Fortnum and Mason.

Organiser Jane Hasell-McCosh said: “Making marmalade is part of our cultural heritage and our awards celebrate that in all its glory. I’m delighted to say that signs are boding well for another busy competition with entries already arriving.

Medical Research for children. All amateur entry fees go direct to charity – since the contest was launched eight years ago by Jane, £90,000 has been raised.

Big names supporting the event include Mackays, the last remaining family-owned marmalade producer in Scotland. Mackays is backing the Heritage category which this year will be thrown open to many of the UK’s Historic Houses. Owners will be challenged to dig into their archive and make a jar of their ancestors’ marmalade.

And the most famous marmalade lover of them all, Paddington Bear presides over the Festival itself making guest appearances. Visitors to the Marmalade Festival (2 & 3 March 2013), held at Dalemain Mansion, near Penrith in the Lake District, get the chance to view the entries, taste over 200 different marmalades, attend workshops, lectures and even a marmalade church service.

The event kicks off National Marmalade Week (2-9 March 2013), overseen by the awards’ organisers, which encourages people to try, buy or make marmalade.

“In these more austere of times, when cash is tight, making marmalade is one pastime where you can be guaranteed to save money, have fun and create something that is delicious to eat at any time of day.”

Closing date for entries is 17 February 2013.

Further entry details including an entry form, category criteria, submission details and entry fees can be found at www.marmaladeawards.com.

If you enter the awards, you also help raise money for two worthwhile charities, Hospice at Home and Action

Entry forms are available form you local Penrith Cooperative Society stores

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LakesLocal • 1

Home Improvements

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Up to 50% off KITCHENS & BEDROOMS

Visit out showroom or give us a call Friargate House Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 7XR Open 8.00am - 5.00pm Monday to Friday, 10.00 - 1.00pm Saturday, or call us for an out of hours appointment at home

Telephone: (01768) 866790 Fax: (01768) 891030 Email: info@edenvalleywindows.co.uk www.edenvalleywindows.co.uk phone: 01768 899111

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Putting a Buzz into Lakes Local Article is by Melanie Vincent

This is the time of year that bees hibernate. Well, it’s their version of it at any rate. They will fly every day in order to find any pollen or nectar but by now they’ve formed a huge ball inside the hive. They can regulate the temperature inside their hive very well, but I have put some sheeps wool insulation on top of the hive in an empty super (see below). I’ve put some winter feed on them as well, in case they can’t find anything to forage on.

I keep my bees on brood and a half, which is to say they have one larger box (brood) and one smaller box (super) which makes up the queens laying area.

It’s too cold now for her to be laying eggs, but she can lay up to 1,500 per day quite easily if she has space and a good food source in the spring and summer.

I’ve been beekeeping for about 8 years now. Not too long in the grand scheme of things, but I’m lucky that the bees have never read any of the books you can get on keeping them so they do their own thing regardless. My aim is to look after the bees. I keep an eye out for pests like Varoa mites (tiny crab like things) or Acharine (even tinier bugs that stop bees breathing) and diseases like Nosema (a kind of diarrhoea) or either of the Foul Broods (truly hideous - hope we never need to go there) and I hope they are so happy that they produce loads of honey I can steal.

Most common questions people ask me are “How many bees do you have?”, to which I always answer “I have no idea” because I really don’t. About this time of year, if all is going well, I might have in the order of 25,000 bees in each hive. In the summer that can double or more. The next is “oh, you make honey?”, to which the answer is “No, the bees make the honey and I steal it from them”. The first year I worked out that it cost me about £75 per jar to produce, so in general, it is not a good source of income, but I find bees fascinating and it’s very calming to visit them. My good friend and mentor Stephen says sometimes he needs his bee fix, and I agree; I can watch them for hours.

Some people hate them, but I’d say, if you think of your perfect summers day, it might include a nice hot sun, a gentle breeze, a glass of something cooling in the garden. Think of the sounds you can hear, possibly birds and usually the dull buzzing of a bee somewhere. They are not as nasty as wasps and rarely, if ever, interested in your glass of LakesLocal

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whatever you’re drinking. I did once have one fixated on a jar of chilly jelly but it didn’t last long.

I’m sure most people can name the types of bee in a hive - there are 3. The queen, the workers are all girls and the drones are all boys. You can only get a boy bee from an unfertilised egg, all fertilised eggs are girls, and the workers are the ones who decide if they like the queen or not and if any particular eggs are going to be turned into queens.

They will take a fertilised egg and put it into a specially constructed cell which hangs vertically in the hive somewhere (occasionally very well hidden) which is about the size of the last 2 sections of your little finger. They feed it with Royal Jelly until it gets capped off and hey presto, it will turn into a queen.

If they take a dislike to a queen they will simply sit on her, she will overheat and die. It’s a collective decision, the queen directs the jobs that need doing but if she’s not doing well, she’ll be for the chop. Or the sit.

Around the end of the month is Oxalic Acid day which is when I mix up a solution of the acid, some warm water and some sugar syrup and dose each hive. This (hopefully) means you will kill off most of the Varoa Mites which will drop through the hive bottom and onto the grass below. Other than that it’s a quiet month. I will check them, but I won’t go into the hive until it warms up again.

Until next time.

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LakesLocal • 15

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16 • LakesLocal

Carrock Design & Build Celebrate Double Federation of Master Builders Awards Recognition & Launch Decorating Division!

Carrock Design & Build Celebrate Double Federation of Master Builders Awards Recognition & Launch Decorating Division!

Despite the challenges presented by one of Cumbria’s wettest years on record, Carrock Design & Build have triumphed, securing not just one but two prestigious Regional Federation of Mater Builders awards, winning both the Small and Large Renovation Project categories for 2012. This recognition affirms managing Director, Malcolm Iredale’s outstanding track record, given previous FMB awards also secured in 2010 and 2007.

Carrock Design & Build have a wealth of knowledge in dealing with older traditional and Listed buildings, both within and outside the Lake District National Park.

Holding a Gold CITB Heritage Skills Card, allows work on Cumbria’s more prized heritage buildings. The business has also actively led the installation of green technologies, to include: ground and air source heat pumps; solar panels; wood pellet and log boilers. Accredited with Investors in People, Carrock prides itself on striving for perfection, providing clients with a bespoke service level, from initial design through to build completion.

Very much niche builders, Carrock Design & Build specialise in heritage and conservation architecture. Their impressive portfolio includes sympathetic extensions, complete new builds and lovingly crafted renovations of some of Cumbria’s finest Lakeland homes.

To achieve outstanding results and ensure the highest quality of construction, the business employs some 25 highly skilled local craftsmen and tradesmen.

True pedigree exists, with regard to specialist stonemasonry, joinery and lime & hemp plastering.

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Further defying their sector’s downturn, Carrock have now expanded by launching Carrock Decorating. Barry Sowerby & Phil Routledge, together have 30 years painting & decorating experience, backed up by key professional training qualifications. With a healthy order book running well into 2013, their workload is expected to be split 50:50, between Carrock Design Build’s needs and thereafter serving discerning homeowners.

Extreme care will be taken to deliver traditional high quality painting & decorating, promptly and to agreed timescales. Carrock Decorating is now officially open to the public for any job from a day’s work to whole house painting. Aiming to fill the 2013 order book quickly, a significant 20% VAT free promotion is currently available on all domestic painting & decorating jobs booked in before 31st March 2013.

To view Carrock’s stunning portfolio and arrange an exploratory discussion with Architect Malcolm Iredale just call 01768 488 859 or visit www.carrock.co.uk

LakesLocal • 17

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18 • LakesLocal

Alfred Wainwright on fellwalking

What was Alfred Wainwright’s greatest achievement? Perhaps it was that his guidebooks encouraged ordinary people to get out on the fells and enjoy the delights of mountain walking.

Eric Robson, Chairman of The Wainwright Society, put it like this in a recent interview on Radio 4’s You and Yours programme, ‘People looked at these little books, and people who in their thousands had … paddled around in the valley bottoms for years and looked up at the mountain tops and thought, “I can’t get up there”, suddenly found they could, because here was the way to do it. And he not only told them how to get to the top, he told them how to get down again. … He dramatically changed the lives of tens of thousands of people.’

Alfred Wainwright set out to record in meticulous detail the ways on and off the Lakeland mountains.

As he admitted, it was the defect of the OS maps in not showing all the paths that were on the ground that was an important reason why newcomers did not venture on to the fells: ‘The Ordnance Survey maps … have always had the defect of being not quite reliable in the matter of footpaths on the fells. … to a newcomer the beaten tracks are of vital concern: in bad weather they are often the only tenuous links with the safety of the valleys, the life-lines, and confidence is lost when a path is lost. … So footpaths became a personal study, too. If the Ordnance Survey couldn’t get them right, I thought I could. I noted all I could find.’ Fellwanderer But Wainwright was also concerned with how people walked on the fells. He was acutely conscious of the damage that people did to the fells as they walked and in the last book in his Pictorial Guides he drew a distinction between good walkers and bad walkers:

Alfred Wainwright photograph by Derry Brabbs

treads firmly, avoids loose stones on steep ground, disturbs nothing. He is, by habit, an improver of paths.

A bad walker is a clumsy walker. He moves noisily, disturbs the surface and even the foundations of paths by kicking up loose stones, tramples the verges until they disintegrate into debris. He is, by habit, a maker of bad tracks and a spoiler of good ones.

A good walker’s special joy is zigzags, which he follows faithfully. A bad walker’s special joy is in shortcutting and destroying zigzags.’ The Western Fells Great Gable p. 16 Here is an example of Wainwright the conservationist.

He not only wanted to encourage people out on to the fells, but he also wanted them to look after the footpaths so that Lakeland’s special beauty would be preserved for others to enjoy. And that objective lives on through the Society, as expressed in one of our aims: To keep faith with Wainwright’s vision of introducing a wider audience to fellwalking and caring for the hills.

‘There are good walkers and bad walkers, and the difference between them has nothing to do with performance in mileage or speed. The difference lies in the way they put their feet down.

If you would like to know more about the Society, log on to the website at www.wainwright.org.uk or email publicity@wainwright.org.uk

A good walker is a tidy walker. He moves quietly, places his feet where his eyes tell him to, on beaten tracks

Derek Cockell Press & Publicity Officer, The Wainwright Society

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LakesLocal • 1

Haystacks

Peaks and Pathways by Nick Wells

we passed a small triangular wood as we headed up to Buttermere Fell, already the views being offered behind us were spectacular as Crummock Water comes into view further down the valley. The path took us between High and Low Wax Knott, continuing on to Scarth Gap, here Pillar comes into view with the famous Pillar Rock very prominent.

Ennerdale seperates the two mountains to the back of Haystacks.

Haystacks stands unashamed in the midst of much higher fells, but possesses many hidden qualities not seen from other fells. Littered with small tarns and crags, Haystacks goes relatively un-noticed when walking the likes of Pillar and Great Gable.

Standing at 1958 ft, Haystacks has become one of the most popular walks in the area, partly due to Wainwright’s writings and also it being his final resting place.

The ascent from Ennerdale is likely to be of interest only to those using the magnificently situated Black Sail Youth Hostel, normally used as a stop-off before climbing Pillar.

The ascent from Honister Pass does not conform to the usual pattern, being more of a cross-country walk than a mountain climb but one still well worth taking, especially with the views of many fells and valleys along the way.

My favourite route begins at Gatesgarth farm, situated at the foot of Fleetwith Pike. We took the path to Peggy’s bridge across the flatland at the head of Buttermere, here the path forks, either continuing around the lake, or left towards Haystacks. Here

From Scarth Gap a well constructed path leads up to the summit avoiding all scree, though in places it is necessary to handle rock. At the summit lies a small unnamed tarn offering views of Pillar, Kirk Fell and Great Gable to the west and south, with Fleetwith Pike to the east. We took a short detour to Big Stack, a viewpoint which towers over the head of Buttermere and was well worth the visit.

After a short descent we paid our respects to the great AW at Innominate Tarn, it was minus 10 degrees everything was very still and the tarn was frozen solid.

I could see why Wainwright chose this as his final resting place. There were crags and tors around every corner as we passed Blackbeck Tarn descending to Little Round How. Here the path forks, straight ahead takes you to Honister, however we went left along the side of Fleetwith Pike, down towards Warnscale Bottom and back to Gatesgarth. This walk is a full circuit of about four miles, and took us three hours. .

If anyone would like to suggest a walk, please email me at sandwellfurn@aol.com

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20 • LakesLocal

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