BB2519
: Wonderful Wiggles?
Wednesday
28th May 2025
I
thought Martin had suggested Scandale as
our target for this week so that we could
the see effects of the new and allegedly
"wonderful wiggles" as part of its re-wilding
scheme. Scandale is the pass
that separates Red Screes from Little Hart
Crag and drops down to Ambleside via Scandale
Bottom. After the recent downpours,
I wasn’t sure what conditions would be like
down there as on the map it looks somewhat
soggy. Consequently I Googled for
Scandale to check to see anyone had shared
their experiences on-line. I was directed
to the website Scandale.com
which has a video about Scandale Bottoms
and Wiggling.
However, somehow it didn’t seem quite
that relevant. Check it out for yourself
and see if you agree.
I
then re-read Martin’s message and realised
that he was talking about Swindale, not
Scandale. The RSPB website does indeed
talk about "Wonderful
Wiggles"
and has a short film about "A
River Restored".
Tony and I had seen the re-wilding in process
on BB2312
and were interested to see its development.

After
I had picked up TV Mike, Stan and Tony,
I asked my new Google navigatrix, a very
polite lady with a nice Indian voice, to
lead us to Swindale. I think I shall
call her Vaanya which I am told means "A
Sylvan Glade". She rather surprised
me by suggesting we took the old Engineer’s
Road from Shap. I had thought it was
closed to traffic. As we reached the
turning, Martin and the other Mike fortuitously
arrived from the opposite direction. After
a brief discussion, we agreed to do as she
suggested and, sure enough, with a bit of
care about potholes and prayers that the
dangerous bridges would not collapse, we
reached the parking area near Swindale Foot.
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We
decided first to climb the fell.....
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..... to get a
bird’s-eye view of the rewilding then descend
to Swindale Head to walk back down the valley
and see it in close-up. As expected,
from the hill we could see the old straight
bits were now dry and the river was wiggling
away on the east side.
After
reaching the old pump house (at least I
think that is what it used to be) on the
watershed,.....
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.....
we progressed to Powley’s Hill
and continued along to Hare Shaw for lunch.
The descent via the Old Corpse Road to
Swindale Head was notable for several things.
- The
view over to the Nan Bield pass and on to the only
peak that Tony can reliably identify- Kidsty
Pike.
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- The
number of planted trees, many of which
had suffered from storms but several
Rowans, unprotected other than by a
yellow marker band, had survived.
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- The mass of what I thought were called
cotton-tails but have subsequently discovered
they are called bunny-tails. I’ve never seen
such profusion.
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- As
before, the total absence of sheep.
Hence no picture.
- A
Stonechat sitting on a branch and sounding
like he was knocking pebbles together.
He flew off.
- The
view up and down the valley.
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Once
down, we had to find
the access to the path along the valley
bottom. The one that we had used two
years ago no longer seemed to be open to
the public so we headed upstream to find
a different access. The OS map was
not helpful but the WalkLakes map showed
a footbridge some way upstream, just below
Force Falls. Stan, TVM and I pressed
on to the bridge, which did actually exist
although it couldn’t be seen from a distance.
The other three didn’t want to risk
walking so far then having to return the
same way so they decided to head back on
the west side.
I
asked Mike to describe their return to the
car and he, in turn, delegated the task
to Alexandre Dumas.
Ah,
today in Swindale Valley, a splendid scene
unfolded — a breakaway trio of Boot Boys,
Martin, Mike, and Tony, dubbed the “Three
Musketeers". They strode forth
with purpose, embodying true British grit
and camaraderie. While the rest of the group
took the more traditional path, these three
boldly chose their own adventure, proving
independence and a bit of swagger never
go out of style.
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It’s exactly this kind
of spirit – self-reliance, determination,
and a dash of cheek – that keeps our great
nation moving forward. Long live the Boot
Boys, and long live the Three Musketeers!
I
ought to take issue with the implication
that we three non-musketeers took the more
traditional path- quite the opposite- but
I’ll let that pass. Having crossed
the bridge below the falls path, we progressed
north, down the east side of the valley
on what appeared to be a new official path.
Maybe that was a mistake, it was certainly
disappointing. There were few open
views; it was mostly undulating rough track
through light woodland with little opportunity
to assess the re-wiggling.
The
Three Musketeers were waiting for us at
a set of stepping stones.
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TV Mike
took up the challenge and safely made it
across. Stan and I wimped out and
used the footbridge 20 yards further down
river.
There’s
little else to report, other than another
interesting drive on the Engineer’s Road.....
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.....
and, inevitably, a visit to the Tap.
So,
were they wonderful wiggles? They
looked it from the hillside but it’s hard
to judge from the designated path. You
can get a better idea from the video mentioned
above. Just make sure you watch the
right one!
Don,
Wednesday 28th May 2025
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