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Dolly
and the Bluebird
Thursday
20th March 2014
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When
I were a little lad, washday (Monday of
course) meant a galvanised dolly tub full
of hot water, a posser, a scrubbing board
and a mangle to squeeze out the liquid from
the clothes.
I
don't remember what we used for soap but
I do remember Dolly Blue. The little bag
had a stick in it with a small handle. The
whole thing resembled a tiny peg doll, hence
its name and marketing theme.
The
Dolly Blue would be repeatedly dipped into
the water to add a blue tint, thereby disguising
the yellow of the aging clothes.
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Hello
Dolly
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The
Blackbarrow Mill
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On
the River Leven, not far below the outflow
from Windermere, is a hamlet that used to
be known as the Dolly Blue village as all
the buildings were extensively tinged in
bright ultramarine emitted from the local
factory. Its real name is Backbarrow.
In
fact it was not Dolly Blue that was manufactured
there but a similar product for the Lancashire
Ultramarine Company (later taken over by
Reckitts) but the name, like the colour,
stuck.
These
days the place has been gentrified almost
beyond recognition.
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The
houses have reverted to their natural colours. The
factory has been reincarnated as a hotel. The
only significantly sized piece of blue is on the outside
walls of the Lakeland
Motor Museum.
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b.jpg)
Lakeland
Motor Museum
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x.jpg)
The
Dolly Blue Hotel
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That
was our gathering point. However, with strong
winds and heavy rain on their way, we needed an early
start if we were to get a walk in before the expected
noon-time drenching. Poor James had to miss out on the
excitement thanks to the need for an urgent trip to
the dentist, following which, he hoped to find us.
Navigation
was not my strong point today. I did successfully
manage to lead the team to another hamlet with an interesting
factory building with its proud clock tower: Low Wood.
In this case the conversion has been to smart offices.
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b.jpg)
Clock
Tower offices
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A
glimpse within
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My
first error was made by heading onwards via the wrong
road. It seemed right when looking at the map
but it wasn't. Had I referred to the compass it
would have been immediately apparent. But I didn't.
Eventually realisation dawned and I tried to rectify
the situation by using a track marked on the map but
not as a public right of way. It became obvious
that visitors were not welcome. Alarm Mines!!!
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b.jpg)
Be
warned!
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b.jpg)
Seen
better days
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Actually,the
detour was not that great and we soon found the correct
road then the correct path up past moss covered disused
buildings to Bigland Tarn.
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The
weather was holding up nicely, We had quite
pleasant walking conditions.
Consequently,
rather than use any of the escape routes
back to Backbarrow, we pressed on past Bigland
Tarn to the Back Reddings Allotment tarn
and on to Bigland Allotment.
The
return to Backbarrow should have been simple.
According
to the map, all you need to do is follow
the path over the hill then down and, indeed,
I thought that was what we were doing.
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b.jpg)
Bigland
Tarn
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I
found the stile and on the other side was a distinct
path that we followed. I was looking for one going
off to the right, as required, but none appeared. However,
it transpired that what we were on was a farm track
unknown to the map makers and it was taking us more
or less back the way we had come albeit somewhat higher
up and on the other side of the wall. It was when
the Back Reddings Allotment tarn appeared for the second
time that I realised the mistake. Again, had I
used the compass, the error could have been detected
sooner. Lesson noted.
x.jpg)
Belted
Galloways above Back Reddings Allotment
Now
with compass in hand, we improvised a new route over
Bigland Barrow and headed back to Backbarrow (have you
been counting the "B"s?).
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b.jpg)
Dropping
down to Backbarrow
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b.jpg)
On
house wall
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Meanwhile,
James had arrived from out the dentist chair and was
awaiting us in the Motor Museum cafe. Somewhat shamefacedly
we arrived an hour late but, fortunately, just before
the heavy rain set in as per the forecast.
The
car park and the cafe was extraordinarily busy for the
time of year. In a way it is not surprising. The
food is good and where else to go on a wet Thursday?
Fortunately
not many of the visitors seemed interested in the Motor
Museum so, after flashing our local resident's half
price passes, we entered this Aladdin's cave of motoring
memorabilia. A transport treasure trove. For anyone
remotely interested in any form of wheeled transport,
it is fascinating. Tony in particular was delighted,
as I knew he would be at the price. What particularly
enthralled him was the private collection section of
restored Vincent Motorbikes and, what is more, the owner
was there for him compare restoration stories. I
am sure that Tony would agree that this guy is in a
different league. All of his bikes were worth five figure
sums with one having an estimated value of £65,000
!
Many
things impressed us about the museum, including:
- The
range of different types of vehicles on display
from penny farthings and kiddie cars through
to a fine display of vintage and veteran machines
plus quite a lot familiar to us in our formative
years- Austin 7, Morris Minor, Mini Clubman,
Triumph Herald etc etc.
- The
pristine condition in which they were all displayed
- The
accessibility of the vehicles. Naturally
you were not encouraged to touch, never mind
climb on board, but you could stand right next
to them to peer in and over
- The
additional memorabilia including motoring penny
arcade machines that still worked (but had been
converted to 20p).
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b.jpg)
Comitibus
: Lakeland
Motor Museum
b.jpg)
Tony
lusts after.....
b.jpg)
The
showroom
b.jpg)
Tony's
sort of shop
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b.jpg)
The
family car
b.jpg)
.....
the Vincent
b.jpg)
Car
with his and hers steering wheels
b.jpg)
The
Greasy Spoon
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It
also has an interesting section on the history of the
Ultramarine Factory.
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b.jpg)
Making
Ultramarine Blue
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b.jpg)
Packing
department
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But
that is not all.
Across
the yard (past a couple of old caravans thought brought
back many memories) is the Bluebird Museum containing
replicas of Malcolm Campbell's record-breaking Bluebird
motor car and boat plus one of the Bluebird boat in
which Donald Campbell perished on Coniston Water in
1967.
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b.jpg)
Malcolm's
record breaking car
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b.jpg)
Donald's
record breaking boat
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In
summary, if you have the slightest interest in transport
history and the weather threatens to be less than glorious,
this is a superb place to visit. But if you do
go for a walk first, please don't forget to use your
compass!
Don,
Thursday 20th March 2014
Thanks
to the Lakeland Motor Museum for permission to photograph
exhibits
Uncle
Google
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Many
is the time on these pages that I have referred gratefully
to Uncle
Google but, until today, I had never stopped to think
what he looked like.
My first thoughts were of
a medieval God-like father figure dispensing wisdom
but then I realised that could not be right.
God
is infallible. Uncle Google is not.
He is simply
the gather of disparate information.
He is more
like a Womble.
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I
then realised that he really is a Womble.
Further
research uncovered the little-known fact that he is actually
the identical twin brother of Uncle Bulgaria.
Actually,
his given
name was Gulgaria.
In their youth, he and his
brother Bulgaria formed a singing duo known as the BGs.
Their
hits included "You should be Wombling" and
"Staying a Womble".
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Sometime
later,
he emigrated from Wimbledon Common to America but
the immigration officers had difficulty spelling Gulgaria
so they changed his name to Google.
In
California, he thrived and, back in the
early 60s, went on to
set up Googleplex,
which grew into the massive success it is today.
However, it seems all that publicity nearly went to his
head and he was only saved when his relatives Skyped
him, singing "Remember you're a Womble".
This
chastened him and, at the same time, inspired him to
write the new company anthem:
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On
your phone, on your pad, on your PC
Google your time
away, Googling is free
Making good use of the things
on the net
Things that you'd otherwise prob'ly forget
Some
people abuse us, somehow don't see,
That misleading
Google is no way to be.
You Google by day and you
Google by night
It is better for all when the facts
are just right.
Googlers
are organised, work on their own.
Finding out things
that to them were unknown
You must remember, I'm
sure that you do
It's info for everyone, most of
it true
On
your phone, on your pad, on your PC
Google your time
away, Googling is free
Making good use of the things
that you find
Things that folks every day have on
their mind!
Don
PS:
My apologies to Mike Batt, Google and anyone or
thing else
that I have plagiarised or otherwise offended.!.
| STATISTICS:
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BB1410
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| Date:
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Thursday
20th March 2014
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| Distance
in miles
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6.4 Garmin GPS
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| Height
climbed in feet
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1,234
Memory Map / OS
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| Features:
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Backbarrow,
Bigland Tarn
Lakeland Motor Museum
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| Comitibus:
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Don, John Hn,
Mike, Stan, Tony
+ James @ Lakeland
Motor Museum
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BOOTboys
routes are put online in gpx format which
should work with most mapping software. You can follow
our route in detail by downloading bb1410 .
To
discover which Wainwright top was visited on which BB outing
- although it may not be that up to date - see: Which
Wainwright When?
For the latest totals of the mileages and heights (ditto) see: BB Log.
Photos
have been gleaned from many sources although mostly
from me!
Likewise written comment.
Unless stated
otherwise, please feel free to download the material
if you wish.
A reference back to this website
would be appreciated.
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. Please let me
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