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BB2227
: Waterbird; Wings Over Windermere
Wednesday
21st September 2022
It
was a great day. It was a grey day. I was
convinced the bird would fly. Robin and
Tony were up for it too. But as I was carrying
a pack of heavy camera gear, I didn’t fancy
adding anything to a direct route. I’d arranged
parking at the YMCA Lakeside. Then the plan
was to walk the 3 miles up to Cunsey, or
to be more accurate, Rawlinson’s Nab.
There’s
not that much to write home about. We
chatted about the usual this and that: HM’s
funeral (amazing, brilliant, good luck and
long live the King), Truss, Ukraine, Prima
Facie - the play, and a few other bits and
bobs.
When
we got to the site where we/I thought Waterbird
was to fly past, we couldn’t see another
soul. I phoned a friend at Storrs Hall,
the excellent country house hotel across
the water. “Well, I hope you’re having a
nice walk because you’ve come on the wrong
day.” He double-checked the website on my
insistence that I was right (of course),
but I was wrong. So we set off back to the
car and went for a swift pint at the Newby
Bridge Hotel on Tony’s recommendation. And
who are we to argue with Mr T?
So
this BB outing is unusually spread out over
three days. Probably the longest time for
a BB walk and also the shortest distance.
I was so annoyed with myself and determined
to return on Friday. It was forecast to
pour down on Thursday, the actual first
day it was planned to fly, and they were
right.
But
Friday was beautiful. I was determined to
be early and catch the worm, get the best
parking spot allowing a swift exit. This
time I was on my own, sort of. Tony had
a prior appointment for something, probably
lunch. And Robin, back again from Yorkshire,
was watching from the East side of the Lake
with his better half and Holly the dog.
They could see Waterbird’s campsite. Meanwhile,
TV Mike was further up the lake where he
thought he’d see it, but didn’t. I was ensconced
at Cunsey Farm, part of the mighty Graythwaite
Estate, which dominates the West of Windermere,
for a parking fee of £5. There
were lots of chaps with large cameras on
tripods, including the BBC North West TV
news crew and BBC Radio Cumbria.
And
then it arrived, slowly creeping North up
the Lake. A cheer went up. We thought it
was having trouble. But after pottering
around it did a couple of magnificent runs
only a few feet above the water, and history
was made.
Afterwards,
we met up at the Swan, Newby Bridge and
celebrated with another swift pint. My lack
of attention to detail was exposed again,
and watch it, everyone! If you park at the
Swan, you must pay £5 for the privilege.
They obviously don’t want your business,
and I won’t be returning. The only good
thing was, Robin hadn’t noticed either!
So Tony was right in his choice of boozer,
it costs nothing to park at the Newby Bridge
Hotel.
Mike
B, Friday 23rd September 2022
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