Earlier today Dad and I escaped the house and ventured out on a boys walk, leaving mum and Buster at home.

Buster has been feeling a bit old over the last few days and is a bit wobbly on his paws.  He is still eating very well but, as the days get cooler and the rain returns, his back and tummy get easily sore and ache.

He still has his smiling, cheeky face even though at times he does wince a little when the old bones lock or he slips on the floor when jumping off the settee.

We thought it would be good to go and get some nice sausage from the butchers at Dalston. So, just after breakfast we set off, coats and water all stowed in dads backpack.

Our walk would be about 7 miles according to an online distance measuring website allowing for paddles, sniffs and sits, it should take around three hours.

Ginger biscuits

Early mornings are great for sniffs.  The air has not become thick with fumes and smells have been locked into grass and paths by early morning dew.  Carlisle is one of those cities that still has a good air quality especially early in the day.

The cool conditions were ideal to spread a sweet ginger smell into the air near to the McVities biscuit factory as we walked past.  The large air vents cascaded the rich aroma of baking across the path whilst dad worked out what they were cooking just the other side of the brick wall.

Like the opening scene for the 1970’s  children’s television series  Hong Kong Phooey, dad discounted the flavours.  It was quite comical to watch as his brain and primitive nose tried to identify the sniffs.

Was it chocolate? — ‘No,’ he said out loud

Was it vanilla? – ‘No,’ he added.

Was it ginger?  ‘Could be’  …. as the light went on in his head and we walked passed.

 Cycle path

Crossing over Castle Way and down into Denton Holme we joined the cycle path towards Dalston just behind the indoor bowling club.

It is quite a while since we did this walk and so I was quite interested to see if anything had changed and to spot new things.

To our left metal railings marked the edge of the path and allowed fleeting glimpses of the River Caldew beyond.  Dad noticed that the ornate metalwork seemed to be similar to levers found in a railway signal box.  It was quite a subtle reminder of the rail heritage of this area and something many locals who do this path daily may not recognise.

Peering through one of the railings I spotted a very large heron standing tall and proud on the bank opposite.  Herons seem to be quite common on waterways these days and appear to be thriving.

As yet we have not managed to photograph one with a big fish gaping from either side of it’s beak.

Sharing the path

Although this is a public path some humans do not think of other users.  Sadly this walk is turning out to be quite dangerous as we are constantly are interrupted by cyclists.

Many slow down  and give a warning that they are approaching, allowing time for us to be hauled in on our lead, but too often bikes whizz past at full speed.

Dad wondered what would happen if a bike got tangled up in my stretchy lead and who would be to blame.  It would almost be safer for me to be loose he thought.

One fellow dog walker we met described the path as the “Carlisle to Dalston Velodrome” and recounted how he had been verbally abused on more than one occasion by cyclists seeing the path as exclusively theirs.

Reducing flood risk

Close to Bousteads Grassing we came upon some recently completed works by the Environment Agency. On the opposite bank tree trunks had been anchored into the riverbank to offer some protection from the effects of the flowing water.

The protective barrier looks a lot better than a concrete wall and no doubt is a lot cheaper and easier to install.

After all this walking I was in need of some refreshment and  a paddle.  So was really glad to get to the weir close to the former Ferguson’s mill.

Cool water lapping around my tummy and a licker refreshed  – what more could a little boy want on an adventure.

Continuing our walk up on to the park we passed over a traffic sensor.  Labelled Northern Link transport survey, the grey box had two black hoses stretched across our path.

Dad assumes that it counts the number of bikes using the path but wondered how it discounts baby buggies, wheelchairs and dogs who just stand on the tubes because they squish.

We also wondered how it would count these three horses who had made it along the path, possibly all the way from Dalston.

They must have been very well behaved as the path is quite narrow at times and does feature some tight turns.

As our walk continued towards Dalston we occasionally came across, shall we say, evidence of the horses journey.

Often placed in the middle of the path, and frequently featuring a bike tyre track through the centre, we were sad that it had not been picked up or brushed to the side.

Our humans have pockets full of bags for such occasions, so should the horse riders.

 Cummersdale Railway bridge

Looking very green against the grey sky the Cummersdale railway bridge has had all of its scaffolding removed.

You may remember we reported in February 2012 that the bridge was undergoing a £1m refurbishment including painting and work to the trackbed.

Large stones have been placed near to the bridge columns to act as protection from the strong water currents.

It is at this point dad tries out a really bad text link to get from currents to brambles, until I tell him that the black round fruit is spelled with an a not an e.

Oh well, for a small moment he felt loved.  It is so easy to mistake love for pity!

Back to the walk and the discovery of hundreds of brambles littering the hedgerows.  The small black fruit is great in a pie and a number of humans could be seen picking the berries along our route.

Dad did not have a container to carry any home but no doubt will be out in the next few days hedgerow foraging.

Approaching the outskirts of Dalston we see a large crane being used to lift materials around the Nestle milk factory.  Towering many stories high. it was amazing to watch as it pirouetted about it’s base.

Scaffolding and work sheds littered the back of the factory site whilst steam escaped from vents and pipework like a snuffed out dragon bereft of flame.

With our walk almost complete, dad made a call home to ask for mums taxi service to collect us, but not before a quick trip to the butchers for some sausage for lunch.

Until next time, big licks

Charlie and Buster