Dad has only been off a week and I feel as if we have walked around the globe.
When mum takes me for a walk it is moderate and leisurely. However, with dad we travel for miles and so it was today, with a walk to Dalston and the sausage mines.
With a bright sun overhead and dad loaded down with my water bottles we headed into Carlisle and the start of our adventure.
We have done this walk before and it is ideal for keeping reasonably clean and dry.
The first discovery we made were the stacks of concrete stones awaiting installation on the new retaining wall near to the West Coast Main line.
Readers of this blog will know that we have been following the works by the River Caldew for some months now. The slabs, secured behind high metal fences, looked most unusual with their dimpled surface.
We wondered if the bumps interlocked with other stones placed on top to make a more rigid wall to hold back the water.
Cascading water
Following the river upstream we stopped for a water top up and paddle behind the former Fergusons Mill in Denton Holme.
After all the recent rain the noise of the water cascading over the weir was quite deafening. For the first time I could see one solid wall of water churning the full width of the structure.
Nearby, the trees in the cemetery stood guard in the sunshine tall and regal in shades of winter defying green.
Underfoot the tarmac path was at times muddy and certainly squishy and damp in the grass verges.
I tried to avoid going too far off the paths so as not to upset mum upon my return.
Behind the Pirelli Tyre factory long, dead grass stalks could be seen draped over fence wires. It was as if they had been put there deliberately to dry before being gathered for some art project.
Rotting in a field
Leaving the wide open fields behind and entering the outskirts of Cummersdale, my nose became filled with a bit of a pong.
Steaming and smelling at the bottom of a well rutted field was a series of piles of manure.
Positioned well away from nearby properties, but close to the path, the rotting heaps served to reminded us that we were now entering the rural outskirts of Carlisle.
Safety device
Alongside the railway, and not far from our destination, a large structure made from scaffolding tubes has been erected.
Due to it being positioned below high tension cables we could only assume that it is to protect the wires from falling onto the tracks and the path during repair works.
As it is positioned quite a distance from any road access the construction must have been a bit of a nightmare for the builders.
Buzzard spotting
One last surprise before we arrived into Dalston, and the almost traditional visit to the butchers for some sausages and bacon, was the spotting of a buzzard.
Standing on a fence post almost 500m away and almost camouflaged against the tree line he was quite hard to make out.
A nearby magpie helped give a scale to the magnificent bird, as he perched fleetingly before soaring into nearby trees.
What a fabulous sight to see and a great memory from my long walk.
Now to go and get my paws soaked in some warm water and my leg muscles rubbed before they seize.
Until next time, big licks
Charlie