# The Places We All Love



## Diabeticliberty (May 8, 2016)

I thought that I would create a thread where we can all post pictures and dedicate it to the places that are that bit special to all of us. I will open the bidding with a couple of images taken using a mobile phone just on dark while waiting to enter the River Lune one night and fish for sea trout. This place never fails to inspire me. The location is north of Kirkby Lonsdale but to me it is Elysium.


----------



## HOBIE (May 8, 2016)

Good DL.  Looks so peaceful


----------



## Diabeticliberty (May 8, 2016)

HOBIE said:


> Good DL.  Looks so peaceful




The curious thing is that by day the place absolutely brims with life. By night well it absolutely brims with life. It looks far more peaceful than it is. Actually it is as vibrant by night as it is by day. The oyster catchers never stop day or night. By night the bats are constantly working taking all manner of flying creepy crawly. I frequently encounter otters, badgers, foxes, hares and rabbits. Best of all the female gnats that like to nibble your earlobes by day absolutely bite large chunks out of you in darkness. Of course the sea trout, my raison d'etre which aren't seen much in daylight start splashing around very readily by night. It really is a wonderful life I enjoy 


Enough of my stuff folks. Let's see some of yours


----------



## Copepod (May 8, 2016)

I have canoed on River Lune, with a friend who used to live at High Bentham. And no, we didn't encounter any fishermen, so no conflict of interests. In fact, on other rivers, I have often recovered fishing hooks & lines from vegetation, to avoid them being left to entangle wildlife. If fishermen were still present, I handed gear back to them, as a hook inside a canoe hull or kayak cockpit can be uncomfortable, to put it mildly!


----------



## Diabeticliberty (May 8, 2016)

Copepod said:


> I have canoed on River Lune, with a friend who used to live at High Bentham. And no, we didn't encounter any fishermen, so no conflict of interests. In fact, on other rivers, I have often recovered fishing hooks & lines from vegetation, to avoid them being left to entangle wildlife. If fishermen were still present, I handed gear back to them, as a hook inside a canoe hull or kayak cockpit can be uncomfortable, to put it mildly!




Anglers particularly fly anglers such as myself seem to get a real bee in their bonnet regarding canoes and kayaks. If you want my personal opinion this is because they are quite frustrated because with very limited ability they cannot catch very much. The rivers and countryside should be there and are there for all of us. You have as much moral right to be there as me or any of my angling cronies. I categorically do not have an issues with canoeists. I regularly pass the time of day with them and initially they appear quite suspicious of me as if they are waiting for me to beat them around the bare backside with a rolled up towel. Once they realise I actually have no agenda we all seem to get along extremely well.  Life is actually far too short to be having silly arguments about matters of insignificance.  As regards fishing line and hooks please believe me - NOT ON MY WATCH and the people I teach usually go away from me with the same mantra.

The next time you see an angry fly fisherman or woman who isn't doing very well offer them an instructor and tell them I'll do mates rates


----------



## Copepod (May 8, 2016)

Very reassuring to hear from a friendly angler - I know there are many. However, on River Cam, you might have to be careful brandishing rolled towels, as the Riverbank Nudist Club does involve bare backsides!  Canoeing upstream to Granchester Meadows (as featured on Granchester TV programme) was often quite entertaining, with nude swimmers nearly always swimming on their fronts - and not all of them has as attractive bodies as James Norton and Robson Green! New Year's Day paddles nearly always coincided with cold water nude swims.


----------



## HOBIE (May 8, 2016)

Diabeticliberty said:


> The curious thing is that by day the place absolutely brims with life. By night well it absolutely brims with life. It looks far more peaceful than it is. Actually it is as vibrant by night as it is by day. The oyster catchers never stop day or night. By night the bats are constantly working taking all manner of flying creepy crawly. I frequently encounter otters, badgers, foxes, hares and rabbits. Best of all the female gnats that like to nibble your earlobes by day absolutely bite large chunks out of you in darkness. Of course the sea trout, my raison d'etre which aren't seen much in daylight start splashing around very readily by night. It really is a wonderful life I enjoy
> 
> 
> Enough of my stuff folks. Let's see some of yours


If there are bats about I must be peaceful, sounds very nice. . We have lots of bats in Keswick next to the Lake, brilliant at nt


----------



## Contused (May 9, 2016)

This is taken at Westonbirt Arboretum, one of my favourite places for walks. The air is so fresh.






They've recently opened a 300m treetops walkway, which I hope to visit soon.


----------



## Robin (May 9, 2016)

Contused said:


> This is taken at Westonbirt Arboretum, one of my favourite places for walks. The air is so fresh.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


We went to Westonbirt last year, it's lovely, isn't it.


----------



## Stitch147 (May 9, 2016)

One of the places I love is Disneyland Paris. I'm a huge Disney fan and love it there. This pic is a few years old now and I'm about 7 stone lighter! Only 133 days until I go again.


----------



## Diabeticliberty (May 9, 2016)

Stitch147 said:


> One of the places I love is Disneyland Paris. I'm a huge Disney fan and love it there. This pic is a few years old now and I'm about 7 stone lighter! Only 133 days until I go again.
> View attachment 1347



133 days is only 132 sleeps  Not long now then.


----------



## Stitch147 (May 9, 2016)

Nope, i cant wait. It will be my 25th time of going. I'll have to do an updated in front of castle picture!


----------



## Diabeticliberty (May 9, 2016)

Contused said:


> This is taken at Westonbirt Arboretum, one of my favourite places for walks. The air is so fresh.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Where is Westonbirt? I have never heard of it but it looks absolutely idyllic.


----------



## Diabeticliberty (May 9, 2016)

Stitch147 said:


> Nope, i cant wait. It will be my 25th time of going. I'll have to do an updated in front of castle picture!




25th visit? You really do love Disney then. It is on my bucket list but the older I get the longer the list becomes. This makes quite poor arithmetic for me.


----------



## Amigo (May 9, 2016)

I didn't see the 7 stone lighter comment at first Stitch but I knew it wasn't of you now. What an achievement and I bet it's made the visits and rides at Disney much more manageable.


----------



## Alan.tnh (May 9, 2016)

Antalya, Belek, Turkey.


----------



## Stitch147 (May 9, 2016)

Amigo said:


> I didn't see the 7 stone lighter comment at first Stitch but I knew it wasn't of you now. What an achievement and I bet it's made the visits and rides at Disney much more manageable.



Definately. I'm taking part in the Run Disneyland Paris 5k when I go this september. I cant wait! There was one ride I couldnt ride before as the restraint that comes down on to the stomach has to click down twice and it was always a struggle, but now, no problems at all.


----------



## Robin (May 9, 2016)

Diabeticliberty said:


> Where is Westonbirt? I have never heard of it but it looks absolutely idyllic.


It's in Gloucestershire, near Cirencester. It's the National Arboretum. We live about an hour's drive away from it, but despite having lived here for 30 years, it was the first time we'd been! The Autumn colours when we went were fantastic. We'll have to go again, they were just building the treetops walk when we were there.


----------



## Robin (May 9, 2016)

We've been to Lochearnhead for the past three years, I love the view from the cottage we rent, it's never the same light for more than 5 mins at a time.


----------



## Diabeticliberty (May 9, 2016)

Stitch147 said:


> Definately. I'm taking part in the Run Disneyland Paris 5k when I go this september. I cant wait! There was one ride I couldnt ride before as the restraint that comes down on to the stomach has to click down twice and it was always a struggle, but now, no problems at all.




Woohoo get you!!!!! 7st is a serious amount of work you have done. Really, really well done. Fantastic result


----------



## Diabeticliberty (May 9, 2016)

Alan.tnh said:


> Antalya, Belek, Turkey.
> View attachment 1348




Oh noooooo Alan, what are you doing to me? I haven't swung a club in the last 12 years now all of a sudden you make me feel like I should again . I believe the Turkish courses are every bit up to the mark of Spain and Portugal but do not have the same stupid price tag attached. The course you show certainly doesn't look too shabby to me. On an unrelated matter when do you start the new job?


----------



## Martin Canty (May 9, 2016)

Chosen as a representative of the area, but I love the Eastern Sierra Nevada's so pretty much any photo would do.... This one is a shot of Twin Lakes in the Mammoth lakes area taken in June of 2014.... The fun part of this trip was as we were returning to our camper, one evening, a bear was walking through our campsite, probably no more than 15-20 feet from us..... Never been that close to a bear (even at a Zoo), it was quite memorable.













102_0944



__ Martin Canty
__ May 9, 2016



						Twin Lakes, Mammoth, CA


----------



## Contused (May 9, 2016)

Diabeticliberty said:


> Where is Westonbirt? I have never heard of it but it looks absolutely idyllic.


It's on the A433 in Gloucestershire, nearer to Tetbury than Cirencester.


----------



## Alan.tnh (May 9, 2016)

Diabeticliberty said:


> Oh noooooo Alan, what are you doing to me? I haven't swung a club in the last 12 years now all of a sudden you make me feel like I should again . I believe the Turkish courses are every bit up to the mark of Spain and Portugal but do not have the same stupid price tag attached. The course you show certainly doesn't look too shabby to me. On an unrelated matter when do you start the new job?


Started last Tuesday, loving it don't know how I stayed away so long. The courses in Belek  are to rival anywhere, they now stage full international tournaments there. The one they call the national at Antalya is great, as is the montgomery  designed course, its all 5 star resort stuff but because there are so many in a small space they have to compete for your business.. But hey I've got the Open on my doorstep in july, Royal Troon is fantastic we are so spoilt here.


----------



## Diabeticliberty (May 9, 2016)

Robin said:


> We've been to Lochearnhead for the past three years, I love the view from the cottage we rent, it's never the same light for more than 5 mins at a time.View attachment 1350





Martin Canty said:


> Chosen as a representative of the area, but I love the Eastern Sierra Nevada's so pretty much any photo would do.... This one is a shot of Twin Lakes in the Mammoth lakes area taken in June of 2014.... The fun part of this trip was as we were returning to our camper, one evening, a bear was walking through our campsite, probably no more than 15-20 feet from us..... Never been that close to a bear (even at a Zoo), it was quite memorable.
> 
> 
> 
> ...





This is most definitely  my kind of town


----------



## Northerner (May 10, 2016)

My local park often makes me realise how lucky I am to live in a safe, beautiful area (well, OK, there have been a few murders and stabbings in the 17 years I've lived here  )


----------



## Diabeticliberty (May 10, 2016)

Ahhhhhhh the duplicity of man. He builds a wonderful piece of parkland filled with rich life, rich colour and diversity then uses it to assassinate those around him. Ain't we just a peachy species?

Love the photo's


----------



## Alan.tnh (May 10, 2016)

Northerner said:


> My local park often makes me realise how lucky I am to live in a safe, beautiful area (well, OK, there have been a few murders and stabbings in the 17 years I've lived here  )
> 
> Yeah but you didn't do em all did you?


----------



## pottersusan (May 10, 2016)

My potting shed! Aka stress relief shed. It's rather warm in there at the moment as the kiln has been on overnight.


----------



## Diabeticliberty (May 10, 2016)

pottersusan said:


> My potting shed!View attachment 1358 Aka stress relief shed. It's rather warm in there at the moment as the kiln has been on overnight.




A most quaint potting shed if ever I saw one. My only wander into the land of pottery was when I was at school I produced a clay elephant which was glazed. Unfortunately I got the weight distribution a little bit front heavy and the damned thing kept standing on its front feet, paws, hooves whatever the hell elephants stand on. Its back legs were then off the ground. It looked as if it had been well trained as some kind of circus act. As an 8 year old kid though I was duly proud of my erm....................artistic venture


----------



## AlisonM (May 10, 2016)

My favourite spot by the river where I can sit and soak up the peace.


----------



## Diabeticliberty (May 10, 2016)

Not too shabby a place to go a soaking


----------



## AlisonM (May 10, 2016)

Diabeticliberty said:


> Not too shabby a place to go a soaking


Yup, if you hang round for 20 minutes or so you'll get soaked alright. That's about the best bit of the view. To the left is the Castle, designed by Disney's dad and to the right, a very comfy but ugly 60s hotel.

It's a great fishing river BTW, salmon.


----------



## Diabeticliberty (May 10, 2016)

AlisonM said:


> Yup, if you hang round for 20 minutes or so you'll get soaked alright. That's about the best bit of the view. To the left is the Castle, designed by Disney's dad and to the right, a very comfy but ugly 60s hotel.
> 
> It's a great fishing river BTW, salmon.




Oh yes?????????? Dare I ask which river it is please?


----------



## AlisonM (May 10, 2016)

Diabeticliberty said:


> Oh yes?????????? Dare I ask which river it is please?


The river Ness in Inverness.


----------



## Diabeticliberty (May 10, 2016)

AlisonM said:


> The river Ness in Inverness.




I have never fished that far north. I believe that it does very well at times but is a very large river and you need to be quite fortunate to catch it on form. Having said this that is true of all salmon fishing. I fish the Dee quite a bit and took some clients there in February this year. The river was in perfect order and nobody caught a thing. It was quite uncomfortable for me at times since the finger of blame usually points at the poor dumb sap who organises the thing. Fortunately they chose not to hold me under the water until I could no longer breathe. I was gasping a bit though


----------



## AlisonM (May 10, 2016)

It's not that big a river, but it is tidal, very fast at the flood and very, very cold so you need to be a hardy soul all round. I caught my first with my great granddad there when I was four... had a little help of course as the darned thing was bigger than me. Honest, you should have seen it, it was this [-------------------------------] big.


----------



## Diabeticliberty (May 10, 2016)

You dark, dark horse you. We have plenty to talk about. Please tell me it was fly caught? Mind you at four years of age it matters not. Have you fished for them much? Have you caught them on fly? Size matters not a jot to me but please tell me your most memorable fish?


----------



## Diabeticliberty (May 11, 2016)

AlisonM said:


> It's not that big a river, but it is tidal, very fast at the flood and very, very cold so you need to be a hardy soul all round. I caught my first with my great granddad there when I was four... had a little help of course as the darned thing was bigger than me. Honest, you should have seen it, it was this [-------------------------------] big.




One of mine from last years back end run. A cock fish of only approximately 16lbs. It was extremely clean and fresh however although did not have sea lice. I t was very sadly afflicted with red vent syndrome which I am seeing a lot of with salmon of late. The fortunate thing, if such a thing exists was the fact that the red vent appeared relatively minor which I hope meant that the fish got to spawn before the red vent killed it


----------



## Northerner (May 11, 2016)

Diabeticliberty said:


> One of mine from last years back end run. A cock fish of only approximately 16lbs. It was extremely clean and fresh however although did not have sea lice. I t was very sadly afflicted with red vent syndrome which I am seeing a lot of with salmon of late. The fortunate thing, if such a thing exists was the fact that the red vent appeared relatively minor which I hope meant that the fish got to spawn before the red vent killed it



Oh, I wish I was a fishy in the Aitch-beeay-one Sea!
With a sugar content of five percent – that’s where I’d love to be!
Imagine all the freedom you would feel when you were roaming
In the blood-red flowing currents of glycated haemoglobin!
Free from fear of frightening things, like losing sight or losing limbs,
To rest assured and confident – with five percent I’d be content!


----------



## AlisonM (May 11, 2016)

Diabeticliberty said:


> You dark, dark horse you. We have plenty to talk about. Please tell me it was fly caught? Mind you at four years of age it matters not. Have you fished for them much? Have you caught them on fly? Size matters not a jot to me but please tell me your most memorable fish?


I havent fished since dad died more than 20 years ago and couldn't do it now anyway. Dad was a keen fly fisherman and I used to go with him, we had some good times whatever the river and whether or not we actually caught anything. And yes, it was mostly fly fishing we did, the very first salmon I suppose was my fondest memory, with my great granddad whom I adored and using a fly he tied himself. Dad and I fished the Ness, the Spey and the Tay fairly often in his heyday. We also fished the Rhine when stationed in Köln, though not in the city as that part of the river was badly polluted back then - I can recall an incident where the water was full of foam and dead fish as there'd been a chemical spill. Shad and Atlantic salmon mostly in that river.


----------



## Diabeticliberty (May 11, 2016)

Northerner said:


> Oh, I wish I was a fishy in the Aitch-beeay-one Sea!
> With a sugar content of five percent – that’s where I’d love to be!
> Imagine all the freedom you would feel when you were roaming
> In the blood-red flowing currents of glycated haemoglobin!
> ...




How very quaint. The truth is though as a salmon you are surrounded by things that just want to eat you. If you are extremely lucky enough to survive all of this after swimming thousands of miles you get home, get laid only once and if you don't die straight after, your digestive system has shut down and you are just living on fat and muscle reserves. Talk about a zero carb, zero fat, zero fibre diet. This must also make for  one doosey of a hypo. Thanks a lot but I'll stay on my insulin thank you very much


----------



## Diabeticliberty (May 11, 2016)

AlisonM said:


> I havent fished since dad died more than 20 years ago and couldn't do it now anyway. Dad was a keen fly fisherman and I used to go with him, we had some good times whatever the river and whether or not we actually caught anything. And yes, it was mostly fly fishing we did, the very first salmon I suppose was my fondest memory, with my great granddad whom I adored and using a fly he tied himself. Dad and I fished the Ness, the Spey and the Tay fairly often in his heyday. We also fished the Rhine when stationed in Köln, though not in the city as that part of the river was badly polluted back then - I can recall an incident where the water was full of foam and dead fish as there'd been a chemical spill. Shad and Atlantic salmon mostly in that river.




Probably sounds dead boring to most of the people who have never tried it but there is nothing in the world like it to those who have caught one on a fly. I am doubly extremely lucky. Not only do I get to fish for them I get to teach people to fish for them. It sounds a bit odd saying it but I now genuinely draw as much personal fulfilment out of teaching as I do out of catching them myself. Possibly even more at times. It does sound like you have done absolutely heaps of it yourself. I am sorry that you are unable to do it now. I have seen and enjoyed animals in and out of water doing some crazy old stuff while out in the middle of nowhere. Things that if I told people they would more than likely think I had a drug problem. To be honest I couldn't blame them


----------



## HOBIE (May 12, 2016)

Contused said:


> This is taken at Westonbirt Arboretum, one of my favourite places for walks. The air is so fresh.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Good picky !  Looks nice


----------



## Contused (May 28, 2016)

Contused said:


> …they've recently opened a 300m treetops walkway, which I hope to visit soon.


We visited Westonbirt yesterday with our grandchildren and enjoyed a pleasant walk. The youngsters had fun exploring the treetop walkway.


----------

