Cool camping

Just returned from a May Day weekend at Turner Hall campsite near Seathwaite in the Duddon Valley, south west Lake District. One of the best campsites in the UK (according to The Observer, I'm told). I wouldn't argue. It's a fantastic setting. We enjoyed a day of mountainbiking and another of hillwalking. Other than the hills, a key attraction of this area is the superb Newfield Inn.

The weather was kind to us until late last night and on Sunday morning we were rewarded with this spectacular sight.

Bats were detected and I saw plenty of buzzards, generally being mobbed by outraged gulls and corvids. I also heard my first cuckoo of the year!

About ten years ago I completed my teacher training with the University of Leeds. As part of the outdoor activities element of the course we had to run a residential course for school children at the spartan Dale Head Centre, just up the valley from Seathwaite. Dale Head is one of two outdoor centres run by the university. It was great to check it out for the first time in years and see that little had changed.