A Walk on the Wild Side ....

In my last post, I showed you Piel Island from a distance, so when my little sis suggested we go on a guided walk last Saturday, I jumped at the chance! I had walked to Piel over the sands as a child, when I used to go cockling with my Dad, but that was many moons ago.

The day was a bit grey, with dark clouds overhead, but the guide, Walney local John Murphy, (last year's mayor of Barrow), told us it was perfect conditions for a walk over the sands ...

We made our way onto the sand, but first had to get through some grey, slimy mud ... John said there was always at least one person who fell in the mud ... no, not me ... Helen, my little sis! She leapt up like a startled gizelle got up rather quickly, before I had the chance to photograph her! Here you can see her muddy jeans ... nasty sister Claire! I dug out my ancient crocs, because didn't fancy sweltering all day in wellies and could take them off when it got slippery ...

It's about half a mile across the sands to the island, and it is advisable to go on a guided tour, as you would be taking your life into your hands going it alone, having to deal with dangerous riptides and treacherous quicksand ..

 we followed the tracks of landrovers for the most part ... these are from islanders and campers to the island ...

John gave us a running commentary all the way over, on vegetation growing on this bleak, north-westerly coast ... samphire, beloved by posh restarateurs, growing in abundance ...

tidemarks ...

and the island gets closer with each step ...

Believe it or not, this is one of several cars that didn't make it to the other side and got swallowed up in sinking sand!

Nearly there!

And a look back at the way we've come ... Walney Island in the distance ...

Now we're on the island, and this is the row of cottages, two of which are inhabited all year round ...

 And the view towards Roa Island, where me an Millie visited the lifeboat house last week ...

 and the rear view of the cottages.  These were built for the pilots who guided boats and ships onto the island ...

And Piel Castle, still maintaining a feeling of majesty and strength, despite falling into ruin ...

and the beach surrounding the island ...

Seaweed and driftwood ...

Multi-coloured pebbles, rocks and shells ...

Teasels, growing wild ... so called because they were used in the cotton industry, to 'tease' the knots from the cotton ...

A rare Yellow Horned Poppy, which can only grow on 'vegative shingle', or shingle which sustains growth of  plantlife ...

Sea kale or sea cabbage, immensely nutritious and delicious ...

Mussel shingle ...

And back to the castle.  I'm not going to tell you the history of Piel Castle because I can't be bothered  wikipedia does it so much better than I ever could!

What tales of derring-do ...

piracy ...

shipwreck ...

smuggling ...

murder, treachery and skullduggery ...

could these ancient walls tell?

The outer moat above, now overgrown with grass and brambles ...

 How the castle once looked ...

Another amazing view through an archway ...

And the castle ramparts, sadly now unaccessible to the public, though I distinctly remember climbing these as a child with my brother and cousin, oblivious to the shouts of our mothers, sitting on their picnic blanket far below! ...

Parts of the castle, fallen into the sea ...

Happy campers!

And the welcome sight of the pub, The Ship Inn, rest for weary travellers ...

Island wildlife ...

Nice day for ducks!

Could this trapdoor once have been a smuggler's secret?

And the 'throne' ... each year a knight is appointed by the King of Piel Island.  He sits on the throne, but in doing so, must be prepared to buy everyone present a drink!

The arrival of the ferry, linking Piel with Roa Island ...

and Helen sitting in the rain looking very wet (can't believe she ironed her jeans and straightened her hair before our trek!) ...

The journey back to civilisation ... by now it was absolutely throwing it down, but somehow this didn't spoil anything ...

Feet sinking in quicksand, so just threw caution to the wind and went barefoot in the rain! Very liberating ...

and back to dry land, absolutely drenched but exhilarated after having a great day out, communing with nature and learning lots about local history and heritage ...

Hope you're all enjoying August Bank Holiday ... it's abolutely freezing and tipping it down here ... typical August Bank Holiday weather! It's Millie's birthday today, the weather was lovely when she was born, but my eldest Oliver, was born on August Bank Holiday Monday 26 years ago and Hurricane Charlie made his presence known that day!

Whatever the weather, have fun!

Love Claire xxx