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Poplar and chimney of The Linden Tree, Cockermouth, 4.30
pm
Heavy rain last night has turned some of the woodland paths alongside
the River Derwent into small, shallow streams.
Meadowsweet, red campion and
herb robert are still in flower.
 Dotted
on distant slopes, the sheep of Cumbria seem to sparkle a whiter
white than our local sheep back in Yorkshire but there's also distinctive
variety that has a grey fleece - a cool mid-grey. When I first saw
these by Derwentwater yesterday, I assumed that they had been colour-marked
for some process of identification or as a treatment but, no, this
is their regular colour - they're the native Lakeland breed, the
Herdwick.
 With
its cafés (including the No XVII coffee shop and delicatessen,
left), bookshops new and secondhand, its arts and craft
shops and galleries, the small market town of Cockermouth offers
all we need for an afternoon's gentle browsing.
Autumn colours seem to be more popular this year and, after our
journey here, taking in the colours of hedges, lanes, stone walls
and woodlands, it seems as if seom of the fabrics and garments in
the shop are an expression of the countryside around the town.
At the start of our walk we saw lynx, bison, llama and a white
hind as we followed the track alongside Trotter's World.
The native wildlife included a rabbit running for cover, as well
it might, because we also saw a buzzard flying just above tree-top
height.
The size and shape of the buzzard convinced me that what we saw
yesterday was indeed an eagle. 
Richard Bell, richard@willowisland.co.uk
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