Hiking Through Heather

Just after lunch we posed for pictures in front of the heather.  The camera is tilted, not the landscape. 

The heather on the moors smells wonderful. Stone paths were placed by locals about 10 years ago to prevent walkers from destroying the fragile landscape. Heather is not a natural growth but is nurtured by agriculture and snow-clearing sheep. It's usefulness is that it provides a habitat for nesting grouse that in turn provide lucrative income from foreign huntsmen. Some pay as much as $2000 a day to hunt grouse in the area. Has anyone seen Dick Cheney lately?

Margo plays the role of the farmer's wife in a bawdy audience participation song. 

Before I begin reviewing the day, let me tell you about last night--a highlight of our trip. In an early post, I talked about John Deighton. Last night he and three of his fellow musicians entertained us in the upstairs dining room of the Black Lion Inn. They have been entertaining local Richmond residents for 35 years at festivals and holidays and are so good they no longer have to practice. Besides giving us a concert of old English and Gaelic songs, they led us in a sing-along and regaled us with fantastical stories and humorous poetry.

We learned this morning that John is also a master horticulturalist but did not have time to visit his garden. He is a truly gifted and delightful man and enhanced our Richmond visit immeasurably.

This morning we were transported to the trail head to begin our hike over the moors. I spent the bulk of the walk alone so I could take in the vistas and smell the heather. We were supposed to have been accompanied by a local farmer who knows the area well, but he is working overtime this week bringing in the silage from two farms. We just happen to be walking a two week period of very unusual dry, sunny weather. So the positive is we are enjoying the weather, but the negative is we lost out on the local color. I really wanted mist and fog as we trekked the moors. Ah, perhaps another time.

John (with the white beard) and friends entertained us with traditional singing and  storytelling.