As I write this the Blencathra Centre is gearing up for an open day, where we open our doors to locals and visitors to the area to show what we do with activities such as geocaching, pond dipping, environmental art and orienteering. As we do so the met office is predicting that the remains of Hurricane Katia is making a beeline for the North West UK. As high winds are expected to batter the fells of the Lake District, it is a stark reminder that the summer is most definitely over and that autumn is here for the duration. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, there is always something exciting about storms and strong winds can be as invigorating as much as they are destabilising!
It is not just the weather that indicates to us on the side of Blencathra that the seasons are changing, the local wildlife is also telling us they are preparing for the coming months. The past weeks have seen the swallows that have hatched earlier in the year are lining up on the guttering of the main house, looking fat enough to make the flight south to Africa and getting in the last few meals in between practice flights over the grounds and surrounding farmland. For those that can’t manage to escape these shores preparations are in hand to survive the winter months. Several of the red squirrels that have the centre for their home have been observed burying nuts around the grounds, busily taking food from the many specially designed squirrel feeders around the centre and depositing them at various sites, including plant pots!
The centre itself has seen much variety in the type of courses, as well as weather, delivered over the summer, with courses in painting, local gardens, steam boats and trains of the Lake District as well as courses for families. These courses are either led by centre tutors or associate tutors with specific expertise in their relevant area, and for the tutors at the centre often provides some variation on the school groups that we deal with throughout the year.
Families on the final day of their Farming, Bushcraft and Conservation course this summer
So the centre is far from quiet, and as the last of our leisure learning groups departed last week, the staff team are prepared for the next wave of school groups, with schools coming from all over the country and beyond, to immerse themselves in the geography of the Lake District for their school studies. This week will see St Albans High School for Girls bring students to work towards their GCSE Controlled Assessments, followed by The European School from Brussels bringing an internationally diverse group to study for their International Baccalaureate.
So if you are lucky enough to be visiting the Blencathra Centre in the coming months, be prepared! To get the maximum out of your stay I recommend a set of waterpoofs (available from the centre) and good sense of humour.
