Standing

A roundabout walk to a favourite place, a place not visited since the time before blip.

The Nine Standards or Standers that stand atop the ancient boundaries of Swaledale and Westmorland are a magical place, one I recommend visiting on a day such as today, when the weather looms, the clouds gather and senses are challenged.

You can get here on the well maintained path that serves Wainwright's Coast to Coast walk, but if you've a little map skill it's far far better to approach from open fell. This is a wild place - the hidden splendour of Dukerdale, the subtle shift from Fell to Dale, from limestone to gritstone, the hidden (from sheep and wind) flora* of the steep sided pots - there's much here to pause over.

Each of them is different, some of them are four metres tall, they dominate this spot, yet are invisible from many angles. They also just happen to mark the watershed of England. There's more than a little of the mystical about them.

Arriving at theses huge stone standards the immediate question is why? And the wonderful answer is no-one knows. Theories abound, but truth has blown away down the millénium they've stood. I kinda like that.

*there's a rather rare little wildflower in extras - I'll reveal its name later in the week.