excerpts from gareth Hayes' Book
'Odd Corners Around The Howgills'

The following excerpts are taken from Gareth Hayes' book ' Odd Corners Around The Howgills '.

' Driving in and out of Orton is a thrill from any direction. From Tebay, kids whoop with delight as a big dipper ride past the road ends to Coatflatt sends the stomach high and the jaw low. Out of Orton towards the scar and the great climb past Bullflatt onto the scar ia a challenge to the grip on the gear stick and a test of timing, especially if following slower traffic.

Taking it the other way is even better. Starting from the scar, the views of Orton in the foreground and our Howgill tops in the distance surely compete with the best in the World. Yes, the World! Different every time, it still sends a shiver down my back. Oh, and don't expect to see Orton if you are traveling early in the morning. The Orton fog lies very low and with the tower of All Saints peeking through, the eye is more than satisfied. Coming out the other side the big dipper thrills once more. '

' I lived in London and the Thames Valley for over 20 years. Any return home for long weekends, rest and rehabilitation during this time necessitated an understanding of the cultural differences between the regions, between the pace of life, and between my ears. The looping motorway drive over the tops from Lancaster to Tebay was the final emotional stretch of a marathon drive. I took to stopping at the Cross Keys in Tebay for a large pint of ale. This was intended to wind me down; of course alcohol offers nothing but a false start to relaxation and would serve to wind up instead.

Being cased in Cumbria today does not prevent me doing long journeys and I still find the need to pause when coming off the motorway. Now I park the car at the top of the scar and take the short quarter-mile hike up to the Queen Victoria Monument. Escapism of the material kind cannot compete with the escapism of nature. This place does. It is easy to bristle with ideas and opinions, to consider a stance to preach, it is easy to kick stones with frustration or applaud hands with joy, it's easy to feel unique - just like everyone else. It's easy to turn over the next piece of life's complex jigsaw on my rock on Orton Scar. '

' The limestone pavements may look bleak as they glint with a wet sheen in the low sun or turn a deep camouflage grey amongst the bracken and heather, yet they can be host to a vast selection of wildlife. Primroses and cowslips pop up from the clusters of moss, sponge and proud grass clinging to the last remnants of earth blown firm into cracked crevices.Incredible colours can burst through the steel grey from vivid pink herb Robert and even tiny purple orchids. More fantastic names such as hairy rock cress, slender bedstraw and hoary whitlow grass excite the botanist although they may disappoint the ignorant in search of the provocative. Harebells compliment in name the hare population, which I have noticed on the rise since the foot and mouth epidemic in 2001 kept us indoors. The absence of man on the fells for twelve months had disrupted the balance of 'harum scarum' and perhaps helped some native animals claim a larger portion of the grassland. The rabbits still nose over the sheltered outcrops before bounding off, white tails bouncing behind. Foxes too survey the land in curiosity and disciplined wariness. If time is to hand, and if not then make it to hand, then simply sit on the stones and watch and listen. Nature will come and after half an hour you will want to stop, or at least slow down, more often.

John Ray laid the foundations of botany and zoology in Britain. He visited Orton Scar during his expedition of 1659. John Ray was the first to use the terms petal and pollen and he was the first botanist to distinguish between monocotyledons and dicotyledons. He was born in 1627 into a deeply political century and one that by today's standards would have sent our fragrant media into a blossoming frenzy. '

' There is for a free man no occupation more worthy and delightful than to contemplate the beauteous works of nature and honour the infinite wisdom and goodness of god. Let it not suffice to be book-learned, to read what others have written and to take upon trust more falsehood than truth, but let us ourselves examine things as we have opportunity, and converse with Nature as well as with books.

What wise words to contemplate as I sit alone, or with you, if you pass by, atop the scar above Orton. It is difficult not to think of a Creator when sitting up there absorbing the astonishing beauty that surrounds at every degree. My social upbringing certainly bred a ' heart in the country ', yet the vast, by far, majority of our population belongs to urban landscape. Do I think of God at times like this simply because of the rock and the view? I have never felt the need to sit in the sanctuary of a church or chapel to experience spirituality. The answer comes quicker when I stop asking the questions too. And I cannot sit on the rock forever. '

ABOUT THE BOOK

Gareth Hayes' book ' Odd Corners Around The Howgills ' is a tour of the hidden charms and lost landmarks of this most beautiful and unspoilt area of Northern England. Beginning in Kirby Stephen, the journey winds it's way through the towns and villages of Ravenstonedale, Newbiggin-on-Lune, Orton and Tebay in the north to Grayrigg, Sedburgh, Barbon, Casterton and Kirby Lonsdale in the south, with much more in between, including the secret valley of Bretherdale and the majestic falls at Cautley.

Gareth takes us on an adventure investigating the character of the people that shaped the community we see today and reveals to us many lesser-known features of this very special region. Whether on foot or as a motorist, your excursion will be enjoyable, educational and enlightening. Told in his very personal and easy-to-read style, the book is illustrated with nearly two hundred excellent black and white photographs to complement the text.

REVIEW BY CUMBRIA MAGAZINE

"Gareth Hayes makes a novel contribution to our north-country bookshelf, inviting us, through prose and pictures, to look beyond the obvious in a tract of unspoilt landscape with the Howgills, Wordsworth's 'naked heights', as the central feature. The Howgills - big, bare, grassy - will no longer be thought of by the reader of this book as being a poor relation to Lakeland and the Pennine Dales. ' Odd Corners Around The Howgills ' is charming, informative, companionable."

Dr W R Mitchell MBE, editor of Cumbria Magazine, 1951 - 1988

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate for his services to the pharmaceutical industry, Gareth Hayes enjoys an active professional role as a training consultant and life coach to the healthcare business, yet spends most of his time in his hometown of Appleby-in-Westmorland. Considering himself fortunate to be able to work 'remotely', Gareth has embraced the local scene and become a Town Councillor and is also a Director of Appleby's Training and Heritage Centre. Buoyed by the success of ' Odd Corners In Appleby ' (2002) Gareth has revisited the places and pastimes of his youth across the country and around the Howgill Fells to give us more 'Odd Corners' in this, the second of a continuing series.

Book Extracts & Photographs Courtesy Of Gareth Hayes
Book Published By Hayloft Publishing Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, UK