Staying at home.

My walk this morning took me within camera distance of Arnside Tower. This was one of a number of ‘Pele’ towers constructed in this area for defence. In the 15th. and 16th. Centuries raiders came down the coast in boats and looted and pillaged the small farming settlements.
When they got warning of this the local people would rapidly withdraw into the Tower. Their cattle and sheep would stay on the ground floor and the families would go to the upper rooms.

It was a case of staying at home until the enemy went away. Does that sound familiar?

The Arnside Tower had a rather chequered history. It was built in the second half of the 15th. Century. But it suffered severe damage from a fire at the start of the 17th. Century. Eventually it was repaired and lived in again. But just over 100 years ago the side which you cannot see in the photograph collapsed and has remained in ruins ever since. Although it is an officially ‘listed’ building, it is privately owned and there is little prospect of repairs.

When I got home and went into the garden I was pleased to find that the sunshine had opened the flowers of the Wood Anemones in a wild corner of our garden. See extra. Flora Britannica says these are a sign of ancient woodland and that they spread very slowly via their roots. It is true that our house was built fifty years ago on what was almost certainly woodland on limestone.