BOAT PEOPLE (09/11/11)

This post is dedicated to Keith at CALDECOTTE LAKE. The river Wear that almost makes Durham an Island is home to dozens of oars people. They have little lights on the boats and row about by day and night. I was hoping for some long exposures but the lights are very small and don’t show up. The rowers are just practising here before moving down to Milton Keynes, where I'm assured they will row about all night. If you want to hear  Keith's appreciation and admiration of these fine athletes a Sunday post of his is your best option.

    This is the Durham Cow………..A legendry beast.

(In 995AD a roaming cow is said to have led Lindesfarne monks to the final resting place of St Cuthbert, the site where Durham Cathedral stands today.

The legend begins when Viking raids on Lindesfarne forced the monks to flee the Island, taking the body of St Cuthbert with them to the mainland. Travelling around the North East of England, the monks did not know their destination and came to a halt near Chester-le-Street, to Durham’s North. Upon settling here the monks were bewildered to find they were unable to move St Cuthbert any further, when a vision of St Cuthbert appeared, asking the monks to take him to Dunholme – The Hill Island.

The monks had no idea of where this place was until they overheard two milkmaids talking of a missing cow. One told the other she had seen the cow over on Dunholme. On learning of their destination, the monks found they were now able to move St Cuthbert and they followed the milkmaid searching for her cow, towards Dunholme.

By this good luck they found Dunholme - The Hill Island – a peninsula formed by a tight meander of the River Wear. Thus it seems this roaming cow had led them to find the final resting place of St Cuthbert, which became the site of the majestic Durham Cathedral.)

There is a stone set in the ground near it which recounts the above tale. Unfortunately it is too foggy to read it so I lifted the above from the Durham Cheese Companies web site.

    Durham Cathedral. The weather is awful. It’s damp, misty, drizzly but surprisingly mild. Photography is a hopeless task.

   Boat People. I never realised how many different types there are. One person ones, up to eight seaters, nine if you include the shouter and steerer. In between they also have ones with one blade per person and ones with two oars per rower. Then they have Dragon Boats with paddles not oars. It’s all really very fascinating. I forgot to mention that many boats also have a shouter on the bank. He or she pedals parallel with the boat bawling instructions. It does provide interest to what would be an otherwise depressing wander. 

It looks as if it may brighten up later, I’ll try and do Durham by night in any event.

Stay dry.