Half term holiday and our family – extended to include my parents – are staying in a farmhouse in the South West of the Lake District. We’re pretty much off the  tourist trail here – the towns and villages have something of a Wild West feel. The weather hasn’t been too kind so far, but I’ve got some short cycles in and a fantastic if wind/rain beaten trip to Hodbarrow Nature Reserve (above) – featuring a huge brackish lagoon created by old ironstone mining. For the birders: Slavonian Grebe, Goldeneye and more Red Breasted Mergansers than I could shake a stick at.

On the way here, we got a fantastic view of one of the new wind farms off Barrow. I’m not quite sure which one as there are about three or four in that area, but if it was the Walney Wind Farm then it was the largest in the world when commissioned in 2012 but its title has already been usurped a couple of times by bigger British installations. That just illustrates how fast renewable energy is expanding in this country.

The least eco-friendly thing we’ve seen so far is the outdoor hot tub here at the farmhouse – who on earth would want to sit in a hot tub when it’s 6°C and pouring with rain? Apparently it can’t easily be turned off, but I have asked for it to be turned down to salve my conscience…