Observations from the 2019 Red Deer Rut As summer draws to a close, and the nights draw in, the temperatures begin to drop, and the leaves start to change colour. Autumn is upon us, and so brings this years Red Deer Rut. Physiology Red Deer ( Cervus elaphus ) is Britain's largest native land mammal, with the male Stags reaching 1.2 meters (48 inches) high at the shoulder, and up to 240kg's (530 lb) in weight. From around 10 months old, Stags grow antlers in the spring of each year, and as the stag ages, their antlers grow larger. Young stags at around two years old, known as 'prickets', will have grown just the two main antler 'beams'. In successive years, the antler grows thicker and longer, and develops spikes, or 'tines' on the beam. The older the stag, the more 'tines'. On their own, the antlers can reach up to 1.15 meters (45 inches) in length and 5kg (11 lb) in weight, each! In order to compensate, the stag's neck muscles thicken in o...

  It had been four years and two days since I had bimbled to the top of Catbells, from where I took the first steps on my journey to conquer the 214 Wainwright fells of the Lake District. I had hiked the hills in all weathers & all seasons. Camped out in rain, wind & hail. Sauntered grassy slopes, trudged boggy marshes, and scrambled up rocky ridges. It was all leading to this... A sublime finale. A Great End. Friday 20th September 2019 A morning in work, a lunchtime drive up the M6, and I arrived at the National Trust car park next to the Old Dungeon Ghyll just before 4 o'clock. Booting up, and slinging my rucksack on my back, I headed around the back of the Inn to pick up the Cumbria Way path into the valley of Mickleden. After breathing in & squeezing through a couple of kissing gates along the farm track, the valley opened up, with the flat, rocky path leading to a Y-junction at its head, just shy of two miles down the valley. There were clear blue skies overhead, a...