thank god for Furness road diversion

It's not often you will find a motorist praising a road closure which results in 20-minute road diversion over narrow moorland roads. But that's exactly what I did this weekend after a once-in-a-lifetime encounter.

We may have been cursing the A595 road closure for the last seven days with the Barrow to Millom road closed north of Askam causing diversions around back lanes near Dalton, Ulverston and all points in between.

But late last night driving over the moor road between St Peter's School at Ireleth and Marton what ran out straight in front of the car clear as day in the headlights - an otter!

At least I think it was an otter - you might tell me different!

Only this week we'd been reading about how prevalent otters now are in the UK after previous years of decline.

But I didn't expect one of the notoriously elusive creatures to run straight out in front of my car! It got safely across the road I'm glad to say.

Despite previously living in Shetland where such renowned wildlife experts as Simon King have set up base to see these beautiful creatures up close I have never seen one before - except the new impressive giant otter (which is almost mini Loch Ness monster style in its scale) at nearby South Lakes Wild Animal Park at Dalton.

Yesterday's specimen was certainly smaller than that, but way bigger than the weasel type encounters we've had just the other side of Ireleth.

In fact it was a day of animal encounters yesterday - because on a nearby road - again on the diversion - this time on the other side of Marton I came face to face with a bull on the road, standing facing me, looking every bit as if it was about to charge.

I was a stone's throw from Paradise (the Ireleth one!) - not Pamplona - and in my wife's car at the time I was wondering how on earth I was going to explain to her that her beloved car had been rammed by a bull when it turned and walked away. Spain 0-Italy (or at least Fiat) 1.

Unfortunately by the time I had alerted our head of photography (my camera having been in my own car, damn!) - the bull was back in its field sidling up to some Friesians - or I think that's what they were. I'm no Johnny Morris, let alone Simon King, so if any animal experts in the Askam area want to put me right about any of the above, or tell me what other wildlife I might expect to see during the current diversion, please feel free!