There was a time when Aspatria was a hotbed of pigeon racing in the Derwent Valley Federation.
Those days have long gone and although there is no Aspatria club, the loft of Andrew Berwick and Kenneth Watson continue to blossom.
Two members of the Berwick, Watson, Harker and Thompson partnership have died and the remaining pair fly their birds in the Dearham Utd and Flimby HS clubs.
But it looks as though they have achieved a feat not recorded by an Aspatria loft for many years – topping the Cumbria Combine.
That result is still awaited but they have been confirmed as winning the Derwent Valley Federation and the West Cumbria Amalgamation from the delayed race from Guernsey as fanciers had to wait until Monday morning for a liberation.
The birds, transported along with organisations from across the North West, were held over on Saturday because of bad weather on the south coast.
Then on Sunday strong winds in the channel, which caused the cancellation of ferries for 18 hours, meant another night in the baskets.
However, after overnight cloud disappeared, the birds were let go at 10am on Monday into an east north east wind.
Berwick and co clocked at 7.36pm after the 365 mile fly from the channel island. They had been 1st, 6th and 10th from the first Guernsey race a fortnight ago in the Derwent Valley; 2nd, 10th and 16th in the Amalgamation.
This latest winner is a three-year-old blue cock, already developing into a fine distance bird with an impressive CV.
Last year he won the club from Guernsey when he was also 2nd Fed, 2nd Amal and 7th Combine.
Sent back to the first Guernsey race this season he was 2nd club, 6th Fed, 10th Amal and 17th Combine.
Andrew said: “Hopefully he’s got a full suit this time topped by a Combine win. It’s been a long time since the Combine was won in Aspatria so hopefully we’ve prevailed.
“I know Tosh (Ian Thompson) and Colin (Harker), our two late race partners, would have been over the moon with the result.
“He was in great condition on his arrival and still had a lot more miles in him.”
As a yearling he was fourth from Cheltenham and ticketed from Weymouth before going over the channel.
He was home bred and is a grandson of the loft’s good red white flight cock who won Messac twice, when paired to a hen which was second Combine from Marlborough.
His sire is from a grandson of Euro Diamond of Jutla brothers, paired to a direct Ian Stafford hen through The Machine.
The latest winner is a widowhood cock who was given a new hen the day before basketing.
It is a two-day race so few official results have been published so far.
However, it appears a tough race, with only the Aspatria bird and one for Lawrence Tinnion at Flimby the only two on the night in the Derwent Valley Federation.
There were more in the West Cumberland Federation on the night led by the Cleator Moor loft of Joe Fitzsimmons and son Brian.
They had been 2nd and 6th from the first Guernsey race two weeks earlier and this time did even better taking 1st and 2nd with two yearlings who arrived home together and were clocked within two seconds of each other.
Following the near 350-miles flight after the 10am liberation the Fitzsimmons birds were clocked at 7.32pm.
First over the pad was a home bred blue cock who had been the loft’s fourth pigeon back from the first Guernsey race and got onto the Amalgamation sheet.
Brian said: “He’s bred through the very best Scottish bloodlines via David Jamieson. There are all sorts of good pigeons in the bloodlines – Rosary Beads, White Mick, Honeymoon Boy, Handsome FJ and the Cholet hen, even going back to the late great Matt Jamieson’s Blue Velvet.
“The second bird over the pad was our first bird from Guernsey 1 which was 2nd club, 2nd Fed, 3rd Amal and 6th Combine.
“He is bred from a direct son of White Mick when he was paired to Rosary Beads. His dam is a direct daughter of Honeymoon Boy who won two 1st section D in the Gold Cup for David Jamieson and Our Jean, the best daughter of Rosary Beads. All four grandparents have won section D of the Scottish National.
“We got three birds on the night and three next morning and would just like to say a very well done to Andrew Berwick and co for a quite outstanding achievement in winning the Amalgamation.”
There were nine birds on the night into the West Cumberland Federation and the third one, to the Egremont loft of John Wilson and Neil Buchanan, is quite special.
The blue four-year-old hen is a Frans Zwols and actually won Egremont Rangers club from the first Guernsey race two weeks ago. She’s had a third Amalgamation and other prizes in her racing career.
Her sire is a grandson of Game Boy and Eagle Boy and her dam is a daughter of Amor, a brilliant racer and breeder and son of Tip Top Junior.
The Cumbria Combine birds are back inland this week-end when they will fly from a new race-point, Holmsley, which isn’t too far from an old liberation site at Christchurch.
WEST CUMBRIA AMALGAMATION (139 birds): 1, Berwick, Watson, Thompson and Harker (Dearham) 1116; 2, 3, J. Fitzsimmons and son (Cleator Moor) 1075.4, 1075.3; 4, Wilson and Buchanan (Egremont) 1062; 5, 6. A. Graham and co (Cleator Moor) 1005, 1003.
DERWENT VALLEY FEDERATION (97 birds): 1, Berwick, Thompson, Harker and Watson (Dearham) 1116; 2, Tinnion and Aitken (Flimby HS) 940; 3, Dempsey, son and Reay (Dearham) 775; 4, Blacklock and sons (Workington Victoria) 751; 5, Rushforth and Hunter (Flimby HS) 746; 6, G. Best (Workington Social) 732.
WEST CUMBERLAND FEDERATION (42 birds): 1, 2, J. Fitzsimmons and son (Cleator Moor) 1075.4, 1075.3; 3, Wilson and Buchanan (Egremont) 1062; 4, 5, 6, A. Graham and co (Cleator Moor) 1005. 1003, 924.
CLEATOR MOOR: 1, 2, Fitzsimmons and son 1076.2, 1076.1; 3, 4, 5, A. Graham and co 1005, 1004, 924; 6, Rodgers and Benn 921.
EGREMONT HS (6 birds): 1, 2, 4, 5, Wilson and Buchanan 1062, 757, 706, 567; 3, D. Harrison and son 708.
WORKINGTON VICTORIA (4 sent 13): 1, 2, Blacklock and sons 751, 664; 3, McLuckie bros 653; 4, 6, Martindale and Lawman 643, 556; 5, Varty, son and grandson 580.
FURNESS FEDERATION (80 birds): 1, 3, 4, G. Fallows (Millom) 1023, 1008, 1004; 2, 5, Wilson and Barrie (Millom) 1009, 991; 6, Fullard and Murning (Millom) 986.
ASKAM (5 sent 16): 1, 4, R. Parrington 668, 390; 2, B. Lloyd 546; 3, J. Walker 426.
CUMBERLAND SOCIAL CIRCLE (16 sent 32): 1, Berwick, Watson, Thompson and Harker 1116; 2, Blacklock and sons 751; 3, Rushforth and Hunter 746; 4, Ostle and McNichol 713; 5, McLuckie bros 653; 6, Nelson and Crellin 648.
WORKINGTON SOCIAL LIMIT (2 sent 5): 1, 2, G. Best 732, 688; 3, 4, McLuckie bros 653, 496.
FLIMBY HS (8 sent 58): 1, Berwick and co 116; 2, 6, Tinnion and Aitken 940, 656; 3, Rushforth and Hunter 746; 4, C. and A. Ostle and McNichol 713; 5, R. Hodgson 693.
HARRINGTON CENTRAL (5 sent 19): 1, N. Semple 562; 2, 354 2 I. and D. Wood 547.