Crowden Clough

On Saturday I decided to take Sybil on her first visit to the Peak District. I wanted to stick with somewhere I was familiar with, so we went for a walk up Crowden Clough. Initially the start of the walk was very busy; it was a saturday and the weather was nice so this was to be expected. I didn't walk all the way up to Crowden Tower as I was concerned about it being too tiring for Sybil; for a young dog she does seem to be quite unfit. She had some fun time off the lead; here she is enjoying Crowden Brook:

And back on the lead again, as she finds the sheep too tempting to chase:

The Great Ridge

All in all an enjoyable walk for us. Next time I plan to go up Mam Tor.

Walking Sybil to Silverwood

Yesterday I decided to take Sybil to Silverwood. I've given up hope of ever finding the pond, if it is still there; if anyone from Rotherham reads this and knows where it is perhaps you could help me? Anyway it was a decent walk, down the Rusty Bump and across the fields at Dalton, past Thrybergh and up to the newly-planted trees.

Sybil in Dalton

Didn't manage to get many pictures as like I said, Sybil is a handful. But as you can tell from these pictures she obviously enjoyed the walk.

Sybil at the stream

Looking alert

There were loads of little birds flying around the plantations, which was lovely to see. Unfortunately I didn't have my binoculars so wasn't sure which kinds they were. Sybil managed to get her time off the lead; at first I thought she wasn't coming back however she relished her freedom, jumping through the knee-high grass like Bambi.

Introducing Sybil

I haven't been posting lately because we have had a new addition to the family. At the end of July my mum and I went to our local dog rescue and adopted a dog. Her name is Sybil and she's a collie cross. She's quite a handful on her walks at the moment so going to the Peak District with her, let alone taking photographs as well, is not an option just yet. However, I had enrolled her in "Dog School", which starts next week. In the meantime, here are a few pictures of her:

On her first night

Settling in

Chomping on her first bone

Padley Gorge and Longshaw Estate

Yesterday (Sunday) I decided I wanted to visit somewhere new in the Peak District. I decided to get off the train at Grindleford and, after some delays, got there at about quarter to eleven. I had written out precise instructions telling me how to get to the Longshaw Estate, however the way was quite clearly signposted most of the way.

The woods are amazing; even the rocks are alive, growing with mosses and lichens and tussocks of grass. 

Padley Gorge

Growing rocks

You could almost be in another world; the green was so beautiful and refreshing. A bit of birdwatching and I noticed treecreepers and tits. No dippers, unfortunately. Here are some pictures of Burbage Brook:

It took me over an hour to walk through the gorge, most of this time was spent simply admiring the scenery and watching the birds. You eventually get to a metal gate that leads you out onto a meadow where you have the most amazing view of the Longshaw Estate. The change from enclosed woodland to open moorland was so sudden that it simply takes your breath away. Well, it did mine anyway.

Leaving Padley Gorge

Looking towards Higger Tor and Carl Walk

My camera just can't do it justice, you really have to go there and see for yourself. Even though the weather was a bit bipolar, the breaks in the rain gave the sun a chance to shine through and light up parts of the moorland.

Longshaw Estate

I took the scenic route to the visitor centre, going past this interesting piece of artwork:

Ant Art

I arrive at Longshaw Lodge and nip in the visitor centre to see what goodies they have on offer. I'm not bothered about stopping for food in the cafe as I brought some with me, also it is a little expensive. I'm eyeing up one of the backpacks, I really like the style but at £45 I think I'll give it a miss.

Welcoming millstone

Longshaw Lodge

The trees lining the path up to the visitor centre are hung with bird feeders; literally a foot above your head are flocks of birds, I'm not sure if these are serins? Anyway, they are not bothered about the people passing below, only being interested in the food on offer.

Serins?

I head back past the pond and towards Padley Gorge again. Swallows are flying low over Longshaw Meadow, catching insects. Some perched on the fence and so as soon as the rain stopped again I got my camera back out:

Swallows

Walking back through Padley Gorge I checked out the old explosions building, now only useful for hikers wanting shelter from the rain. I also found an old abandoned millstone:

Old explosions storage

Millstone

And now back to the station for the train. The whole walk only took me four hours, next time I plan to spend longer exploring the walks on offer.

Cloud Watching

Went to the Rusty Bump again a few weeks ago, and finally decided to put these pictures up on here. I wanted to go in the evening time to increase my chances of seeing any foxes or barn owls that were about; unfortunately the only mammal I saw was a rabbit, and the only birds were swifts and swallows. However, I did manage to lie back in the grass and take these pictures:

I thought the clouds looked interesting and beautiful. It was so peaceful just laying there, listening to the birds squabbling overhead as they caught insects in the air.

Here is a photo of the shadows lengthening as the day draws to a close:

And a couple of the sun glowing dimly through the clouds as it sets.

The beauty of this is, this is the kind of nature you get even in the heart of a city centre. You don't have to go looking for it, but many people take it for granted. Open up your eyes to the beauties in the skies above you, and reconnect with nature. You won't regret it :)

Edale again

Went into Edale again yesterday, at another attempt to climb Jacob's Ladder. The weather was terrible, it was at least 22 degrees celcius in the valleys, too hot for me as I much prefer cool weather and even some rain. After all, when you spend money on waterproof clothing it's nice to be able to put it to the test :-). I walked up through the village, took a couple of photographs of the church then headed down to Upper Booth Farm, as usual.

Edale

Public Footpath

Edale Church

As you can see, not a cloud in the sky. Up the path towards Lee Farm and past a beautiful wildflower meadow which was just alive with the sounds of grasshoppers and bees.

Wildflowers

Butterfly at Lee Farm

The barns at Lee Farm were surrounded with swallows flying in and out, possibly feeding young in the nest. I sat down for ten minutes just watching their acrobatics. Although I prefer the cooler and wetter months of spring and autumn, even I could sit and tolerate the heat to enjoy the antics of the local wildlife.

Didn't quite make it all the way up Jacob's Ladder and I can't honestly say it's gotten any easier since last time I tried. However, after replenishing my energy reserves with sandwiches and chocolate, I went down to the stream at the bottom to paddle and read my book whilst listening to the sound of the water.

 

 

 

The stream, which I believe is called the River Noe?

When I come camping here, which will be soon I hope!, I plan to do this again, use my bag as a pillow and lay down next to the stream to read. Who needs foreign sands and shores when the UK offers places like this?

Back again into Edale, stopping at the cafe at Upper Booth Farm where they sell cakes and drinks. A pint of orange juice and a piece of chocolate flapjack went down well, the chickens enjoyed the crumbs.

Free range and hungry for crumbs

There's no wonder why rural life is considered the good life. Sitting here, outside sipping a glass of juice with chickens pecking around your feet and clucking gently, should be enough for anyone to consider getting away from the stresses of town living. If only it were that easy.

Next Sunday, I'm planning to go to the White Peak to revisit Lathkill Dale. Many thanks to the gentleman on Wild About Britain who gave me advice on the buses that run here from Sheffield.

Potteric Carr Nature Reserve

As I live so close to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust's flagship nature reserve, it would only be bad manners not to visit. So on Monday I packed my sandwiches, binoculars and camera and set off early to catch the X78 bus. The reserve is three bus rides away from my house, and having never been before I was slightly nervous about getting off at the wrong bus stop, or not being able to find the entrance. My fears were unfounded however, and I managed to find the reception, pay the £3 entrance fee (for non-YWT-members) and have a quick introduction to the reserve. I was told there were 7 miles of paths around the reserve, well I tried my best at walking around as much of it as I could. Here is the route I took:

Map of my route, borrowed from the Potteric Carr website

As you can see I walked round most of the reserve. I started on the Green Route from the visitor centre, then walked round to the Yellow Route which led onto the Red Route where I visited all the hides by going to Piper Marsh hide first then doubling back on myself to go round the remainder of the path.

The picture below was taken from the beginning of the Green Route, not entirely sure which habitat it is, whether to call it a reedbed or a marsh.

View from the Green Route

 The next photos were taken from the Loversall Pool hide.

Pheasant

Panorama of Loversall Pool

Coming out of the hide, there was a strip of grass to the right of the path with a sign asking visitors to keep off as orchids were currently growing there. I tried to get a decent picture of one from the path:

Common Spotted Orchid

Maybe not the rarest of flowers, but I think it's the first time I've seen an orchid in the wild. I then went into the Willow Pool hide and saw the following birds:

Family of ducks

Another Pheasant

Birds at the feeding station

Quite a few Reed Buntings about

Also saw a flash of electric blue zipping from one side of the pool to the other; hopefully that's not the only appearance that the kingfisher was putting in today, however it's the only glimpse I got. Never mind, there's still plenty of other birds to see and photograph. I carried on around the Green Route path until I got to Old Eaa hide. 

View from Old Eaa hide

Black-Headed Gull

Nothing much to see here other than a large flock of Black-Headed Gulls. I stay and chill for a bit, then decide to continue along the Yellow Route. I get the feeling that this is a less frequented route as it only has one hide and takes you along the top edge of the reserve. Getting onto the path requires you to cross some railway lines and yes I'm that sad that I actually took a picture of the railway crossing :-S

Level crossing

Anyway across the lines on the Yellow Route brings you to Childer's hide. I don't really think there was anything of much interest here apart from any rare trains that may pass by whilst you're birdwatching.

Trainspotting at Childer's hide

The lake was a bit far away for my binoculars to be of much use if anything appeared; I think this hide was one where you would whip out your telescope if you have one (unfortunately I don't). Anyway walking along the Yellow route takes you through some heavenly woodland where the only sounds were the birds, the leaves swishing in the wind, and the passing trains. LOL. Nevertheless I still stumbled upon a family of Great Spotted Woodpeckers (no pictures though, they were too quick for me). Here's some mushrooms and railcarts I found whilst wandering through the woods:

Jelly Ear Fungus

Couldn't resist taking a photo

Then it's round onto the Red Route, the last one I'm visiting today, but it's quite a walk nevertheless. I walked round to the Piper Marsh hide in the hope of seeing a Roe Deer, as I've heard that these are sometimes spotted here.

Piper Marsh

But no such luck for me today, so I doubled back to visit the rest of the hides on the path. On the West Scrape, there were three Avocets as well as Mute Swans and Canada Geese and their goslings (and a lot of goose poo on the path!) Walking back towards the Green Route and the visitor centre, I stumbled upon a young rabbit who graciously posed for a photo or two.

Avocet on the West Scrape

Young rabbit

I couldn't resist going back into the Willow Pool hide to see if the Kingfisher has rematerialized (for a longer period), unfortunately not but I got these shots instead.

There were two Jays hanging round the feeders

Don't know about a bird feeding station, more like a squirrel feeding station! There were four of these critters on the feeders at one point

I think the reserve will definitely be worth another visit in the winter, when the lakes are filled with birds. And I will be visiting the cafe then too!