How does your garden grow?

A scorching day here in South Yorkshire, so I've been out in the garden checking on my plants and taking some photos for us all to enjoy. I'm still very much a beginner gardener, so I always consider it a nice bonus if any of my vegetables reach the dinner table. For me, the pleasure is in the growing and I don't mind leaving a bit for the wildlife.

First off we have some peas. I'm usually quite successful with these as they are easy to grow; just give them plenty of water and something to climb up and they will be happy.

Peas

I'm not sure of the variety; I did plant some Kelvedon Wonder but unfortunately the first seeds I sowed rotted due to the late spring. I tried again in pots in the greenhouse, then bought some more from Wilko's (a different variety I think) and they both grew well. Here they are climbing up the netting:

Peas

I have also planted some broccoli and cabbage. This is the first time I've grown these from seed so how they will turn out is anyone's guess, although they seem to be growing fine so far. Here is the broccoli; I think the variety is Calabrese Marathon although the snails have eaten the note I made!

Broccoli

I also have carrots (Amsterdam Forcing and Resistafly), onions (Stuttgarter), potatoes (Maris Piper) and of course plenty of wildlife-friendly plants too. Here is the borage I grew from seed:

Borage

Good for bees

It's very pretty, and the bees love it. I also have a couple of poppies:

Poppy

Another set of seeds I grew were salad leaves. I used as many as I wanted, then let the rest go to seed. The flowers are quite attractive and constantly full of insects, however it's a good job I'm not growing on an allotment or I may well have been told to leave!

Bolted salad

And here's a photo of my dog, just because she's beautiful:

Enjoying the sun

Like my Sybil, enjoy the sun while it lasts!

Our Camping Adventure Part II

Thornton-le-Dale

On the Thursday, Sybil and I took a stroll into Thornton-le-Dale. Looking on my map, I could see instead of walking up into Pickering and then along the main road, we could cut straight across from the campsite up a farm track then down a public footpath into the village. The lovely lady who runs the campsite confirmed this, saying it was about a three mile walk.

On the way we met up with a group of three people and two dogs who were also staying on the campsite. Oddly enough, Sybil and the Border Collie, Bess, had had a bit of a shouting match only that morning in the dog-walking area, but off-lead they were both fine and had a race up the farm track. It appeared to be a draw.

We walked up to the village lake through a little wood. There were quite a few families of Mallards in the village; some on the lake, and others on the stream that runs through the village. These were the first ducklings I've seen this year, and very cute they were too.

Mallard family

Say it with me: "Awww!"

Heading through the village centre, we found the most photographed cottage in Yorkshire (and took a photo, obviously).

Beck Isle Cottage

Beck Isle Cottage

We then followed the stream out of the village, did a loop back through some woods and found a chip shop where we had chips and peas (me) and sausage (Sybil) for our dinner. Unfortunately our timing whilst heading back to the tent was poor, as we got caught in a heavy rain shower. When we got back we dried off and relaxed for the rest of the day, ready to pack up and head home the following morning.

Our Camping Adventure Part I

Well a holiday really, but adventure sounds more exciting I think. Sybil and I went to North Yorkshire, near the market town of Pickering and stayed at the Black Bull campsite. This involved travelling on several buses and trains with an enormously heavy rucksack (I tend to overpack) and a reactive dog (we met several other dogs in York station), but I managed OK. We arrived at the campsite to a very friendly reception from the owners and I set up our home for the next three nights.

Our five-star luxury suite

We then had a stroll up to Pickering Beck, where Sybil could have a good rampage round and a swim if she wanted. I tried to encourage her to go in the water, but she prefers to paddle. Small streams and puddles are more her thing.

Pickering Beck

After getting back to the tent, we chilled for the remainder of the afternoon and woke up the following morning (at 4am, cheers birds) to catch the steam train into Goathland. I took the obligatory photographs of the iconic Heartbeat buildings, and had a stroll to the village hall where a craft fair was in full swing.

Scripps' Garage

The Aidensfield Arms

The village store

Police car at Scripps' Garage

I bought a nice photograph of Mallyan Spout at the craft fair, and then decided to go visit the waterfall for myself. Luckily all the sheep were fenced in from this point so Sybil could go offlead, which was just as well as the way down was so slippery that if she had been pulling me then we would have both ended up in A&E!

Mallyan Spout

We then walked on to Beck Hole, then returned to Goathland via the Rail Trail which runs from Grosmont. This was a nice, easy climb with the path sides smothered with wild garlic, which gave a wonderful aroma to the air. After catching the train back to Pickering we arrived back at the tent after a full eight hours out, and I think a certain someone was a little tired:

Snore

Grindleford to Dore and Totley

My first station to station walk. The route is 6.6 miles, but add a bit extra on due to the unexpected detour we took (we are getting quite good at these) a.k.a getting lost.

I chose this walk as it goes through Padley Gorge and the Longshaw Estate, my favourite part of the Peak District (so far). Sybil made her usual human friends in the train station and on the trains, as well as staring down a couple of other dogs but not reacting! She is getting better. We left the train at drizzly Grindleford and headed on up through the gorge to the Longshaw Estate.

Longshaw Estate

The rain soon stopped, so thankfully we didn't get soaked trudging round looking for Little John's Well and the stone steps we needed to climb. I did however find these stones below; I thought they were companion stones, but I haven't been able to find these ones on the website. If you can't make out what they say, I have written the phrase/poem in the caption.

Hold our hands Big Fella and we'll walk these paths together

We eventually left the estate via Totley Moss. This was a very enjoyable stretch of well-used track leading through miles of moorland.

On Totley Moss

The only other people we saw until we reached Totley were two mountain bikers heading the opposite way. We soon lost the view of the national park behind us and another view opened up in front. Apparently on a good day, and with binoculars, you can see Lincoln Cathedral.

Now it was just a case of heading down into Totley over a series of quiet roads. Sybil made a friend with a terrier at Totley Brook and I had a chat with the owner before we finally managed to find the train station, arriving with just ten minutes to spare before the next train. Highlights of this walk included hearing my first cuckoo of the year at Granby Wood, and another one (or possibly the same one) on Moss Road. I also saw a greater spotted woodpecker on the Longshaw Estate.

Spring walk through Listerdale Woods

After hearing reports of spring finally arriving in woodlands throughout the country, I was impatient for it to arrive in the woods Sybil and I walk daily. The bluebells had been biding their time with just their leaves above ground for awhile, since the last snow fell in fact. Over the last couple of days just one or two had started to come into flower, however today the majority of the plants on the sunnier slopes of the wood were flowering.

It's nice to finally see leaves on the trees, too; last year the leaves had started coming out in March! The chiffchaffs were singing, as they have been for a couple of weeks now in this wood. We headed straight up through the wood, then up and round to the Wickersley side, where the wild garlic was just starting to come into flower.

The smell was delicious, and we loitered a bit to give Sybil a rest in the shade and a play in the stream before heading down through the old parkland where the daffodils had sadly finished flowering. I did however find one left:

Then it was down to the fallen tree where I had noticed some unusual looking fungi on the bark. My first thought when I saw them was King Alfred's cakes, and the Internet seems to agree however I am not sure if there are any similar species it could be.

Then it was along the top path and through the fields towards home, where on the way we usually see swallows, house martins and other farmland birds swooping over the fields and twittering in the hedges. 

The walk that never was...

Or what to do when you get lost.

Sybil and I set off on the 09:01 bus to town, then onward to Maltby. This walk was to take us down from Maltby and through the villages of Hooton Levitt, Carr, Brookhouse and Firbeck, and back via Roche Abbey. However, due to my inability to follow directions unless every blade of grass on the way is accounted for (or maybe the directions were also a little unclear in places), we only made it as far as Carr before somehow ending up in Hellaby.

Beyond the Churchyard

We first managed to lose our way directly after the churchyard in Maltby, where we turned left instead of heading straight on. The directions did state: Follow the path to the left over the stream..., just so you know I'm not totally incompetent. And yes, we did cross a stream. Anyway, all was not lost as Sybil made several new doggy friends and we had a pleasant walk across some fields before realizing we were not heading the way we should be. I turned us round and asked a nice gentleman how to get to Hooton Levitt and he sent us on our merry way.

View to Maltby colliery

The next few paragraphs of directions made sense in relation to our location and we managed to get to Carr without further mishap. This is where is all went wrong. I turned left onto a footpath as instructed (obviously the wrong footpath) and headed down a field containing two demon horses. One was a young horse who demanded attention from Sybil and myself, touching Sybil with her nose and generally unnerving us as she trotted around us with her large hooves. Concerned that Sybil would be trampled I gently tried to move the horse away and was nipped on the arm for my efforts (it bloody hurt!). The other horse came over and both tried to block our way to the stile, but eventually we broke free into the next field.

We were headed to a civilization far too large to be Brookhouse, but rather than turn back into the domain of the demon horses we pressed on to come out in Hellaby. We admitted defeat and boarded the bus back to town and with the promise of a visit to the pet shop and a picnic in Clifton Park, Sybil was more than happy.

What to do when you get lost

Rotherham Roundwalk Part II

I picked up the second half of the 25 mile walk where I had previously left off, on Herringthorpe Valley Road. The route goes through Valley Park, our usual stomping ground, and leaves through the woods onto Brecks Lane and up onto Bawtry Road. We headed towards Wickersley and left Morthen Road via a public footpath that took us through a riding stables and past Pinchmill Ponds.

Up the steps and across a couple of fields, and we came to Royds Moor Hill road where the footpath continued up a driveway and behind a converted barn. I always get rather uncomfortable when footpaths pass through someones property, and expect someone to run out of their house yelling at me! Luckily though, this didn't happen today and we headed across four more fields with views over to Whiston on our right.

Whiston

We then left the fields and joined a cycle track where we encountered our first horse of the day. A young child on a pony was coming towards us, and I clipped Sybil's lead on and took her to one side. She sometimes squeals at horses and I was hoping this one was bombproof as I didn't want to be responsible for the child getting bucked off! Fortunately Sybil sat quietly and the horse passed without incident.

The walk then headed down into Revel Wood, which was full of bluebells growing but unfortunately not yet in flower. We left the wood through another field where Sybil decided to chase a rabbit into the neighbouring field. I shouted her back and told her off, and we carried on over the M1 motorway to the hamlet of Guilthwaite. Some of the stiles on this stretch proved to be tricky as she had to be on lead for most of it as there were horses and a couple of sheep in some of the fields, and the stiles were quite high with no gap at the bottom for her to squeeze through.

Stiles? No problem sir!

We always managed though as she is very agile (and determined!). A horse in a field at Spa Farm trotted over to us, and heedless of my fears that is was going to kick Sybil it instead dropped its nose and touched her gently on her head. Leaving the farm via some more fields, we then headed over to Treeton where the path dropped down to the River Rother.

Welcome to Treeton

Relaxing at the River Rother

Our old friend the M1 passed over our heads this time as we walked under the bridge. Our next destination was Canklow Woods, but just short of reaching it I once again took Sybil to one side as this time a group of four horses and riders passed us on the bridleway. And once again she pretended to be a well-behaved dog with only a few excited jumps once they had safely passed. We jogged across the busy dual carriageway and headed up the steps into Canklow Woods.

Canklow Woods

All we had left to do now was walk down Moorgate Road into the town centre, which we managed to do without too much difficulty. We passed through the official start/finish point of All Saints Square, and decided that we were well justified in getting the bus home.