Thrybergh Country Park

Today, after feeling that Sybil and myself have not been getting enough exercise lately, I decided to take us on a walk up to Thrybergh Country Park. It took us about an hour to get to the park, walking mostly on tarmac and boy, are my feet suffering now! It was all worth it when we got there though; the weather was gorgeous and there were quite a few people out birdwatching and walking their own dogs.

Sybil at the reservoir

Half of the footpath round the reservoir is usually closed during the winter; however this year there are signs up saying that a new path is in use. This is to minimise disturbance to overwintering birds such as wigeon, I believe.

Gorgeous weather

As we finished our circuit of the reservoir I noticed a buzzard soaring high up in the blue sky. The usual birds were on or around the lake itself: Canada goose, mute swan, coot, moorhen, tufted duck, great crested grebe, greylag goose, cormorant and lapwing, amongst many others. All in all, a fantastic couple of hours out, however I did decide to get the bus back to the bottom of our hill :o). Total approximate mileage covered: 5.1

Old Moor

Last week I set off to visit a rather frosty Old Moor. Just a quick flit round the hides this time, as I had other plans for the rest of the day.

It was my first visit to the new Garden Bird hide, and happily the garden was full of activity. Garden birds are my favourite; I still get a jolt of excitement when I see a blue tit. As my I.D. skills are still not the best, it's the easier birds to identify that keep me coming back for more :o).

Bullfinch and Greenfinch

Chaffinch

The Tree Sparrow Farm was also alive with little birds. Among the birds I can remember were reed bunting, robin, great tit, blue tit, tree sparrow, chaffinch, pheasant and woodpigeon.

Robin at the Tree Sparrow Farm

A visit to the Field Pool East hide gave a brief glimpse of the kingfisher, who unfortunately didn't hang around for a photo. Other birds around the reserve included plenty of cormorant, a grey heron and the usual visitors.

A frosty morning

Passing the Garden Bird hide on the way back to the visitor centre, I spotted this fellow. He was quite happy to phose for a photo or two.

Pheasant

An enjoyable visit, and I will be back soon.

The Loxley Valley

Yesterday I decided to go for a walk in Loxley. I've heard that the area is good for wildlife, so packed my binoculars and camera and set off from my house at 9am. I caught the train to Sheffield and the tram to Malin Bridge, and started my walk from here.

River Loxley

I walked along the River Loxley, keeping my eyes and ears peeled for birds. There were plenty about, unfortunately no kingfishers that I saw, but a flock of long-tailed tits kept me amused for a good few minutes as they didn't seem at all bothered by my presence. Behind the tits were a couple of squirrels; unfortunately too far away for my camera to capture but still good to stand and watch.

Beyond this weir I spotted a heron flying away. These majestic birds are amongst my favourites. Walking on I came to the Mill Dam where I stopped to have a rest and enjoy the nature around me:

There were quite a lot of derelict buildings next to the footpaths, although the beauty of the area wasn't affected too much by them. Below is a photo of one of the more attractive buildings; most of the others seemed to be the remnants of an industrial site.

After a couple of hours walking I left the houses behind and emerged onto access land. Climbing up through the wood I disturbed a kestrel that had been perched high in a tree. Joining the road again I discovered I was in the village of Dungworth:

After a few more minutes rest and admiring the view, I decided to head back the way I had come.

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.