Edale, Mam Tor and Hollins Cross

On Tuesday night I took Sybil on her first camping trip. We stayed at the Fieldhead campsite in Edale, having a lovely quiet night with only two other tents on our field.

View from the tent

In the morning we set off up Mam Tor, via Hardenclough Farm. The path headed up towards the road, where I turned left and climbed the steps to reach the blustery summit. 

Over towards Castleton were blue skies and sunshine, yet behind us black clouds were closing in. We headed down to Hollins Cross when the clouds caught up with us and started pelting us with hailstones, making me wish I had packed my gloves!

I put Sybil back on the lead as we headed back down towards Edale. In one field a herd of cows refused to move off the path, and having my dog with me I decided not to risk pushing through and made a lengthy detour through ankle deep mud. My new boots certainly justified their price tag at this point!

Back at the tent I quickly dried Sybil off and we retreated to the tent until the hailstones stopped. Afterwards, the little madam decided that she would rather not come out again now that she was dry and clean!

"I'll stay in here, thanks"

An enjoyable couple of days. Total distance on the second day was approximately 3.5 miles.

Bamford and Ladybower Reservoir

Yesterday was my first visit to the Peak District this year. I wanted to take advantage of the weather we've been having lately so decided to take the train to Bamford, accompanied by Sybil of course :o).

I figured a walk around Ladybower would be easy enough to get my body used to walking again. The walk started at Bamford, which was a pleasant village. It took me just under an hour to get to Ladybower; I veered away from the main road up Lydgate Lane which led to a path to the left of the reservoir ideal for Sybil to be off-lead, giving my arms a much-needed rest.

Bell-mouth Spillway

 The main path was quite busy with other walkers and cyclists so we took a small diversion through the plantation at the side of the path. This made the walk even more pleasant; the sounds of the birds contrasted nicely with the traffic noise from the A57.

View up Ladybower

We did a circuitous route of the reservoir, coming back along the A57 which was rather unnerving as motorbikes and cars whizzed past at high speeds. We soon joined the main pavement again and watched a female kestrel alight in a tree, then take off again up towards Derwent Edge.

Sybil posing

Another run off the lead again for Sybil and we were ready to head back to the village. We had a bit of a jog down in order to make the train, or else face waiting two hours for the next one. We made it with time to spare.

Start time: 09:41
End time: 14:15
Approximate mileage covered: 12.2

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.