Tag: nature

A visit to the Peak District.

May 5th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

The forecast for today was sunny, so myself and Angela thought it would be nice to visit the Peak District. Knowing that it would be busy we made an early start, arriving at the main carpark in Edale at 07:00 – there were already lots of cars parked up! Alas, the toilets were still closed.

Our planned circular walk was from Edale to Barber Booth and head up to Rushup Edge and Lords Seat. Then, after descending, ascend Mam Tor, walk along the ridge to Hollins Cross and drop back down to Edale.

Ready for the walk

The path to Barber Booth was quite boggy but we pressed on taking in the panorama views.

Mam Tor ridge on the right in the distance.

Leaving Barber Booth the path was good as we climbed up to Rushup Edge, shedding layers on the way. The day was hotting up. We had not been to Lords Seat before so were looking forward to the view.

Looking back into Edale valley ascending to Rushup Edge

The climb wasn’t too onerous and as we reached the top we stopped for a cuppa and a sandwich at a spot with a view. Walking along the top we were plagued my midgies – I had heard that they were becoming more prevalent in the Peak District so this was confirmation. There was very little wind so this didn’t help the situation – at least they were not the man-eating variety you get in Scotland!

From Lords Seat we had a wonderful view of Edale valley and the Mam Tor ridge. We were loving our walk.

View of Edale valley from Lords Seat

A panorama view of Edale valley

As we were descending from Lords Seat we could see there were many people ascending the path to Mam Tor.

Descending Lords Seat with Mam Tor behind.

We arrived at the point to walk up the steps to Mam Tor and joined the folk heading up.

I found the walk up Mam Tor quite easy – I must be getting fit!

Angela at the trig point on Mam Tor

There are great views from Mam Tor along the ridge and into Hope Valley.

Taking in more of the glorious views we headed down the ridge to reach Hollins Cross. From here we descended rough paths back to Edale. We found a big difference from when we left – many more people milling around and a couple of full trains had just arrived. I much preferred the quiet time we had earlier.

The walk was 7.4 miles with 1648 ft of ascent.

We headed home to carry on decorating in the kitchen.

Happy Walking 😊🚶‍♂️
An unexpected visit to a gliding club!

Apr 30th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

It was a beautiful, sunny, blue -sky day this morning as myself and Mick met up in the Lincolnshire village of Skillington. Our original plan was to park in the village hall car park but we arrived to find the gates locked. – not a good start! Undeterred, we drove on and easily found parking in the village.

The quiet village of Skillington

Chris, the third member of the Three Amigos, was not around for this walk but he was in spirit!

The walk today was new to us and billed as a 6.5 mile circular walk. It was great to be exploring new territory.

Easily finding the path out of the village we crossed a number of fields and then reached a wider track which we followed.

Good track out of Skillington

A red kite was circling quite low above our heads – lovely to see😊 . Our path skirted some woods and then brought us to a track called The Drift. The Viking Way route runs along this track.

Skirting a wood

Joining The Drift

This was a good spot to enjoy a cuppa and a scotch egg (my favourite snack!). I commented on how dry the route had been so far, given that we had had torrential rain a couple of days earlier. Later on the walk I would wish that I had kept my thoughts to myself!

Walking along The Drift we came unexpectedly to an airfield – we discovered it is Buckminster Gliding Club. Previously it was Saltby RAF base.

The runway

Our route took us past the end of the concrete runway. We passed 4 gliders that were on the ground – I think it was probably too windy to fly a glider.

We passed a memorial to those who had worked at the former base.

Memorial

One of the plaques on the memorial

The airfield started operational life in 1942 as a training unit initially with Hampden bombers and later Wellington bombers. In 1943 the base was handed over to the USAAF who, with the 82nd Airborne division, were preparing for D-Day.

Moving on we passed the storage area for the gliders and the main office block.

Leaving the glider club The Drift started to show signs of the heavy rain. We had to negotiate around several very large puddles. I wished that I had kept quiet earlier.

signs of worse to come.

As we walked on the path was getting badly chewed up by vehicles involved in timber logging. We ended up climbing on the side embankments to avoid the deep pools of water. Hope I don’t slip off this, I thought. The day was warming up so off came the jackets – maybe a sign of better weather to come? I hope so.

A good section of track.

Mick striding out.

There was some undulation through this section. Eventually, we left The Drift and headed across a field full of sheep and cute lambs. All were enjoying the sunshine.

Spring Lamb

We picked up a path called Buckminster Lane which, with a little bit of up, brought us back into the lovely village of Skillington and the finish of our walk.

We had enjoyed a 6.5 mile meander through the countryside enjoying the spring sunshine. The highlight of was stumbling across the Gliding Club.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️
An 11-mile Saturday morning walk in Lincolnshire.

Apr 27th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

With heavy rain forecast for tomorrow I decided that today was the time to get out for a walk. I need to start doing some longer walks because I am taking part in a 26-mile sponsored walk along The Grantham Canal for The Grantham Canal Society at the end of June and I want to enjoy it! https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/granthamcanalsociety

It was still a chilly day as I set off on my walk. My plan was to follow The Viking Way from Allington to Foston, passing through the villages of Long Bennington, Westborough, Foston and then return to Allington. Rain was forecast for midday so I got a shift on.

Allington Village Green

There was the odd glimmer of sun on the way to Long Bennington but there was cloud for most of my walk. I had my fingers crossed 🤞that there would be no cows in a field where they were last week – they had moved, so I was pleased about that. I crossed green fields from Long Bennington to Westborough and there, I crossed the river Witham.

I noticed that the fields were now quite dry on top so that was good for walking.

Bridge over the river Witham in Westborough

I headed across open fields towards Foston.

On the way to Foston across green fields.

Along the way I met an elderly couple out walking their one-eyed black Labrador and we had a chat. The dog said hello too 😊.

Heading towards Foston.

In the fields it was evident that the endless rain had taken its toll on the crops with large sections that had been under water now barren.

Entering Foston, I passed the village hall and noticed that there were quite a few cars in the car park. In rural communities village halls tend to be very busy all week hosting all manner of activities. I think they are a great asset to their communities. The church in Foston has an unusual weather vane – a tractor, reflecting the rural location.

St Peters church Foston

Unusual church weather vane.

Leaving Foston I made my way across fields and a couple of bridges to Long Bennington. I was looking out for the Roe Deer that I had seen the other week but they were hidden.

Wild Row Deer near Long Bennington

I picked up The Viking Way and headed back towards Allington. The clouds were starting to look ominous.

Some fields have been spayed with weedkiller and have an orange/brown hue to them. Leaving the Viking Way I followed quiet country roads back into Allington.

I had walked 11.4 miles and enjoyed my walk. I just wish that it had been a warmer day.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️
A 10-mile walk along the Grantham Canal.

Apr 23rd, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

This morning the ‘Three Amigos’ met up and did a 10.6 mile walk from Woolsthorpe -by-Belvoir to Grantham along the Grantham Canal and back again. The Grantham canal is being restored by The Grantham Canal Society https://www.granthamcanal.org/

Parking the cars near the Dirty Duck pub, Belvoir Castle loomed large on the hillside dominating the area. Chris was 15 mins ‘late’ to meet up – ‘How come I am 15 mins early and I am still last ?’ he asked.

We had chosen to do a canal walk because of the recent rain and we wanted to avoid boggy fields. Water levels in the canal were low we noted as we peered over the bridge by the pub.

We set off along the towpath heading East towards Grantham. Light rain was forecast but nothing drastic.

Passing the ‘Three Shires’ hire boat.

Casthorpe bridge – a nice wooden pedestrian bridge

It was odd seeing the low level of water in the canal as it is not usually that low. So, we were on the lookout for any evidence of leaks from the canal as we walked along.

The path lies ahead

We passed a nesting swan – majestic birds- and a couple of Mallard ducklings. New life along the cut.

Chris was coughing and spluttering alot and clearly only firing on two cylinders. It was quiet along the canal with just the odd few cyclists, runners and dog’s walking their humans. If only the cyclists would ring a bell before frightening you half to death!

Denton Winding Hole

The green foliage was particularly striking this morning – spring was in full swing.

A cluster of Bluebells and a cycle trail sign

We passed under a number of brick humpback bridges along the way. I always enjoy looking at the brickwork.

Vincents Bridge

We reached the point where the A1 cuts across the canal and walked along Barrowby road to rejoin the canal in Grantham at Swingbridge Lane. We had left a rural area and were most definitely in urban territory.

Walking to the end of the canal at Earlesfield Lane we passed another nesting swan and found a handy bench for a cuppa.

A handy bench for a cuppa

After a refreshing Bovril we headed back. Light drizzly rain accompanied us along our way. The main topics of Three Amigo talk this morning were canal water levels, Jury service and Guitar playing!

We had thoroughly enjoyed the walk. We never found a leak, but I later found out that over the weekend there had been some boat movements and locks opened/closed. Water from Denton reservoir, which supplies the canal, has now been turned on so it won’t be long before the water level returns to normal 😊.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️
A 10-mile circular walk from Long Bennington and a visit to see Alpaca’s.

Apr 18th, 2024

Hello and Welcome back to my blog 😊.

This morning the Three Amigo’s met up and did a 10.8 mile circular walk starting in Long Bennington and taking in the Lincolnshire villages of Westborough and Dry Doddington.

The highlight of the walk was a visit to the café at J and J Alpacas. https://visitalpacas.co.uk/visit-us/

It was a sunny but chilly morning when we met up outside St Swithun’s church in Long Bennington. We were most grateful that it was a sunny and dry day for once.

We set off following the Viking Way towards the picturesque village of Westborough, crossing a bridge over the river Witham followed by a few green fields.

Bridge across the river Witham

We walked through the peaceful village. There is a church in the village which has an interesting interior apparently so we will have to pay a visit when it is open.

Westborough village green

Sign at start of the village. This area was noisy with crows in the nests in the tree.

Leaving Westborough we joined the road towards Hougham. ( pronounced Huffham Chris told us – I do like the vagaries of the English language) It was quiet with very few vehicles.

Heading out of Westborough

Along the road we trod, spotting Hares bounding across the fields. One of the fields was being used to grow turf and looked like quality grass. England’s green and pleasant land!

Grass for turf being grown

A tractor was in another field doing some ploughing- good to see this as previously the land had been too wet.

The Three Amigos were discussing gentle tv comedy of bygone years – such as ‘The Detectorists’, ‘Dad’s Army’ and ‘Last of the Summer Wine’. All fantastic series but alas nothing like it is made any more. We chuckled when ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ was mentioned as it is about three old blokes who go walking together! Chris said being the tall one I must be Foggy but who is Compo? 😊 We burst into laughter!

Leaving the tarmac road we followed a farm track north.

The farm track heading North

We passed a strip of grass that was a runway for microlight planes.

The Microlight runway

A field was being ploughed for potato planting – it had deep furrows.

Field being prepared for potatoes

We were headed to a crossing under the East Coast main line railway.

Crossing another field

We were about 6 mile in on our walk and we were looking forward to arriving at the cafe.

Arriving at the Alpaca café

The site is home to over 90 Alpacas and is a very popular spot. I hope to visit again soon.

Leaving the café somewhat reluctantly we were now heading towards the village of Dry Doddington. The church of St James dates back to the 12th century. The tower was built in the early 14th century and is famous for leaning towards the west. The angle of the lean has been authenticated as 4.8 degrees – this is greater than the Leaning Tower of Pisa!

The leaning tower.

Our walk continued, passing a trig point, we had extensive views over the countryside. I had a great sense of openness and space. It was wonderful.

Plenty of distant views.

There were a few good hearted murmurings in the ranks about the length of the walk – we had exceeded the billed distance. Mileage can be a flexible measure on my walks I have been told 😊.

We soon arrived back into Long Bennington after a great walk.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️
Cotgrave Country Park to Holme Pierrepont – a 7 mile walk.

Apr 12th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today, the Three Amigos met up and we did a 7-mile circular walk from Cotgrave Country Park to Holme Pierrepont and back.

This walk was found on the Vale of Belvoir Ramblers blog site https://vbramblers.blogspot.com/ and was guaranteed to avoid any mud. This was just perfect for us after a very boggy walk last week – that walk was so bad that I didn’t even do a blog about it!

Cotgrave Country Park is home to 200 acres of woodland, meadows and wetland areas. It is on the site of the old colliery which closed in 1993. Meeting in the free car park we set off through the park. The park is very popular and well used by local residents. Chris was wearing his shorts – a sure sign that summer is on the way!

A good path through the Country Park -surprisingly empty

One of the lakes in the park

Chris was suffering from the after effects of a bad cold but gamely marched on. Leaving the park we took the cycle trail along the route of the dismantled railway line.

The cycle trail along the dismantled railway

The sun was warming up and it was very pleasant walking. We would have liked to continue along the cycle trail but there was a diversion in place due to concerns over a bridge further on. We dropped down by a pub with a splendid thatched roof.

We dropped down from the cycle trail here

The Shepherds Pub

We followed the busy, noisy road and crossed the A52 to head towards Holme Pierrepont. I didn’t enjoy being by the road – everything seemed so frenetic. The tranquillity we had enjoyed in the park was gone.

The path towards Holme Pierrepont

The walk took us past a handy bench that was just perfect to take a break and enjoy a cuppa- I enjoyed a Bovril 😊.

Mick was familiar with this area and took us beside Skylarks Country park – there were signs containing philosophical quotations along the way. I liked this one in particular

Philosophical sigen

‘Its not what you look at that matters, its what you see’ by Henry Thoreau

Naturally this sparked a philosophical discussion among the Three Amigos😊 .

We were soon back at the busy A52 again and our previous worries about getting across proved unfounded – we crossed unscathed.

Happy to be safely across the busy A52

We headed towards Bassingfield to pick up the Grantham Canal.

On the way to the Grantham Canal

On the Grantham Canal

It really was a beautiful day and the temperature was rising nicely. We were walking along the towpath back to the Cotgrave Country Park. We passed a couple of swans nest building and saw a solitary duckling with its parents – we wondered where the others were.

Nest building

We passed ‘Skinners Cottage’ – an lovely former locksmiths cottage.

Skinners cottage

Skinners Lock

We were soon arriving back into the park – it was a lot busier than when we had left. Maybe because its half- term still.

I think we had all appreciated a mud free walk ( and in Chris’s case not much uphill walking!!) and enjoyed the warmer weather.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️.
A rare dry day- time for a 9 mile walk.

Apr 6th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

I find it very frustrating that the wet weather we have experienced for the past six months has continued into April. It feels to me almost like a lockdown situation because there are limited days for walking due to incessant rainfall.

Earlier in the week I was out doing a walk that involved crossing fields and it was soul destroying – mud and waterlogged fields a testament to our changing climate.

This morning it was a sunny start but windy (40 mph due to storm Kathleen which has hit the west coast of the UK) conditions would make my walk a struggle at times. Before deciding to walk I vowed to avoid wet fields as much as possible!

I set off from the Lincolnshire village of Allington aiming to pick up The Viking Way.

The village green in Allington

On the Viking Way

Sign post for The Viking Way

The Viking Way is a long distance trail running 147 miles from the Humber Bridge to Oakham in Rutland. I had a memorable visit to the Humber bridge last week.

This section of The Viking Way was dry and I soon hit a tarmac road which was easy walking. I was headed towards Long Bennington.

A quiet road

I crossed over the A1 using an overhead road bridge. As usual the traffic was thundering along and the noise was intense.

It was 18 deg C and probably the hottest day of the year so far. I was enjoying the warmth and the wind was at my back. As I was arriving into Long Bennington I came across some yellow flowers (weeds?) which made me smile because I like yellow – its a happy colour!

I passed St Swithun’s Church and left The Viking Way picking up a path across some fields, that were reasonably dry, heading towards Foston.

St Swithun’s church, Long Bennington

Crossing fields

Dry path

Bridge across a drainage ditch

After crossing the fields I met the Foston road which was to be my turnaround point. I headed along the road back towards the A1 bridge picking up the Viking Way once more. The wind was now in my face and it was making walking more challenging – still, it wasn’t raining!

On the Viking Way headed for Allington

I was enjoying my walk as I huffed and puffed against the wind. There was some mud on the Viking Way but nothing horrendous. I could pick my way through the worst bits. I had lovely open views across fields for miles.

Heading into Allington

Once more I left the Viking Way and took a road towards Allington, my destination. The wind was less troublesome and not in my face.

Back in Allington

The walk turned out to be 9.5 miles – a good stretch of the legs.

I fancy a canal walk tomorrow – I will check out the weather later and see how it looks. Currently 50 mph winds with thunderstorms in the afternoon .

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️
The Yorkshire Wolds Way -South Cave to Market Weighton.

Mar 27th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog😊.

Todays walking journey finds myself and Angela parking up in South Cave at just after 08:00 ready to start where we finished yesterday. Our aim today was to walk the 13 miles from South Cave to Market Weighton along a section of The Yorkshire Wolds Way.

South Cave

We set out early to avoid the rain forecast for later on. Our first surprise, walking uphill out of South Cave, was passing Vine Yards. They were obviously the hardy variety of grape.

The beginning of a vine yard

More established vines.

We passed a pair of Wolds Way benches – these stylish benches are dotted here and there along the route, usually where there is a view.

Wold benches

Our route took us through a number of Dales, some of which were wooded, and involved a fair bit of up. Some paths were slippery with mud.

A long pull up.

The agricultural land we passed was surprisingly very chalky.

Chalky fields.

The highlight of the walk was passing through one particular dale that had a lot of lambs – its funny to see some energetically springing about. Most were snoozing in the sunshine. They were a joy to see.

The weather was sunny as we continued through the open expanse of Swin Dale.

Swin Dale

After more up we stopped for a break. Although it was sunny there was a brisk cold wind blowing.

Break Time

We were making good time and after following the path across agricultural land we met Hudson Way – the site of the dismantled railway line from Market Weighton to Beverley.

Hudson Way

The Hudson Way led us to Market Weighton and the finish of our walk.

The finish

Two things stand out in Yorkshire. The first is how friendly people are and secondly, finding that the towns have free parking – very enlightened.

We now only have one section of the Wolds Way left to walk – from Sherburn to Filey, which we will complete at some stage. We can then tick that walk off 😊.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️
The Yorkshire Wolds Way -Hessle to South Cave.

Mar 26th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today myself and Angela walked the first section of The Yorkshire Wolds Way – for us it was a distance of 14 miles from Hessle to South Cave.

This long distance trail starts in Hessle by the river Humber and runs 79 miles to the coast at Filey.

The official start of The Yorkshire Wolds Way

The actual start does not have anything apart from a wooden signpost to denote the start. Further on there is a more fitting stone sculpture.

Yorkshire Wolds Way sculpture

The Humber suspension bridge is a fine piece of civil engineering dominating the area and spanning the river.

The Humber suspension bridge

As we walked along the bridge dropped into the distance.

The route took us along an estuary path with lovely views of the estuary. The tide was going out and we noted how fast that was happening.

We were headed towards North Ferriby. We had checked the Yorkshire Wolds Way website and it advised taking the alternative high tide route instead of walking along the foreshore which was mud bound apparently.

We passed the reed pond and headed into the suburb of North Ferriby. It was great to see the white telephone boxes which actually had phones in them!

Reed Pond

A Yorkshire phone box

Leaving North Ferriby we headed for the lovely village of Welton where we stopped for a break at a wolds way bench. It was a warm sunny day.

Having a break in Welton

We had a walk into the village and found a church adjacent to a large duck pond. The ducks were so cute.

We left Welton and found the walk had quite abit of up in it but we were rewarded with distant views of the estuary.

Distance views of the Humber

Some nice steps on this section

lambs in the field.

We were both enjoying the walk – it was better than we had expected, and we were soon viewing South Cave our destination for today.

Nearly at South Cave

To celebrate the walk we went for a nice pub meal 😊.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️
A circular 8 mile Yorkshire Wolds walk.

Mar 25th, 2024

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today I was joined by Angela on a lovely Yorkshire Wold’s walk. Our route took us from Fridaythorpe to Thixendale and back again (via a different route) .

The weather forecast was for rain but we were feeling optimistic as we set off early in the morning. We had packed our waterproofs just in case!

Angela at the start of our walk.

We headed down into the valley bottom of West Dale and followed this along eventually entering Brubber Dale and continuing along this valley.

West Dale

The Wold bottom is a quiet place to be – almost like the land that time forgot.

We have walked in the Yorkshire Wolds a few times now and we always enjoy the ambience. The chalk bottom ensured there was no mud which we appreciated.

After reaching a tarmac road we headed up the steep hill to reach a plateau, then continuing along a farm track we found ourselves heading downhill into Water Dale where we passed a big pheasant farm. This was to be an undulating walk.

Water Dale

We soon arrived in the village of Thixendale and navigated our way to the start of Thixen Dale. We meandered through Thixen Dale enjoying the quiet and then left by a path up the side of the Wold.

The start of Thixen Dale

Leaving Thixen Dale via the rising path

View back into Thixen Dale

Apart from a few spots of rain it had been dry. We continued on our route arriving back in Bruber Dale where we had a view of West Dale once more.

View of West Dale

West Dale

It wasn’t long before we were back at the car in Fridaythorpe. We visited the local café (called Seaways) because we always do!

A treat at the end of the walk.

Tomorrow we have planned to walk the first section of The Yorkshire Wolds Way from Hessle (by the Humber bridge) to South Cave. We have brought two cars with us to facilitate this. Later in the week we will walk the second section South Cave to Goodmanham which will only leave the final section from Sherburn to Filey to walk at some future point. We have already walked the other intermediate sections.

Happy Walking !