A Beautiful Wildflower Meadow

Sunday, 1st of July, the Wildlife Trust’s 30 Days Wild had come to an end, but I was in no mood to end the wildness. So David and I decided to head out for a walk at a local nature reserve, Pickerings Pasture. Only 25 minutes drive from Liverpool, Pickerings Pasture in Halebank is a Green Flag Award winning Local Nature Reserve. Boasting acres of wildflower meadows and stunning views of the upper Mersey estuary. There is a free car park and wheelchair accessible paths. David and I spent a leisurely hour there.

Mersey Estuary

Meadow Brown Butterfly

What caught our eye instantly was a flash of vibrant colour as we drove into the car park. A beautiful wildflower meadow was blooming, with poppies, cornflowers and daisies. The meadow was abundant with insects. Bees buzzed in between butterfly wings and there were so many meadow browns I was giddy with excitement!

Wildflower Meadow

Wildflower Meadow

2018 – Pickerings Pasture Wildflowers

Even though there were many people walking their dogs or biking, the area seemed a peaceful oasis. We will definitely return.

Have you seen a beautiful wildflower meadow where you are?

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

 

30 Days Wild 2018 – Day Twenty-six

Day 26: It’s back to work this week after a lovely break. One positive to working in Stockbridge Village is that there are a few social enterprises, such as Mab Lane Community Woodland and Woolfall Heath Meadowto enjoy.

I visited Woolfall Heath Meadow before work and spent a leisurely half an hour walking around the circular path through grassland.

It was a hot day, the thermometer reaching 24°C. The area was very quiet and I only saw two people walking their dogs. As I walked along the path, soaking up the rays of the sun, the chirp of grasshoppers sounded at my feet while willow warblers sung from the shelter of nearby trees.

The River Alt runs through the site and I sat overlooking a reedbed while watching as red admirals fluttered past. There were many meadow browns flying over the meadow but non stopped still enough for me to take a picture.

Meadow

Reedbed

Woolfall Heath Meadow

Bindweed

Field Scabious

Common Evening Primrose

Meadow Brown

Path

Red Admiral

Of the flowers I spotted were, bindweed, thistles and field scabious. Bees enjoyed the ever popular brambles.

Do you have a community development like this one near you?

Thanks for reading, and stay wild!

Christine x

30 Days Wild 2018 – Day Two.

Day 2: and Saturday was a complete wash out! With a shopping trip planned to Cheshire Oaks for dry bags for future wild swims. I decided to incorporate a visit to a local nature reserve Dibbinsdale. However on emerging from the Queensway Tunnel the rain was falling in rods! I was not dressed for rain! I stood in ballet shoes with no coat! But we decided to take a short visit to the reserve none the less. We plan to revisit on a drier day. 🙂

Dibbinsdale Nature Reserve, Wirral, boasts 74 acres of woodland, wetlands and meadows, with three miles of walking paths. On our short walk we rescued a bumblebee who was struggling in the rain and snapped shots of comfrey and meadow cranesbill. The river Dibbin runs through the reserve and looked inviting for a paddle come sunnier days.

Christine

Comfrey

David

Wet Bumblebee

Cranesbill

Do you have a favourite local nature reserve?

Thanks for reading and stay wild!

Christine x

Walking Riley at Pennington Flash

Yet again, David and I have had a simply wonderful bank holiday weekend! 😀 Our plans were fitted around the changeable weather on Saturday, were we spent time visiting family. With better weather forecast for Sunday, we headed up to the Lake District for a spectacular day out (post to follow)! Monday, the hottest day of the year (so far), dawned bright with not a cloud in the sky. Our plan was a visit to the very popular Pennington Flash, with Riley in tow.

Pennington Flash

Christine and Riley at Pennington Flash

At only 40 minutes drive from Liverpool, Pennington Flash is a local nature reserve in Leigh. Boasting a 70 hectare lake, bird hides, bridle paths and even a golf course! Pennington Flash seems to have it all.

View from a hide

On recommendation (as it gets very busy), we arrived early, paid £1.20 (which is for all day parking) and took a leisurely 3.5 mile walk around fens, woodland and meadows. Riley seemed to enjoy himself, even taking a short dip in the flash (a term for a lake derived from mining subsidence).

Woodland Walk

Riley taking a paddle

Of the numerous wildlife sightings, the highlights were, lapwings (which were too far for me to photograph), a yellow iris, my first sightings of damselflies, (too fast for me to photograph) and striking common blue butterflies.

Iris

Common Blue

I enjoyed the walk as much as Riley and hope to revisit in future. Perhaps a more detailed visit is in store for 30 Days Wild?

Have you visited Pennington Flash? If so, what were your impressions?

Thanks for reading,

Christine x