As the weather was forecast to be changeable this Spring Bank Holiday Monday, David and I went for a five mile walk along the very commercial Ingleton Waterfalls Trail. The trail boasts 20 falls with six main viewpoints. The well defined path (no worries about getting lost), follows two rivers (Twiss and Doe), and meanders through an oak wood before crossing open moorland. The area is a designated SSSI. Instead of parking charges there is a relatively steep £7 each for admittance (that was my only bugbear!) We spent a leisurely three hours walking the trail and were lucky the weather stayed dry.
On our walk we focused on the sights, sounds and smells of nature. Before we reached the first waterfall on the trail, we spied a parent dipper feeding its two fledged youngsters. It was fascinating to watch as the adult would plunge into the water, swim and then pop up with insects or fish in its beak. The two fledglings stood begging with open mouths waiting for the parent to bring back breakfast. The scene was a highlight of our visit and David got some great footage.
Dipper feeding young
Fledgling dipper
Dipper feeding young
Adult dipper
As we continued our walk, climbing upwards through woodland the smell of garlic scented the air and the path was awash with wild garlic (ransoms). I attempted to focus more on the flora of the area and noted a splash of bluebells among emerging woodruff and the odd early purple orchid. I identified the latter two with the help of the app PlantSnap, thanks to Sharon for the suggestion. (Sorry for the poor shot of the orchid.)
Woodruff
unfocused picture of an early purple orchid (sorry)
Wild garlic
Of course the waterfalls were undoubtedly the star attraction. Here’s a selection of photos by David and I.
Pecca Falls
Hollybush Spout
Thornton Force
Beezley Falls
Baxenghyll Gorge
Snow Falls
Have you walked the Ingleton Falls Trail? What did you get up to during the bank holiday?
Day 24: Today we visited Brereton Heath Local Nature Reserve, Congleton. This small nature reserve has a lake and a one mile circular walk through woodland, heath and grassland, which is popular with dog walkers. There is also a visitor centre. The car park charge was £2 for up to three hours, or £3 for all day. I was slightly saddened that nature sightings weren’t very high but there were butterflies and damsels fluttering over the many spotted orchids in a wildflower meadow.
We did spot a striking broad bodied chaser, a species neither of us had seen before.
Spotted Orchid
Brereton Heath
Comma butterfly
Azure Damselfly
Broad Bodied Chaser
Brereton Heath
Have you visited Brereton Heath Local Nature Reserve? Have something like it near you?
Monday was the beginning of my ‘much needed’ week off work. I started it by going for a coffee with my mum! We braved the drizzle and took the bus to Allerton and our favourite Costa! It was a nice indulgent treat but the indulgence didn’t end there! The next day Mum and I went to Liverpool One’s Odeon and went to see Jurassic World! It was an enjoyable romp and it was nice to just switch off for a change! There were some nail biting moments which had mum and I squealing like children! 😀
I spent the ‘hump’ with Artie who seemed to enjoy the company.
In the garden:
There has been a flurry of activity at the feeders this week. Visiting were lots of baby Starlings all greedily helping themselves to the fat balls. Amongst all the flapping of wings were four House Sparrows, two males and two females. They happily explored the garden. I saw them under the Honeysuckle and at one stage all sitting in the branches of the small Buddleia I have in a pot! However they do not stay still for long and we believe we have more Sparrows visiting than first thought. I am hopeful they will continue to visit the feeders, they have such lovely sweet characters.
There were also the many Goldfinch ‘charms’ visiting. One family must have been successful at rearing their young as they brought about four babies to the feeders. All are welcome! 😀
I had to dig up my Michaelmas Daisy as the mildew was spreading to other flowers. The vinegar spray did not help I am afraid! Looks like I’ll be heading to Lady Green Garden Centre in the near future!
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The rest of the week:
David had Thursday and Friday off. So on the first day, we went to Trentham Gardens, Stoke on Trent to see their art instillation of fairies, by local artist Robin Wright. We got in for the 2 for 1 offer via Stoke on Trent’s tourist website. Saved us nearly £10! The next four hours was spent walking along the mile long lake, viewing the many art displays in-situ and enjoying their gardens.
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While walking we came across a flash of colour! It was a small part of the lakeside given over to wild flowers. The sight was stunning!
Wild flowers
One of the attractions at Trentham was their Bare Foot Walk. I had decided the night before that if I had the chance I would try it. So in anticipation I packed with our lunch a small towel to wipe my feet! 🙂 David thought I was mad, but I threw off my shoes and socks and jumped on the wooden stepping stones.
Bare Foot Walk at Trentham Gardens
The wood was presently warm and comfortable unlike some other surfaces I encountered. Small stones, wood chips and coals were the hardest and most difficult to walk on. I made very slow progress!
The excitement of the day really knocked us out! So come the evening we relaxed and watched Maleficent.
Friday dawned cloudy and cool, We decided to make the most of the day and headed towards Lancashire to see the Pendle Sculpture Trail at Aitken Wood. I don’t know if it was due to still being tired from the day before or the fact that we seemed to get hounded by horrid flies for the two hours we were walking (one even tried to bite me!), I didn’t enjoy the day as much as I thought I would! The weather didn’t play ball either as it was rather windy on the hills and the sun rarely showed!
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The wood was good for wildlife spotting and we bemoaned the fact that we should have brought our ‘bigger’ cameras instead of our phones! We really were not equipped for taking any decent nature sightings. Another visit will be on the cards in the future!
On the walk we spotted:
A Linnet, but not 100% certain.
Tuffted Ducks though again I am not certain. I really wished I’d brought my bird ID book!
Great or Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Blue, Great and Coal Tits, I recognised them! 🙂
Goldfinches
Three rabbits
Seven butterflies, two were Red Admirals and two Gatekeepers!
A few moths
A hawk hunting, could have been a Merlin, though not certain! 😦
My identification skills are decent enough for when it comes to garden birds, but when I am faced with birds I don’t see regularly then I find them difficult to ID! I think many more days out in the country are needed to hone my skills!
Saturday turned out at be a busy affair as we had family around for a curry and film night! We ordered from my favourite takeaway, Saffron and the film we snuggled up to watch was The Kingsman, it had it’s funny moments!
Now Sunday has arrived and I’m feeling blue, work looms gloomily on the horizon! I’ve enjoyed my time off work so much! Maybe too much! It’s been lovely. I have spent time with family and seen and experienced new things. I’ve spent today at home with David and Artie and tried to get my nervous finches to feed from the hand. Two already have the courage, Chocolate (Bengalese) and Rainbow (Gouldian) but poor Romeo (Bengalese) is still hesitant!
Day 24: Today we visited 
Christine Lucas 