Friday 23 May 2014

Week 24 21/05/14 - Fluffy Green and Bird Song

Photo Blog Week 24 - Wed 21 May 2014


The Park is 'fluffy' green now with the tree canopies very full. More blossoms are appearing with Hawthorn, Rowan and Horse Chestnut particularly bright. Many small wild floweer are present in the now lush green grass and Park Moor has changed from the washed out pale browns of winter to rolling green hillsides.
Some early flowers are fading now and you need to be quick to catch the Bluebells and Rellums (Wild Garlic). Both of these are plentiful along Westpark Drive but this weekend will be the last before they fade quickly.

The woods and moors are full of bird song with Skylarks twittering away in the sky over the Moor.

Delta-Ged now taking a break for 2 weeks.  Next blog post will be on or after Wed 11th June.

route:  From Main Car Park; follow path behind Turtle Brew and along wall toward Four Winds wall; leave wall after walling work; follow green tracks to Green Farm entrance; climb hill and drop down to The Knott Car Park


These days, I call Lyme Park my "Wednesday Office".  This is view of previous Wednesday Offices through almost 40 years of my career in Stockport, Rochdale, Manchester and Salford.

If you look carefully centre, the back layer of faint hills are in Wales. Very clear day.

Tormentil
(Potentilla erecta)

Germander Speedwell
(Veronica chamaedrys)

I must point out that my identification of wild flower is all web based so if you know better on one please comment.

route: From The Knot; take drive toward Hall; branch off and cross step stile into Drinkwater Meadow; follow wall to Gate exit to Main Car Park; follow bank of Mill Pond to Timberyard Cafe.


General view of green over the Meadow to the Woods and Park Moor

Lunky hole in drystone wall

BBC are filming here again with the Hall looking fine in the sun.

Cast enjoying the sun

route: from Timberyard Cafe; to Mill Pond outflow (foot bridge); Main Car Park; gate to Fallow Deer enclosure; follow Garden wall; turn up Lime Avenue to; Knightslow Wood; Bowstone Farm track through and beyond Wood; Half way up to the Farm, stop by track for lunch.


Tadpoles!

Vast numbers all grouped around logs under near the overflow to the Mill Pond

Lime Avenue walking away from the Hall


My lunch was watched over by this magnificent beast flying over head. Any Birders like to identify for me?
PS: Readers have kindly identified my mystery bird as a Buzzard. Thanks folks.

Cheshire Plain toward Helsby Point and North Wales

Nice sky

route: Continue up track to Bowstonegate Farm; turn left along Boundary Wall to View Point; Descend to corner of Lantern Wood; left along path then loop into Moor along track returning to corner of Hampers Wood; path along Hampers Wood wall to Knightslow Wood


Sky Larks?

I spent a while trying to capture the Sky Larks, not sure how successfully and some of the ground shots may be Meadow Pipit. Birders comment again?


.






that's the last of the bird shots, we can move on now

The ridge from Sponds Hill above the now green Park Moor

The unmistakable shape of Shutlingsloe

View Point at the highest location in the Park

Panorama out toward Cheshire plain
(wish I could stop drifting down to the right as I take these panorama shots)

Kinder Plateau with Kinder Downfall clearly visible centre



Hall nestling in the lush green of tree canopies

Conservation team members rightly proud of their work
The culvert running under the path had been blocked causing extensive flooding across the path and under the wall. The pipe has been rodded and cleared, new walls built shoring up the main channel and the ground reinstated. Scrap from dry stone wall work elsewhere was used to back fill before turfing over. Now that's a permanent job. Nice one guys!


route: cross stile into Knightslow Wood; follow woodland path parallel to wall to exit to Cluse Hey; enter Drinkwater Meadow and follow grass path to Pursefield Wood exit and Paddock Cottage


Gorgeous woodland path through Knightslow along Moor facing wall

As the wood changes to Pine, with the sun on the outer trees a strong creosote perfume drifts through the air

'Middle Wall' heads out to split the Moor

Drinkwater Meadow nicely cropped by the woolly lawn mowers

Sun dappled woodland floor behind Paddock Cottage

Rosebay Willowherb
a.k.a. Fireweed, Rosebay, Blooming Sally, Bombweed (London).... apparently?
  (Chamerion angustifolium)
This will create a mass of purple later in the year followed by silky seeds flying everywhere.

route: descend from Paddock Cottage and pick up path across heathland dropping to West Park drive near Deer Clough; follow drive to near Park exit then return and follow drive to The Knott Car Park; continue along drive returning to Main Car Park and end.


The remaining Rhododendrons ablaze with purple flower bunches

Heathland coming to life in the area between Paddock Cottage and Westpark Drive

Bilberry blossom

White Bluebell anomaly

The floor covered in last year's crumbling bracken is broken buy new shoots with rolling unfurling foliage bursting out as the stems climb

Rolling banks of Bluebells on the banks above the Westpark drive


The air is full of bird song 
(you need speakers or earphones)

Ferns, Mosses, Rock, Water and Wild Garlic flowers

Banks full of Wild Garlic near Westpark gate. 
The odd perfume stretches up the drive to meet you whether you like it of not.

White star burst flower on Wild Garlic (Rellums)

Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) aka "Stinking Bob"


Delta-Ged now taking a break for 2 weeks.
Next blog post will be on or after Wed 11th June.

5hr 15min  7.5 miles

Thursday 15 May 2014

Week 23 14/05/14 - Sunny, Green and Clear

Photo Blog Week 23 - Wed 14 May 2014


A gorgeous day be in Lyme Park. The sky a mix of white cumulus clouds and big areas of blue delivering a generally sunny bright day with the added interest of shadows. In several areas, skylarks are fluttering high in the air adding a delightful soundscape with their song.
The greens of spring are vivid and everywhere and among them many wild flowers add highlights and interest. The bluebells are at peak along Westpark drive delivering a sweet perfume when to windward.
Not sure where the Red Deer got to today, I saw some of the park herd up on Cage Hill as I drove in but didn't see any more groups, only a couple of loners later on.

route: from North face of Hall; follow Green Drive; continue straight onto track dropping to: Main Drive down to Admissions; Follow Bollinghurst Brook toward reservoirs; small tracks to Coalpit Wood


The lady with the little girl enhance the delight of the sun dappled Green Drive

Manchester through the trees from Cage Hill above the main drive

Same angle as previous photo but zoomed in. Beetham Tower a third in from left

The Cage

Descending track from Cage Hill toward Admissions with classic loan oak

Kinder Plateau in distance

Deer Sanctuary

Part of today was completing the boundary survey going into the back of the deer santuary which is off limits so please don't be tempted to explore this part of my route. Apart from that, it was boggy, fly filled and generally not very nice across the back of coalpit wood.

route: boundary fence / wall through back of Coalpit Wood and around boundary of Red Deer Sanctuary (NO PUBLIC ACCESS).


Narrow fly filled muddy progress along Boundary fence in Coalpit Wood

Reservoir wall with is castellated top

Over the wall in private fishing pond, Mum & Dad Canadian Geese with 4 little'uns

Change in wall character from more recent commercially (left) built to original boundary wall

route: from East Lodge follow track; cross stile into Caters Slack; follow right track to squeezer stile into bottom of Lantern Wood; exit wood to Turf House Meadow ; join track and follow Garden fence; cross Hampers Bridge; follow path through Hampers Wood to view of Hall


Simple stile into Caters Slack

Two Red Deer on Turf House Meadow

New antlers growing with velvet lit by the sun

Peacock Butterfly on dandelion

Great Spotted Woodpecker on fence by Archery Field
(Rather pleased with getting this pic')

Dozing in the warm afternoon sun

Fallow Deer browsing on fresh grass

As you follow the path from Hampers Wood this superb aspect of the hall appears

route: follow Lime Avenue to Knightslow Wood; follow track to Drinkwater Meadow gate; stay in wood and follow track to Cluse Hey; take wall path above Cluse Hey to Paddock Cottage


Knightslow Wood lights up when the sun shines on the new spring beech leaves

Lyme Hall and The Cage with the Pennine Moors high in the background


The sheep are back in Drinkwater Meadow for the summer. Dogs on leads please!

Cluse Hey now full of foliage

I have always liked this path high above Cluse Hey along the wall bounding Drinkwater Meadow. 
This goes from Knightslow Wood to Paddock Cottage.


Bluebells against stone wall

route: descend via track from Paddock Cottage; join Westpark Drive; follow side path in wood to The Knott


Below Paddock Cottage, the remaining rhododendrons are bursting into flower

Sadly, the image doesn't show them but today the Welsh hills could be clearly seen as a final layer

Swathes of aromatic bluebells are at their peak above West Park drive

route: The Knott Car Park; climb up the knoll; descend to Four Winds boundary wall; follow track circling Turtle Brew; follow path around Mill Pond toward Timberyard



Skylarks were twittering away high above near Four Winds but I could only capture this Meadow Pipit on the ground

Turtle Brew - It isn't clear through the trees but before it was so wooded the contour of the top looks like a turtle's shell

Horse Chestnut in full blossom

route: Around Mill Pond; enter Crow Wood at side of Cottages; follow track straight to boundary; track uphill along Boundary fence; return via Playscape


Nature's Artwork

The tape cordons have been removed in Crow Wood now that the tree surgeons have dealt with the unstable Scots Pine dislodged in the high winds

Nice shot! This is the gap they brought a very large tree down through

Buttercups have now joined the colour palette of the Park

Ever wonder what happened to the amazing fungi of autumn/winter?
Some still survive though dried out and colourless

Crow Wood Play scape 

Crow Wood Playscape is excellent for adventurous kids and parent who encourage them





route: Between pond and Timberyard and return to Car Park


The Mill Pond ducks having a good day

5hr 15min  8.2 miles