I was actually working on a survey I carry out annually recording the condition of all external furniture in the Park; this extends through stiles, gates, signage, footbridges, steps, rails and, believe it or not, more; in all approaching 600 items. Each item is checked over, GPS recorded and photographed and items such as spring closures and whether and how gates are locked are all noted. Any concerns are reported to the professional team to review and initiate action if deemed necessary.
My only camera available for general photo's was my phone so the quality is way below when I was patrolling and blogging regularly but I hope you enjoy this selection showing some of the varied textures around the Park.
Passing behind the Gardens the House looking grand the other side of Reflection Lake
Ewes with their young lambs bleating loudly and echoing around Calves Crof
Heading into Knightslow Wood;
I love Beech woods at this time of year with a bright overhead sun lighting up the vivid lime green of the young freshly bursting leaves.
That green :)
Heading West along the bottom of Park Moor looking up to the summits.
Approaching Middle Moor Wall, the sightline is out across the Cheshire Plain.
The lower hills as the Pennines fade into the Plain are covered in brilliant flaming yellow Gorse
View back into the Park with Paddock Cottage catching the sun on the ridge, Drinkwater Meadow centre and Knightlsow Wood to right.
Supposed to be a selfie with the wonderful views in the background. I need a shave!
Having reached the first summit along the Southern boundary this is the view along the boundary wall towards Derbyshire. The white gable end on Bowstonegate Farm can be seen right of centre which, when the sun is low, can be seen from large areas of NE Cheshire.
The remains of Stag House
Stag House is marked on OS maps and for many years I was puzzled that I had never seen any building in that area. A few years ago I located it finally - anti-climax warning!
another look East, this time from Stag House
The string brown dots left and below centre are a group the of red deer from the Moor Herd
Now passed Bowstones on the SE boundary looking North toward Disley:
Cage Hill in the sun - The Cage is just left of centre in shot. Lantern Wood to right.
Looking back along the high boundary I have just walked.
Derbyshire Hills now in view: Kinder Plateau to right and Lantern Pike centre.
Using the definition of 'Greater than 2000ft', Kinder Scout is our local Mountain
As flow of the terrain changes, the House comes into sight way below
Entering Lantern Wood; this path is always pretty meandering among the young pines.
Being at the top of the wood a lot of light spills in in spite of the canopy with the result that the woodland floor is full of life.
I always connect Wood Sorrell with the Beech leaves seen earlier; at this time of year the vivid apple green of the leaves lights up the floor and the white bell flowers bounce about in the breeze.
Next time you pass some Wood Sorrel, rub a leaf between your fingers and smell the wonderful fresh green apple flavour.
another shot of the lovely path through the top of Lantern Wood
and here's where Lantern Wood gets its name - The Lantern
Walling Report
I have explained that the regular blog ceased when I moved from Patrolling to the Drystone Walling team. After more than a year with the team, I finally feel that I am getting to grips with it. There are many frustrating days but the previous day to this walk had been a very satisfying day which I though I'd share.A 'nip' had appeared on the wall between the Eastern Moor and Hampers Wood. A section of the skin on the wood side had collapsed and the outer skin was hanging in there 'on a wing and a prayer'.
Peter and I went out to try and effect a repair in the one day. A shove of the outer skin took it down and we set about removing more stones until we reached stable material. This left us with a large 'U' in the wall which we set about rebuilding.
It soon became evident that we had insufficient stone as a lot had degraded and the wall either side took a lot of repacking to restore its strength. This forced me to build to the last stone I had regardless of shape, which was a good exercise. Having both exhausted our stone we set about walking along the wall in both directions looking for waste from previous repairs and fortunately found enough odd stones to complete the repair. There are a few stones that we would have liked lower down that went higher up due to when we found them but compared to the original wall it looked good..
I could have been overawed by working on my own side of the wall but Peter the other side is a great support to work with. The experienced wallers help you build your confidence whilst at the same time helping you identify and correct weaknesses.
We finished the job and I was able to look back very content with my work, especially the 'built to last stone' aspect; I had successfully placed a lot of stones which given the choice I would have previously designated unusable.
My side.
I'm still improving. I can see a couple of close to running joints which I don't like but it's all locked and weight bearing and there's no front pinning. Wish I'd found that big one at the top earlier.
Regardless of the slope, we build using horizontal lines as a sight guide. I don't think the people who built the original wall at the bottom here did. Interesting waves.
Looking at the wall at the left you can see the stone isn't exactly 'brick' shaped
Heading back to the Stables contented after a good day, these trees on the ridge heading up Cage Hill deliver wonderful varied silhouettes against all sorts of skies in all seasons.
Today's is a spring fluffy green against a blue sky.
Today's Track and Profile
Total: 5.00 miles
1 comment:
Hi Ged,
I miss your excellent blogs
All the best
Jean
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