Week 14 19/02/14 - Sun, Half-term and Deer

Photo Blog Week 14 - Wed 19 Feb 2014

The first Wednesday for a while on which my patrol didn;t involve a soaking and being wind blown. Started with drizzle and mist, 'mizzle', but quickly became a mild often sunny day. Half term for some schools meant that the park was more alive with people though you can quickly be far away from anyone by taking a short walk away from the car park.
Rather a lot of photo's of the Red Deer Moor Herd as I arrived when feed had delivered.

route:  Toward East Park gate to Deer Sanctuary; Break off to Coalpit Wood; Follow Wood and cross to Park Entrance.

The  Red Deer migrate around the Park toward evening. Tell tale tracks.

  A few stags from the Park Herd below that track in the Sancuary in front of Coalpit Wood

..and up on Caters Slack above the track, mainly hinds by the look of it.

Something is making a new home in the edge of Coalpit Wood

A blue sky over Cage Hill at last

 

The cloud is still sitting low over the Kinder plateau

route: Main Drive then Timberyard Cafe.

uprooted pine by the main drive appears to have taken of a service duct which is visible running through the root crown

route: Timberyard Cafe; Drinkwater Meadow; Knightlow Wood

The Timberyard Cafe and Shop doing good business today by a calm Mill Pond

 

Lighting was nice on the stone of  the ornate South facing elevation of the Hall

Grassy overflow areas of the car park are pretty wrecked with all the water fallen in the last few weeks

A Fallow Deer Buck well camouflaged in the enclosure from the gate just inside Drinkwater Meadow

Clouds and distant views. 

Hall and Cage from inside Knightslow Wood

route: Knightslow Wood; Bowstones Track - stop near Deer feeding before reversing.

The Moor Herd Red Deer

Ranger Gary delivered a tractor bucket full of Beet to the Moor Herd not far off the Bow Stones path so I hung about for a while watching them

Gary spreading the beet around. If left in a pile the greedy Stags scoff the lot and the Hinds and youngsters miss out.

Waiting and watching until Gary finishes

Nearly ready....

Looking over the Herd, the Welsh Hills can be seen in the distance today

OK, the tractor's gone.....

 ... let's get in there...

 

 video may not appear on iPad etc

The beet are sweet and are a bit of a treat as far as the deer are concerned....

another quick look over to Wales

A younster gets a look in..

 

route: Descend Bowstones Track to Knightslow Wood; along path inside wall; exit Wood; follow  path outside Hampers Wood; turn righ up steep incline along side Lantern Wood.

The Park is full of contrast, this woodland path only minutes after sitting watching the deer out on the Moor

Deer leap into Lantern Wood

route: enter and transit Lantern Wood

Den building is an encouraged adventure play activity in all the woods

first sight of the Lantern folly on approach path

Deer leap leaving Lantern Wood. 

This connection via Lantern Wood offers the Park Herd and the Moor Herd a route to mix if they wish.

route: exit Lantern Wood; descend across Caters Slack to East Park Gate track

 

route: return along track to Hall and Car Park

heading along East Lodge track back toward Hall and Car Park

People on Cage Hill

Almost back, Lyme Hall North entrance 

dist: 7.5 miles    time: 5hr 15min

(Special) Sunday 16/02/14 - A View from Outside

Photo Blog Off Duty - Sunday 16 Feb 2014

A View from Outside

My on duty patrols are limited to within the Park boundary, however, Lyme Park is an amazing base for walks venturing outside the boundary. When my wife and I headed up to Lyme Park for a walk I thought I would share a few views from outside the Park to the South.

route: Within the Park - track behind the stables; alongside Hampers Wood; alongside Lantern Wood; Right along Boundary wall to high view point; exit Lyme Park at Bowstonegate Farm.

Outside the Park

route: West along the ridge path to Sponds Hill (follow Gritstone Trail signs)

Great spot for our sandwiches and flask of coffee sitting on a low wall looking South.  East Cheshire with Derbyshire to left and Staffordshire in the distance.

 Looking back to Bowstonegate Farm along the ridge track.

.... and looking the other way (into the sun)

 view West to the Cheshire Plain. Can't see on photo but Jodrell Back is central and distant vague hills to right are over the Welsh border.

 ...and looking East the Kinder Plateau is just visible at the back left of centre.

 

We're under a high altitude cross over point here with European and trans-Atlantic traffic. They look like meteor tracks today.

Manchester with Winter Hill behind.  So clear to the city that the change in colour of the Beetham Tower half way up could be clearly seen.

Apologies for the blob in the middle. Annoyingly, an internal lens on this camera became fogged with condensation in the wet weather on my last on-duty patrol and it doesn't seem to be clearing.

route: Join Bakestonedale Road; turn right and follow road for about 1.5ml;  after Old Brickworks Industrial Estate, turn right into track to Moorside Farm.

 

..just what are the Children grazing on?

route: Follow track to right of farms to Keepers Cottage; follow diagonal path left avoiding Moorside; follow obvious path., eventually descending until meeting road by Chapel; Take surfaced track immediately right to West park Gate.

 Closing in on the Park again, a different view of Paddock Cottage and The Cage

Gorgeous colours in Cluse Hey and Park Moor looking back to Bowstonegate Farm. 

The ridge where we ate our sandwiches is to the right of the Farm looking the other way.

 A Pleasant green track as we descend toward the road near West Park Gate to re-enter Lyme Park.

route: Re-enter Lyme Park via West Park Gate and return to the main Car Park along the drive.

The Main Car Park was rather different to my quiet Wednesdays. The number of visitors on this first sunny day combined with the water logged state of the grass made parking all these cars a challenge. An impressive team of Volunteers were using their radios to excellent effect to make the best out of a bad situation and, as a member of the public on this occasion, I extend my thanks to them.

I do however despair and at the inability of so many drivers to reduce damage to the grass by applying simple driving skills*. I suggest that next time a supermarket car park is snowy and quiet they should practise starting in 2nd gear on poor grip. It is also a good opportunity to deliberately feel a slide so that when you encounter one on the road you don't panic at the alien feeling. (*My Views - Nothing to do with the NT)

GPS track:  7.09 miles  11:46-15:35 (3h 50m inc' stops)