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.
Next blog post will be on or after Wed 11th June.
