Delta Ged, Volunteer Ranger @ National Trust Lyme Park : July 2015

Photo Blog Week 75 - Wed 22 July 2015

Today I stayed in the North of the Park so the scenery is the rolling grassland of Cage Hill and the lower altitude woodland rather than the high moorland I often cover. The Park was busy with many young children coming in for the Gruffalo exhibition but also, as the weather improved, picnics were popular.

I arrived to rain with only my good camera so it stayed sealed in a plastic bag until after lunch meaning that we can have a rest with somewhat fewer photo's than some weeks. My route follows the boundary of the Northern part of the Park.

route: The House; Timber Yard; cross stream; Turtle Brew; Four Winds; The Knott; Dipping Pond; Car Park and Timber Yard

Four Winds track down to Windgather Cottage Park Entrance.

This rise gives some of the best and easily accessible views across Cheshire and Manchester

On the old entrance road curving around The Knott.

This track forms part of The Original Route In - the Traditional Approach Route to The House which I describe and follow in a previous blog post.(week 61 28/03/2005)

Volunteer Walling team at work on a collapse in the boundary wall

This break would be critical as one side is sheep grazing in an adjacent field and this side the red deer roam and could escape

Sheep are grazing the grass around The Knott.

Grazing will help maintain the area as pleasant grassland

Many people forget that the countryside we see as natural has been artificially created by centuries of farming and management. Grassland left un-managed becomes weed ridden and ugly in time as other plants such as bracken and brambles invade and take over.

This is also the reason behind the stock fencing being installed on Pursefield below Paddock Cottage where the lower reaches of the grass are shrinking uphill as the scrub invades. The beautiful sloping grass will not be there for future generation without introducing grazing.

The jetty in the Dipping Pond. (Only accessible with Rangers)

Stag Damage

I mentioned last week the palings around trees to protect from Stag antler damage.

The vertical gouges in this trunk are the result of stags rubbing their antlers which strips the bark.

The tree has been stripped of bark around the entire circumference and has died as a result.

route: Timber Yard; Mill Pond; North Face of House; East Lodge Drive; Red Deer Sanctuary; Coalpit Wood dip

Water Lillies on the Mill Pond.

Black Headed Gull defending its perch over the Mill Pond

Summer is a time of green paths as the short grass shines out bright green in contrast the the longer grass

The grass on Cage Hill in front of The House is thick and long

route: Coalpit Wood dip; bottom of Cage Hill; Horse Coppice Reservoir; Red Lane Park Entrance; Admissions Hut

weak path running North through the grass along the edge of Coalpit Wood

Coalpit Wood - Sycamore

I often show pictures of the Beech in Knightslow Wood and the Firs in Lantern and on Haze Bank and Coalpit Wood is very different. Largely Sycamore, it is a deciduous wood with a full canopy but unlike the Beech woods, the woodland floor is lush and green.

Harebells (Campanula rotundifolia)

One of my favourite wild flowers. This is the best of 5 photo's as they were whipping about in the wind.

Horse Coppice and Bollinhurst reservoirs

A ghostly Manchester in the distance

Grade II listed gateway by Red Lane Cottage

route: Admissions Hut; Elmerhurst Wood; Crow Wood; Mill Pond; Car Park (end)

Yellow Honeysuckle

Elmerhurst Wood has the feel of a traditional English woodland with mixed deciduous trees and a vast variety of undergrowth

Undergrowth very full and tall along the path edges

Wild Raspberries

Footbridge in a dell on the Elmerhurst Wood path

Beech Mast

One of the reasons that the floor of Knightslow Wood and other Beech woods have bare floors with little undergrowth is 'masting'. Beech trees will produce huge volumes of seeds (masts) every 2 to 6 years and this creates a mulch so thick that it suppresses growth of ground plants under the tree.

This is the ground under a large mature Beech Tree by the path between Elmerhurst and Crow Woods

a close view of Beech Mast

Back at the Car Park, threatening clouds silhouetting two Sequoias (Giant Redwoods)

Today's track

Total: 6.26 miles (10.08 km) 4 hr 45 min

duration includes stops for chats, inspections, photo's and snacks

This Time Last Year

Have a look at This Time Last Year

Week 31 23/07/2014 - Feeling Hot, hot, hot

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Photo Blog Week 74 - Wed 15 July 2015

Volunteers Needed

Lyme Park is totally dependent on volunteers so when on a sunny bank holiday you have a problem being parked or on a cloudy midweek morning the minibus isn't running as no driver is available or on a freezing hilltop The Cage isn't open as two additional volunteers couldn't be found, instead of moaning about the NT, consider whether you or anyone you know would be willing to give this amazing place some time to help make it available for others. Traditional pools of volunteers are shrinking due to lifestyle changes including influences such as people working longer before retiring, childcare demands on grand parents, more volunteer dependent social services provision, needing to supplement income with second jobs and many other causes.

The small core of paid staff at Lyme work themselves silly and cover crazy unsociable hours so really need our support to maintain their passion. If you or anyone you know may be interested in volunteering, especially if they can manage some weekends or bank holidays, they would be welcomed with open arms. It doesn't need to cost you money, you can claim your journey costs back, it's your time that is the value.

Running Costs

Many people comment on the £7 car entry to Lyme and compare to other single attractions but the difference with an NT property is that it itself is supporting all the non-income stream locations. Little or no income comes from the wonderful High Moorland that you drive through en route to Sheffield from Manchester; Kinder Scout for Hiking; Alderley Edge for Family Walks and further afield, the wonderful areas of the Lake District which all cost £m to maintain. It would cost you about the same to park for 2 hours in Manchester to have a quick visit to the Arndale shops.

Back to Normal

A split day today as, in the morning, I was helping out by training out an on line system to other volunteers. It was a result of being around the Estate Office and snippets of conversations that led to my expressing my feelings in today's introductory rant as there is a clear concern as to volunteers levels.

My Wednesday Office lunch-partner Delta-Graham was elsewhere this week so I collected a sandwich from the Timber Yard Cafe before heading out on patrol to enjoy it later on a hillside. A lovely bright day with a gentle cooling breeze and remarkable long views today in clear air.

route: The House; Timber Yard; Main Car Park; Drinkwater Meadow; Knightslow Wood

The Park is really lush and green at the moment with long summer grasses and thick tree canopies.
A busy day with several schools, in including a 600 pupil sponsored walk.

These palings strapped onto some trees are to protect them from further red deer antler damage

When the antlers reach full growth, the Stags rub them against trees scraping off the 'velvet' soft covering which becomes 'itchy'. The damage they do is often severe and if the bark is stripped over a large enough portion of the circumference the tree will die.

600 pupils walked from Poynton High School to Lyme Park and back raising money for a school mini bus

...and left hardly any litter - Thanks guys, appreciated!

Damsel flies around the banks of the Millpond

A DOE group going through the Park.

I regularly see DOE groups, it seems usually in foul weather, so it was nice to see this group looking happy. They did have the usual trademark over loading, I this they had their 'going out' gear with then the size and weight of their packs.

busy car park for a weekday due to the weather

Aw, little Bambi.

This Fallow Deer fawn could be seen through the gate just above the main car park out onto Drinkwater Meadow

Another fawn nearby restring in the sun. The two Does were grazing nearby.

Red Deer and Fallow Deer oddly have different names:
Red: Stag (m), Hind (f), Calf (young)
Fallow: Buck (m), Doe (f), Fawn (young)

Homer Simpson clearly almost ran over a Fallow Deer in the episode where he swerved his car saying, "Doh, a deer... a female deer". Phonetics rule.

Winter Hill the far side of Greater Manchester

General view across Drinkwater Meadow to West

The Beech canopy in Knightslow Wood thick with sun lighting up the leaves

Well shaded at ground level with pools of green light where the sun get through gaps

Fungi Fest'

route: Knightslow Wood; Western Moor track; Boundary; Stag House

New and Old: Fiddler's Ferry power station in the distance over Paddock Cottage.

Work has begun on the rendering at Paddock Cottage, hence the scaffolding

General high view from the Western Moor across the plain with Beetham Tower just left of centre

Looking North to Scout Hill wind farm

Across the Moor wearing its green summer coat. Bowstonegate Fm at top.

My Lunch Stop View - West across the Cheshire Plain

Grass seeds highlighted in the sun

A short stretch of the Macclesfield Canal way below

The Western moor and Bowstonegate Fm

Cage Hill far below

route: Stag House; Bowstonegate Farm (Park entrance); High Point Viewfinder; Lantern Wood (top path)

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If you fancy looking this up, let me know. Looks more like a moth than a butterfly but either way I don't think I've seen one before.

Something in the grass there...

A mature stag with at least 14 tine antlers

the soft velvet covering shining silver in the light

This is the gable end which lights up white in a western sun to be seen from much of South Manchester

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Cat's Ear flowers look a little like a Dandelion but has a long solid stemrather than the tubular dandelion stem. Dandelion vs Cat's Ear

The house coming into sight over the stock fence on the Moor

South Face of the House with the North Face gateway and corner of the Orangery

The Cage

The ridge from Bowstones to Spond's Hill and the plain beyond

Unmistakable profile of Shuttlingslow in distance near Macclesfield Forrest

The Kinder Plateau

Air clear enough to zoom in on Kinder Downfall in the middle of the plateau

A wide green view from the highest point in Lyme Park

Lyme Hall nestling in the trees

Drystone Walls

Drystone walls can be incredibly interesting if you learn a little about their structure

These projections are 'through stones', long stones inserted regularly to link the two sides of the wall.

Usually, they do not project but some wallers liked to show them and sometimes farmers demanded they were visible to show they'd been put in.

Different styles are adopted in different parts of the country and individual wallers may have 'their way' of doing it. This section has stones laid flat in the top of the wall before the more vertical cap stones are added creating a horizontal line of sight.

A recently repaired section incorporating some new stone. As the stone is from local quarries it will age in appropriately and the colour difference will quickly fade and merge.

The Cap Stones complete the wall's structure. A heavy bonding layer spanning the whole width of the wall.

Cap stones being vertical or sloping also increases the stock proofing as animals jumping up do not have a horizontal platform to gain purchase on.

route: Lantern Wood (top path); Cater's Slack; East Lodge drive; The Stable; Lyme Hall (end)

Cuckoo Spit

This frothy substance is created around the nymph of the Common Froghopper or more aptly named Spittle Bug. It has no connection with the Cuckoo bird other than that it appears around the same sime as the first cockoo is heard. Who Spat on My Plants?

Path through young pines in Lantern Wood full of the smell of Pine Resin

Large areas of the floor are covered in swathes of these tiny white flowers ###

Ladder stile profiled against the countryside out toward Glossop