A Walk on Wednesday

Today was a good day for a walk with the sun shining and blue skies again after a cloudy few days so off I went down the steep hill to Loxley Valley and found some lovely new footpaths to explore along by the river.

If I were a bit more nimble I could have climbed over into this field which is a public right of way, but instead I chose the easy trail where there was a wide path. I wore my home made mask that I've just made where the path narrowed as there were quite a few families about enjoying a walk in the fresh air. 

On one side are fields of a cereal crop and on the other is the river which is more of a stream rushing along over boulders in places and calm waters in others.  

A box at the side of the river says it records the level of the water.  At the moment it seems quite high. The Damflask Reservoir feeds into the river which flows on before joining the River Rivelin and the River Don.

  

Some old photos on an information board show what the Loxley Valley used to look like.  It's still a farming area dotted with old stone buildings.  There's also an old photo of the time when one of the reservoirs further up the valley broke its walls during construction. Gallons of water rushed down the valley causing destruction and devastation on the way.

I thought the English bluebells in the woodlands were over, but there were some still in bloom in the long grass.

There were other wild flowers that are best left growing in the woods than in the garden.

a solitary bumble bee

hawthorns (May tree) are in full blossom everywhere

Some interesting boxes in a woodland area looked as if they might be beehives as there were insects, probably bees, flying around them.

I went as far as this bridge and then turned back. On the other side of the road there are more interesting footpaths to wander down.  I'll share more of what I saw there next time as some unusual artisan stone sculptures and specialist stone walls can be seen among the woodland trail.

Thank you for your visit.  Have a good day!