Back to Redmires Reservoirs

The weather continues to be changeable.  Yesterday we were sitting out in the garden enjoying the sunshine and today it's pouring with rain.  Last week we went to Redmires Reservoirs since our daughter who's staying with us has never been there.  The wind was getting up and the following day was even worse so we did well to choose a good day to venture out. 

Hardly anyone was about and we had no trouble parking by the old iron bridge where there's an outlet stream that runs into the upper reservoir. 

the Upper Reservoir - one of three

Normally you can walk the path along by the retaining wall of the reservoir, but this time the gate was locked.  Instead we took a walk by the stream.

There's an overflow plug hole which allows water to drain away down it if the water in the reservoir gets too high.

Further along the road is Redmires Football Ground where our grandson used to train and play football with this local team.

a mural on the wall of the local pub

It was interesting to see that a fenced off obstacle course for dogs had been set up on an area of the field.  Someone has been enterprising in setting up her small business out in the open air.

Then further along still we parked again in a safe layby at the top of a hill overlooking another reservoir and leading to a nature reserve.

Rivelin Reservoir

an Evening Primrose plant

our daughter D blackberrying ......

..... down the hill to the Rivelin Valley and then home.

A Sunday Afternoon Outing

With the weekend shopping our daughter brought us a beautiful bunch of roses and carnations along with stems of dried purple flower that I find useful because I can keep them for other arrangements.  When the roses have faded and died no doubt Mr P will be propagating from them to make more rose bushes in the garden.

The sunshine has returned! We will make the most of the good weather by being outside as much as possible.

Sundays are special. In the morning we watch a local church service online  This week the younger leaders took the service now that a few can be inside the church.  Other families participate from their homes via zoom. We get to see some of the participating families and their children each week. It's technically a challenge, but it's a blessing to be part of a local church community that's growing as new families arrive in the neighbourhood.  The local parish church is now open at limited times during the week for personal prayer and I'm sure this is the case for other church buildings.

Sunday is also the day that we speak to family members and catch up with the week's news and then in the afternoon we meet up with our local daughter and family.  Recently with the weather changeable it hasn't been so easy to sit out in the garden. Yesterday afternoon we decided to take two cars and drive to another countryside area where there are reservoirs and walking trails.  It was a pleasant change of scene and we found an isolated spot high up on a bank overlooking one of the reservoirs.

There are paths through the bracken and rose bay willow herb flowers down to the water's edge and up into the hills.

The retaining wall of the reservoir.  It's possible to walk along the pathway there. 

a wild dog rose

bugs on a flower head, probably a wild carrot plant

a bee on a thistle

a star of  Bethlehem flower and a buttercup leaf

The skies were amazing.

The water changed colour depending on whether the sun was out and there was a rippling on the water because of a slight breeze.

There are woodland trails around the reservoirs.

If you are a serious walker it's possible to walk from this area to the moors and Stanage Edge, a rocky escarpment popular with climbers. At the moment with social distancing rules there's plenty of open countryside to explore using the official public pathways.

The drive home was also very pleasant.  You cannot see from this photo taken by me in the passenger seat, but around the corner is a steep hill on the winding road.  Another reservoir can be seen in the distance.

Thank you for coming by.  I hope you enjoyed the drive in the countryside and a sit down by the reservoir. Have a good day!