A Walk On The Common

Last Tuesday I went for a walk up on the Common as I wanted to go a little further than normal.  The weather started out fairly sunny, but by the time I had walked quite a way along a different path dark clouds were gathering overhead and I realised that I should turn back for home.  However, I did walk quite a distance.

an acer and a dogwood outside the former school buildings

a rowan tree

I walked up the hill on the left to get to the Common and hadn't used that route since October last year as I usually go further on to the main entrance.

There are three pubs in the village and the locals call this one 'The Top Pub'.  You may be wondering about the wooden 'log' in the front.  In fact it's not a log, but the remains of one of the carved wooden statues in the area.  It must have gone rotten at the base and fallen in the last year.  What a shame!

as seen 18th October 2019

The reason I haven't used this particular path up to the Common this year is because it's long and narrow and at the moment difficult to distance oneself if someone is walking down it.  However, on this occasion I could see that the path was clear so I didn't stop except to take a photo where you can see the village down below.  The horses are kept in these fields and belong to a local riding school.  

On a hill on the Common you can see for miles.

The Common is well used by dog walkers.

Although the Common is now a nature reserve it was once used by quarry owners who quarried the blocks of stone for various purposes in the local industries. These blocks can still be seen scattered everywhere in the area amongst the gorse and heather. They are now part of the environment with lichen and moss growing on them.  Trees growing on the Common are mainly birch and oak, but occasionally a wild apple tree can be seen, probably self seeded.  

The oak woods seem mysterious.  Thankfully there were dog

 walkers around so I wasn't completely alone.

In normal times and warm weather it would be

 a pleasant place to have a picnic.

There is evidence of dwellings up here and stories of who lived in this area including a cave house.  There would have been more hustle and bustle during a time when the stones were quarried.  Today the spot seems quite isolated from the local village.  In Tudor times the area was used by landowners for riding and exercising horses.  A small ancient stone circle has also been found by interested archaeologists.

Back at the main entrance I walked down hill, thankfully, for home.

Have a good weekend everyone!

November 2019 roundup

November was a very wet month and we continue to think of those who are still enduring the aftermath of the flooding that occurred in many regions of the UK. We enjoyed having family come to visit. We are keeping fairly well and managed to get out-and-about including a visit to our Derbyshire family. In between the rain there was some gardening done, mostly tidying and cleaning and then on other days we rested.

Our son sent some photos that I've made into collages taken of  'The Knife Angel Sculpture' made with permission from the Home Office by the British Ironwork Centre in Shropshire from hundreds of  knives that had been surrendered to the authorities or had been used in a knife crime. The travelling artwork sculpture was on display for a time outside Derby Cathedral and was illuminated at night and brought attention to the public the awful consequences of knife crime that is sadly happening in our society. The campaign 'Surrender a Knife and Save a Life' is an important, ongoing initiative.

Inside the Cathedral touring artwork 'Museum of the Moon' by Luke Jerram was being displayed which was also illuminated in the evenings and a light parade, 'Parade of the Full Moon' took place at this time at the end of September. John Flamsteed, the first Atronomer Royal, (1646-1719) lived in Derby and was the first to map the moon so there was probably an association of ideas when organising the Derby Festé 2019. John Flamsteed's work (below) can be seen in Pickford's House Museum, Derby together with other displays on 18th century optical inventions.

Finally, a photo of me with Benito Argento our Derbyshire family's Spinone puppy who has the sweetest temperament.  (Argento is his pedigree name).

Friday Bliss # 58

It was a sunny day yesterday so I decided to take a walk to the Common starting at a footpath by one of the pubs.

The carved artwork nearby has aged and changed colour to a light grey.  I took a closer look at the carving of the trees and dog.

The path with its old cobble stones was probably used as a wider track up to the Common and was tricky to walk on until it became smoother.

 The horses are usually in a different paddock.

horse hair strands on the wire fence

Stone was quarried for local use so there are hilly areas and then dips in the path.

Heather has mostly become dried out and brown, but there were a few patches of purple here and there. The yellow gorse bushes, bright green young broom and different types of grasses added subtle colour.

The wooden seat was wet so I didn't sit on it.  Even though places are beginning to rot it's interesting to see moss growing between the cracks.

The weather was changing so it was time to turn back and retrace my steps back down and home. We're fortunate to have the common ground, wooded areas so near home.  It looks as if no-one was about, but in fact there were quite a few dog walkers up on the Common.

The chrysanthemums that Mr P grew from seed and planted in the containers have suddenly started to bloom.  The nectarine and citrus trees will be brought into the covered yard soon.

I hope you have a good weekend and week ahead.  We have a busy week of medical appointments and then younger members of the family are coming to stay for a few days as it'll be half term holiday for them. 

Joining Riitta's Friday Bliss linkup