A Short Walk at Staunton Harold Reservoir

Saturday evening was so lovely that after going round Melbourne Art Trail during the day, we didn't feel quite ready to head home, so drove just up the road to Staunton Harold Reservoir for a short walk.

From the car park a good path lead round the top of the reservoir to a weir where water flows in from a pond within Calke Abbey grounds.

At the other end, near the dam, there's a sailing club, cafe and visitor facilities but this upper section is quiet and serene (though that could have been because of the time of day)

From the weir the path heads into the Calke Estate, but access is only to the footpath which runs outside the deer fence. We saw a few deer - a doe and young on our outward leg, and a stag on the return - but there were far more squirrels scampering about the trees.








The path took us up a slight hill from where there's a view over surrounding farmland, and, with the sun about to set, we decided to turn round and retrace our steps from here.

The sky was starting to redden as we reached the car park, but saved its best display for our journey home.