A Slow Autumn

I'd hoped to get away for another short break before winter really takes a grip but so far my plans have come to nothing.

The end of October and early November brought in a series of storms and damp, windy weather, and although we weren't at risk of flooding or wind damage, nearby roads were closed and the countryside has generally felt too damp to be appealing. 

So I've spent time watching the garden leaves change colour or walking around the nearby park on good solid paths (though during the torrential rain even they turned to streams)

In the neglected treehouse at the bottom of the garden I found a fairy village of tiny mushrooms.

And this is the only tie of year I appreciate this huge sycamore which grows just behind our fence. For many months it blocks the light from the lawn but as its leaves turn yellow and glow in morning or afternoon sun it's forgiven.

 

Mercia Marina

I've had Mercia Marina on my 'must visit' list for quite a while. It's relatively on my doorstep, friends are always surprised that I haven't been, but somehow I've never got round to it. 

So in the spirit of trying something new I thought it would be a good place for looking at boats and a short walk along the Trent and Mersey canal. Unfortunately it wasn't as interesting as I'd hoped.

Unlike Shardlow, which was once a busy inland port, or Cromford with its industrial heritage, it has no history. The marina is relatively new and purpose-built for boat storage. It's huge but the public can't really wander round it - just long a small section with boats for sale and some housing businesses. I suppose it makes sense from a boat-owners point of view - you don't want anybody and everybody coming poking round the outside of your boat when you're not around - but I had expected to see more than glimpses in the distance. 

There are shops if you're in the mood for spending, and cafes and restaurants for eating. But as for the marina itself, that seemed to be it.

There are various bits of sculpture dotted about here and there - from a stylised swan to a willow troll - but they seem rather randomly picked and sited, and some could easily be missed competely.

Anyway, not having found anything to really interest me so far, I decided to go in search of the nearby canal for a short walk (after which I might have had tea and cake at one of the cafes)

The route didn't appear to be clearly marked so we wandered through a carpark, alongside a short stretch of canal which led into the marina, and across a field. Then I discovered that to reach the canal towpath I needed to cross over to the other side, which entailed going up and down some quite steep open-tread steps. Fine, maybe, if I were as fit as I once was, but since the whole falling down the stairs episode I'm neither as agile nor as confident about steps. And so I decided to give up. 

Overall, I'd mark it as a disappointing destination. Good for eating or shopping but not that's about all.

Something that struck me was that whereas it's quite easy to take, and post, photos that make the marina look attractive you only need to turn around to see that the location is dominated by Willington power station. It's disused now but 1950s cooling towers are still an eyesore, without the visual/industrial heritage appeal of Cromford's old mills

 

Calke - cows, pumpkins, and dahlias

As the early part of October continued mild and occasionally sunny, I grabbed the opportunity for a visit to Calke. My main intent was to see the annual pumpkin display and the dahlias but there was more to see than those.

I've often seen the estate's deer close to the visitor area but was surprised to be met by some of the longhorn cattle grazing near the car park. I've seen them before at a distance when walking through the park but I've never approached them. I assume they're as friendly as other cows but they're rather large and the adults have ferocious-looking horns so I feel it's best to give them space. This time they were safely the other side of a fence so it was possible to get quite close. 

Inside the gardens proper I found the wonderful pumpkin display. The variety of shape and size is astonishing - from huge 'warty' pumpkins to the tiny squash or long thin tromboncinos.  

Nearby were bright autumn flowers.

I love the colour combination here of pink/red wall creeper and yellow kniphofia.

The path up to the gardeners' offices are always lined with dahlias in autumn. All colours, shapes, and sizes, but I noticed the simple ones were favoured more by bees and butterflies. Perhaps it's just to complicated to find the centre of a pom-pom variety.

Lastly I headed through the garden door and into the vegetable area.

Their are flowers here too - another striking colour combination.

And the vegetable beds still look busy with winter crops -cabbages and kale, leeks and chard, and nasturtiums winding through them.

Back then to the visitor centre in time for cake from the cafe. It was still warm enough to eat outside but it feels like it was the last day to do so.
 

There and Back at Cromford

My younger daughter came home a few weeks ago - back when October was still warm and sunny - and wanted to go out walking in Derbyshire. As I'm still not good on uneven footpaths or long distances we chose to head to Cromford and walk along the towpath towards High Peak Workshops.

The sky looks rather dark and moody in my photos but the weather was nice and surprisingly

 warm for October.

I didn't expect to make it the whole way - but I did! It's only a couple of miles but I haven't been walking long distances this year so it felt like quite an achievement.

 

And we saw a stegosaurus lurking on the opposite bank. Apparently it's been there quite a while but I've never noticed it before!