Bank Holiday stroll at Carsington

The weather this May Day bank holiday wasn't brilliant, but on Sunday afternoon we risked the possibility of rain and headed out to Carsington Water.










We didn't want to walk far because Dylan the dog isn't feeling very energetic these days, but near to the Millfields car park is a little 'cottage' with all its interior carved from wood, and we thought this would make a good point to head for.




I think when we visited last summer the cottage must have been quite recently constructed - some of the 'fittings' were looking a bit battered this time, partly from graffiti, partly from weathering as there's no door to keep rain and snow outside.





















I'd mis-remembered the distance from the car park, so reached the 'cottage' much sooner than expected, and decided to walk on a little further.














It's a pretty section of the path which leads round the reservoir, especially with bluebells and apple blossom along the route.

There are separate paths here for walkers and cyclists, and by following one out and the other back, we turned a straight there-and-back walk into a figure of eight.

And as we returned to the car park, the sun eventually came out.

Millennium Meadow, Duffield

Cowslips in the wildflower meadow

Having been cooped up all week with a bad cold, then Saturday being wet and windy, I was determined to get outside on Sunday, if only for a short while. We headed to somewhere local and new-to-us - Derbyshire Wildlife Trust's Millennium Meadow just outside Duffield.

dandelions and
forget-me-nots

We parked by the village church, and walked up a lane alongside the mainline railway towards the reserve and Eyes Meadow sports-field. It doesn't sound like a pretty approach but wildflowers were growing in the hedge bottom, and there were views across the meadows towards the Derwent. It was definitely noisy though when trains came past! It turns out we could have parked by the entrance to Millennium Meadow, but the reserve isn't huge, and walking that extra bit added more step to my Fitbit count.

Looking back to the Derwent

bluebells

Looking over Eyes Meadow sports fields

 Millennium Meadow itself is an area lying between the Derwent and Ecclesbourne rivers, with young trees, wildflowers meadow and ponds.

wild garlic

Being a nature reserve, it's necessary to stick to paths, and dogs must be kept under control, but it was a lovely quiet, peaceful place, especially walking along the banks of the Derwent.

River Ecclesbourne flowing in from the right
to join the Derwent

 In drier weather I might have tried scrambling down to the fishing spots at river level, but the previous day's rain had left the steps looking too muddy and slippery. Another time maybe.

Colliers Wood Country Park

Colliers Wood is one of those 'back home' places I've been intending to check out for a while, just down the road from DH Lawrence's home town of Eastwood.

When I was young, this area was Moorgreen Colliery, a pit-yard with mounds of coal and waste, with winding gear, and all the necessary surface offices and repair shops. Earlier than that, my granddad drove trains moving coal from pit-head to the main line junction, but I only remember heavy lorries thundering along narrow streets and making windows shake.

At some point after I moved away, the pit closed, a new industrial estate was built on part of the site, and this new community woodland created. All that now remains of all that industry are the renovated coal-truck and winding wheel by the car park.





I chose a bad day to visit, as this pond had recently been drained to remove goldfish! Presumably they once lived in a tank or a garden pond, but they'd been let loose here a while ago, and were upsetting the eco-balance of the pondlife.

There are two way-marked trails around the park, named Barber and Walker after the original pre-NCB owners of the mine - the longer has a short road section, so we took the shorter (it was also easier on Dylan)















Walk round the park at a smart pace and it wouldn't take long. I'm an ambler though, and like to stop and investigate flowers and trees along the way - and at this time of year there's plenty to be seen, from flowers to blossom.

Shipley - again!

Another sunny afternoon saw us out at Shipley Country Park again. It wasn't many weeks since we were there, but spring has progressed a lot.










What we'd specifically gone to see were the daffodils, so after a brief look at Mapperley reservoir, we headed up the hill towards the site of the old hall.

The surrounding country park has been re-landscaped after open-cast mining, but the small hill on which the hall stood was left untouched, and snowdrops, daffodils and bluebells still grow under the trees there.

This is only a short walk so Dylan was able to come along, and, as I stopped a lot to take photographs, he had chance for a rest (or several)

We've visited Shipley many many times but these small blue flowers were a surprise. I think they're scilla siberica (Siberian squill), and I've seen photos in bulb-selling catalogues of them spreading and forming a blue carpet in spring - maybe some previous owners of Shipley Hall had hoped for this, but now there's only half a dozen small clumps.

As almost always, we'd visited in late afternoon, as we we headed back down Horsepool Hill the shadows were lengthening and a rather dramatic sunset ended the day.