I make the most of a cold bright morning and head to the outskirts of town, looking for early Spring blossom. Skirting round the edges of Standen Hall , I spy plenty of gorgeous Cherry Plum in bud and bloom. My camera phone identifies it as Snow! The stately old building and it’s grounds are mostly hidden from view by high walls ( well, high to me! ) and the front entrance has a ‘ Private Keep Out ‘ sign. I walk up the drive as far as I dare, snapping pictures of cheeky squirrels.
In the surrounding countryside a sprawling new housing development is creeping ever closer to the Hall. I hear the echoing drumming of a woodpecker and see a buzzard soaring in the sky. Not another human in sight. I let Hugo run off lead in the fields. The sky is blue and the ground is dry underfoot. Today looks like Spring but it is deceptively cold.
Butterbur. Grey Squirrel. Cherry Plum Blossom.
Primrose Nature Reserve.
On the way home I walk through a local Nature Reserve. The old mill pond is busy with waterbirds including moorhens and a pair of goosanders. I look for the white goose who was brought here by well meaning folk to keep a solitary greylag female company. The two were a pair for a while , but one day I saw her flying off, honking furiously. She never returned.
Moorhen. White Goose by the Chinese Bridge. Teal.
Time to get home and make myself a brew. Soon Hugo is snoring away in his bed. ☕❤️
Recently Hugo and I have spent a lot of time treading the boardwalks…..at the new Nature Reserve in town. Primrose Nature Reserve has opened at last! What was once an overgrown wasteland containing a mill lodge of stagnant water has been transformed, with walkways, a viewing platform and even a Monet style bridge spanning Mearley Brook. A fish pass has been installed close to the old Primrose Mill to allow salmon, trout and eels to travel upstream and gallons of silt has been removed from the lodge. I have taken a few photos which I hope will give a feel for the place. The reserve is suitable for wheel chairs, push chairs and prams and it doesn’t take very long to walk through.
Owl carving at the Woone Lane entrance.
Number 24 Boundary stone, one of only 7 surviving town boundary stones from Clitheroe. Found in the lodge and now set in the reserve wall, it dates back to the 1500s. Wildlife the reserve hopes to attract more of. Green Winged Teal. There are several of these. Such pretty water birds. Bird accomodation. Moorhen. Habitats have been created using fallen logs. Butterbur frequent the brook side. Monet style bridge. Facing Woone Lane. A bluetit furnishes its new home, number 5. 🙂Little Egret seen from the bridge.Sluice gates were used to control the flow of water to the mill. Old Industry. Mallard and ten ducklings. I was happy to see there are actually primroses at Primrose Nature Reserve. 🙂 Flowering currant.Dunnock. Willow arch near the Whalley road entrance. Reserve map at the Whalley road entrance.
To view the fish pass you have to walk up Woone Lane to the top of the nature reserve and you will be able to see it from the road next to Primrose Mill. At the moment the mill is being turned into apartments so whilst renovations are going on, here’s a photo from Instagram.
Alaskan Fish Pass, one of the largest in England.
I am looking forward to the changing seasons ,to see how the area becomes established. I think the reserve is a lovely little addition to Clitheroe. A wild space in an urban landscape. 😊
I am treating January as I usually do. It’s my month of keeping snug and cosy inside, with a healthy dose of fresh air and exercise. I also like to plan holidays and weekends away at this time of year, so have been researching our little holiday in North Norfolk during May and weekend walks in the Eden Valley, for when we can get back up to the caravan.
Winter Window Sill.
Continuing Winter cheer with my window display. The Robins mimic my real life robin visitor. The hyacinth plant I found in Sainsbury’s for a bargain 65p is now flowering and giving off a delicious scent, resembling woods of bluebells.
Winter Walks.
I’ve been looking for more walks from home. Although I thought we had been just about everywhere on our doorstep, I was proved wrong last weekend, when we discovered new to us footpaths. I’m sure there are more to explore!
There will be another place to wander when Clitheroe’s new Nature Reserve opens. It is very local indeed. I have nosed over the fence a couple of times and I spied several Teal on the water. 🙂 Can’t wait for a proper look.
The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is all set for the last weekend of January. I have signed up as usual and am looking forward to seeing which feathered visitors turn up in the hour.
Primrose Nature Reserve. 🦉🦉 Photo from their Facebook page. Bridgerton. It’s a bodice ripper.
Incase you are looking for some on screen escapism, here is a list of what I’ve enjoyed watching recently. Most are series and there’s one film. But let me say this, my list is one of mostly guilty pleasures. 😄
Bridgerton. Netflix. Regency romance with lots of drama, comedy, gossip & scandal.
Derry Girls. All 4 / Netflix. Coming of age comedy set during ‘ the troubles’ in nineties Northern Ireland.
Ghosts. BBC I Player. Spirited comedy about the ghostly inhabitants of a haunted house, from the creators of Horrible Histories
Winter Walks. BBC I Player. Join well known faces as they film their favourite walks in Yorkshire. I miss Yorkshire. ❤️
Eurovision Song Contest : The Story Of Fire Saga. Netflix. Very cheesy but enjoyable musical comedy film set in Iceland and Edinburgh.
The Masked Singer. ITV/ ITV Hub. Addictive crazy singing competition.
Home For Christmas. Netflix. Norwegian rom com series.
Sneaky Pete. Amazon Prime. Crime drama about a con man who assumes the identity of his cellmate to escape from a vengeful mobster.
The Queen’s Gambit. Netflix. An orphans rise against the odds to become the Worlds number one chess player.
All Creatures Great And Small. My 5. Heart warming 1940s comedy drama about a young vet who accepts a job in a Yorkshire Dales Vetinary practice. This is a remake of the original series, and just as good. ❤️
Winter Reading.
It’s nice to find a nice cosy read and I did in Winter Holiday from the Swallows and Amazon’s children’s book series by Arthur Ransome. I am immersed in a world of frozen lakes, snowy igloos and secret signals. Thanks to the What is it about books ? blog for the recommendation. ❤️
So this is my first foray into using the new WordPress editor. I hope it turns out okay.
Do leave me your own thoughts on how you are spending January?
sunshine and celandines 