Walk – Page 23 – Neil Baldwin's blog : Warning contains walking, technology, photography, holidays.

Who ate all the pies?

Early breakfast then we hit the trail, heading straight out to the sea past the abbey ruins. We had a good look rounnd the sluice bushes but not much to see. As we headed towards the hide someone pointed out out single turnstone on the end of the groyne, and informed us that there was a snow bunting further down the beach, we could see lots of peiople looking at it.
As we headed toward the twitch Helen spotted a shore lark. The snow bunting was very trusting, one photographer was within 3m of the bird. We got really good views. After that we had a look at a distant king eider, but we had to take other peoples word for it.
The coast guard cottages were a welcome break for a coffee. So far the weather had been clear skies, and warm sun. The wind was light, but if you spent too long in the shade it was cold.

We headed off round the heath after dartford warblers but had no luck, the consolation was that Helen M found a fly agaric to photograph with her new camera. There were quite a lot of mushrooms about but a lot of them had seen better days. We paused for lunch on a bench set back off the path and dedicated to Billy and Betty. The pies we bought yesterday were lovely Helen S and I had a Heidi pie which was made from vegetables and squash, and Nik and Helen M had the asparagus and mushroom pien which they gave the thumbs up to. At the north end corner of the heath, we almost trod on a slow worm, which probably die to the cold was not moving while it obliged us by posing from our cameras, Helen H then moved it off the path and in to the undergrowth at the side and in the sun, it moved more then perhaps because of the warmth. From the heath we headed towards Greyfriars. Nik spotted a hare in the field and we saw two green wood peckers on a telegraph pole.
Through Greyfriars and past the abbey ruins we arrived at the Dunwich cafe and chip shop, out intended point for a break before we turned back towards Eels Foot.

After a welcome and very sweet hot chocolate we headed back up up the hill out of Dunwich retracing our tracks back to Mount Pleasant farm where we picked up the bridleway which is a straight line route back to the pub touching on the edges of the Minsmere reserve.
On the way we came across a herd of deer with a stag. Whilst looking at the deer I spotted a little owl on a distant fence post, it sat around as they do for some time before flying off. Further on we spotted a mouse in the undergrowth that did not hang around for long. When we got almost back to the pub when you can see across the fields in land we were treated to vies of 2 barn owls hunting across the fields in the setting sun which was just idyllic.
After relaxing in our rooms and a quick shower it was back into the bar for some more food and beer. What a great way to spend a Saturday.
If you want to know who ate all the pies well the prize goes to Helen S and Nik who topped off the lunchtime pies with Mean Bean pie at the pub for dinner, and Nik believe it not ate half of Helen M’s at lunch time.

The rut

We hosted a party for Caroline’s birthday last night, this morning she and Helen managed to get to church (9:15 service), which impressed me give the partying the night before. I got up and watched the exciting Korean grand prix, had some breakfast and tidied up a bit. The weather was crisp and sunny so I headed out for a walk around Ashridge.

I parked in the small car park just up the hill from Alburgh, which is if the beaten track away from the monument area. I headed in the opposite direction from the monument the plan was to get some picture of fungi and see if I could catch site of some of the deer in the area.

I followed a bridleway, passed a very big house and eventually came across some smaller houses which were at the end of of a track. They seemed had a great location, a couple were semi-detached and bizarrely one of the front gardens had a couple of horses grazing. The garden was normal front garden size and the grass was nice and short!

I then headed towards the road that runs through Ashridge, which meant crossing the very large grassy heath area, when I spotted no less that 4 green wood peckers all very close to each other. You could see their red heads poking up above the grass. After crossing the road I headed in to the woods the other side, where I started to here the stags calling, which they do at this time of the year to attract females and make their presence known to other males in the area. I heard a few quite close but only got fleeting glimpses of the deer them selves.

I got some some pictures of some fungi in the silver birch areas, but they were not at the best they were showing their age a bit. It reminded me that I need to read over the LX3 manual again I seem to spend too much time figuring out how to change settings which I know exist I just can’t figure out how to make contact with the right bits of the menu system.

I then heard a stag really close by so I slowly and quietly made my way toward the source of the noise, I was then lucky enough to see a stag and 3 females hanging around what looked like a stand. I was there for quite a few minutes behind a tree which helped support my binoculars, I got some cracking view of the stag calling. Eventually they got spooked by some other walkers in the woods. Time to head over to Hillside fro some of Caroline’s birthday cake.

Circular walk Dancersend

Managed to fit in a short walk on Saturday between weekend chores and socialising. Parked up at the parking/passing point up in Dancersend where the cottages are on your right as you drive toward to the manor house.

From there I walked toward the manor house then took a left at the road junction to find a few yards on a foot path that leads to a couple of cottages then a farm complex which seems to be the meeting place of all the people who attend the regular shoots that happen. At the bend in the road just past the farm you can take a right which takes you on a footpath up the hill to join the ridge way. As you get toward the beech tree areas toward the top there are lots of fungi to photo.

Once you are almost at the at the point where the Ridgeway crosses a road near a phone mast it is time to take a right and head down the hill to the water works buildings, then along the road to the entrance to Dancersend Nature reserve run by BBOWT , enter the reserve and head back in the direction you came down the road and follow the path up the steep hill. There are many ways round the nature reserve but make sure you exit via the patch that leads to Pond Cottage other wise you will end up trespassing on shooting land!

Head up the hill back to the manor house, then take a left back to the parking place. Walk was about 3 miles and took 1:20, with a few stops to take pictures of fungi.

View Dancersend circuit in a larger map

Puff balls the size of sheep

Helen and I have been looking forward to getting out for a walk all week. We decided to head over to Wendover then walk up the hill and cut round and come down via the road with the large houses on Bacombe Lane. The conditions and time of year are good for seeing mushrooms, and after last weeks fungi exhibition we felt we knew a bit more about them.

Conditions were possibly a bit dry, but as we went through the damper parts of the woods and as we got our eyes in we started to spot more and more. I was certainly on the look out for porcelain fungus as tit grows on beech trees and has a limy glazed look to it. We were in the Chilterns famed for it’s beeches after all. I took some pictures whilst Helen was busy bird watching, we managed to spot a Goldcrest a bird we have not see for some time and is one of our favourites.

Once we had the up hill part out of the way we walked on the level past along the old fence I have blogged about in the past, until we took a left which took us down hill to the middle of Bacombe lane then over the field to the bridge over the railway. On the way down Helen had to do a double take when she thought she had seen Giant Puffballs the size of sheep! It turned out they were sheep!

Once in Wendover I was despatched with twenty quid to get ingredients for lunch and then pizza’s for tea which Helen disappeared off to see if she could find a new coat. I was successful in my mission but Helen was not.

Signal Crayfish

You may remember that earlier this year I posted a blog entry about finding a claw of a Signal Crayfish on the canal tow path on the walk to work. Well this morning I found a whole live one, I have posted a video of the blighter on you tube for you all to see. They are quite vicious so I handled him with care, whilst getting the footage. If I waved a hand above him he raised his claws, and I suspect that he would have nipped me given the opportunity.

On the way home I came across a man in an inflatable boat with an electric engine, he seemed to be putting out fisherman’s keep nets. When I asked what he was up to he told me he was catching signal crayfish to turn into bait for fishing with. Apparently the harvest was variable sometime many sometimes only one or two per net. I wished him luck and went on my way.

Oh and for the record I had a couple of birding moments today, first a sparrow hawk was chasing a swallow/martin outside my office window, then on the way home two grey heron were chasing each other round and about.

Cley NWT

We area having a day off the rest of the party and heading to Cley NWT, the weather is fantastic sun shining just the odd cloud, an the air is still, even by the sea there is only a light breeze.
Before we set out we went to Morston to book Beans seal trip, but they were all booked up for this afternoon, but we have the option of trying again on Thursday evening or Friday morning 09:30 which would mean an early start.
We headed out along East Bank and saw probably 12 Bearded Tits, then over on the sea bank we had fleeting views of several Lapland Butings that have been resident for a couple of weeks now. After sitting on the sea defenses for 20 minutes, we saw an Artic Skua, but dipped on the Porpoises.
As we walked along the sea defence we sa a couple of Sandwich Terns and a Gannet.
We headed to the North hide and as usual the time we were there meant we were looking into the sun so good viewa were impossible. We saw plenty of waders that proved difficult to identify. On leaving the hide we kept our eyes out for the Hooded Crow on Eye Field, but it was not to be. A loo stop was in order so we headed straight back to the visitors center and had a well earned lunch, cheese sandwich for mw and Helen opted for the humous and roast vegetables toasted Sandwich.

Suitably refreshed we did a quick tour of the hides to the west of the visitors center. On the walk out we saw the hooded crow, which was a great surprise. After some time in the hides we headed back to the hut but not before, coffee and cakes at Byfords in Holt. We have not been to Holt for some time but it seems to be going up market, lots of shops for Helen to browse and spend money.
The service in Byfords was pretty slow we ordered hot chocolate, cappuccino, and a couple of cakes and it seemed to take an eon for it to turn up, how long can it take to steam some milk and slice a couple of cakes? Helen suggested the cow was playing hard to get!
When it turned up the apricot and almond tart was worth the wait, and the cappuccino was tasty. Helen reported that the huge hot chocolate (half a litre I estimated) was divine, the generous wedge lemon cake was tasty.
After some shop browsing, I purchased a flash card reader, then we drove on to the deli at Cley for some snacks for our tapas evening tomorrow. Finally we headed back to Blakeney via Cley Spey to get Helen a longer strap for her Knockers!

BOS to Holkham again!

Not an early start today, we got the 10:18 coast hopper from Blakeney village hall, to Burnham-overy-staith. We walked on the sea wall then straight out ontoi the big beach that is Holkham, a few miles of sand and we swung a left in land with the hope of a coffee/lunch break at the 0holkham tea room. Turns out it is shut, the Victria Hotel was open but were doing full menu till 15:00, only then would they serve sandwiches.
We decided to get the bus to Wells where we found a great place that did huge sandwiches in a pub garden. After some refreshments we headed along the coastal path, the plan was to walk to Stiffkey for a pint at the Red Lion.

The walk along the marsh was long, and the sun was hot, eventually we swung a left in land and can out at the Stiffey antique center and headed right towards the pub. The pub was very welcoming, we had beer, coke, coffee, and expresso, plus a few packets crisps and nuts.
The bus was a welcome luxury saving us the last few miles back to Blakeney. All in all a good day out.

Walk round The Lee

Quite a busy weekend, but Helen and I needed to get out into the fresh air. Saturday had been spent at John Lewis trying to spend some of our wedding gifts, on a new sofa (and television!), then Abida a Connie came round for something to eat before we went to see Chris Packham.
We started off at the church just off the village green at The Lee, the weather was bright, with blue skies and blue cumulus clouds. The perfect opportunity to try out my newly purchased filter holder for the LX3, I could feel the polarising filter was needed. We crossed the green and headed down a track that leads to the edge of the common via some woods. We passed a group of barn buildings called the Old Garage I wander what they looked like in days gone by. We walked through the woods parallel to the common until we reached Ballinger Bottom where we crossed the road.
There were loads of mushrooms about but it took a while to get our eyes in! We walked on until the field on the left became woodland then we took a left through the woods, along what looked like a really ancient path way, the trees either side of the path looked very old and gnarled.
We were about half round at this point so we looked out for a suitable path leading left back towards The Lee. Once followed we found ourselves out in the open again, strange though there was a very wide (25m) avenue of grass that ran the length of the field right to the edge of the village. The habitat for mushrooms was very different so we saw quite a few different species from those in the woods. One in particular was giant, about 10 inches across and a foot high, looked like a parasol, perhaps that is what it is called.
Once back at the village we turned off the road and across the allotments and back onto the common where I took a picture of the cute house that Steve’s parents live in. We rejoined the path we took on the way out and eventually crossed back across the green. There was a tree with really tasty red apples in it, I was a bit surprised toi be asked by a group of people whether they were edible of not.
That was a great walk, another time we might extend it a little and find time to visit the pub on the green called the Cock and Rabbit. They serve Italian grub.

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Bored near Royston

Left The Eelsfoot Inn this morning with a heavy heart. The plan was to drive back and stop at Fowlmere RSPB. We took the route via Minsmere on to Westleton to stop off and pick some wild plums. There are a lot about they are bigger than sloes but smaller than a victoria plum, dark in colour. We very quickly filled a plastic box full. See a later post for the results.

We took a great road which took us via Scole and Diss in search of an Army Surplus store, I need some buckles, webbing, and proper poncho. We found a very interesting store down a housing estate it was the proper thing it had a yard full of green and grey metal junk. Unfortunately shut on bank holidays, mental note to self to make a return journey! (Helen says not with her!).

We soon arrived at Fowlmere after various detours in Thetford forest avoiding traffic. Turns out we had been there before, and did not see much. Today was going to be a repeat. We are in late August and had arrived at mid day, so the odds were really against us. We did the tour round but there was not much to see. The list was Coot, Moorhen, Mallard, Heron, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, and Brown Trout! The reserve is very quiet and secluded, great for a gentle stroll.

We left the reserve and said we would stop if we saw somewhere worth while for a bite to eat. What a mistake that was! Bury Lane cafe in the garden centre just north of Royston. We dropped in for a some food and to sample the goods in the veg shop. We sat down and a waitress was there instantly, too quick for us to decide, so we sent her away, 15 minutes later Helen caught her eye and she took our order. Our drinks came first with an apology that the food would be 10 to 20 minutes, I almost walked! When the food finally arrived to be fair it was nice, I had tuna and sweet corn baguette and Helen baked potato and beans which she complimented.

Back in the car we then drove straight back to home and reality. I got straight onto making the jam. I just got rid of the the stones by the squashing method, i.e put between thumb and fore-finger and squeeze/squash out. I add equal amounts of sugar and not water. Give a good stir and wait for the sugar to draw the liquid out of the fruit. Put on the heat and bring to the boil slowly , you do not want to burn anything. Once boiling turn the heat down and wait till it is ready. There are ways to check that the jam is ready, using a cold saucer or a thermometer, but I have found that if you keep it boiling for about 20 minutes the white foam disappears and the jam gets kind of thicker. I just seem to know when it is ready.

The plums were a bit under ripe and at the start I thought it would not work, but after some boiling a really deal purple colour leached out of the skins. The jam tastes great, quite sharp but the plum flavour is really intense.

Ponchos rule, and 5 Warblers in one bush.

Up again early on a Sunday, for a breakfast at 8:30 we were on the trail at 9:30. We headed towards Minsmere but took a diversion off the road to take the path that runs through the woods that leads to Westleton Heath. In the woods the recent damp weather seemed to have bought all the mushrooms out, they were literally everywhere. The sun was out and the light was really bright even in the shade of the trees. So taking photos was really easy.

I modified the gorilla pod by shortening the two front legs this allowed me to set a small aperture, and by using the 2 second delay on the Lumix LX3 I got some really clear shots. Once we hit Westleton Heath we headed towards Dunwich. We started to get the odd light shower but nothing was going to dampen our enthusiasm, we were really happy to be out in the fresh air. We bagged a Coal Tit on the way down.

Coming across the Dunwich museum was well timed. There was an art exhibition going on in a hall behind the museum, some great original water colours and prints were on show. Mainly Suffolk and Essex, painted early in the morning. The guy who had painted them explained to me that he had been a container boat captain for a Brazilian company. He had worked 3 months on 3 months off then retired at 52, lucky bastard!

We also had a look round the museum all about Dunwich, I really had not appreciated just how much of a town existed around 1900’s, then we drifted down to the car park and famous fish and chip establishment down by the sea. We sat out the front with our bowls of chips and beverages, there was quite a wind blowing, I literally had a storm on in my tea cup. We scanned Dingle marsh for signs of Hen Harrier, but it was wishful thinking. I did spot a bird in the distance but we could agree what it was, when it flew away we were able to identify it as a Greenshank, by the long white patch on the back, a good tick.

After a quick look at the sea we headed up the hill and along the ever moving west cliff path. Great views of the coast and Sole bay in the distance can be had at a couple of spots before the path heads inland, after you pass the ruins of the abbey. It then started to rain heavily as we walked through the woods towards Dunwich heath. I was glad to be able to try on the poncho that my mother in law had kindly bought for me in Millets Oxford for £1.50.

I have to say I have been considering getting one for a while, I am now a convert they cover you and your luggage, you have to be careful that the wind does not catch it but they keep the wind and the rain off. We walked though heavy rain across the heath and could not get any view of Dartdord Warblers, as we headed toward the National Trust tearooms at the Coastguard cottages, we had coffee and I had some bread pudding. When the rain had cleared we could see yet another big bank of storm clouds on the horizon, so after a couple of pictures we rushed off down to the East Hide at Minsmere, and we timed it just right the rain started as we arrived.

We spent about 30 minutes in the hide and some patient scanning revealed Little Ringed Plover, Black Tailed Godwit, and a couple of Snipe. The weather system moved on and the sun came out so we walked back to the visitors centre and on through to the Island Mere hide. I then suggested that we walk back along a footpath that runs parallel to the tarmac road, but involves an extra 10 minutes walking, it was towards the end of the day and Helen was in a “trough of disillusionment” so I got the usual ranting.

Later in the pub Helen did agree it was a nicer walk back, I don’t think the high winds and dropping branches helped the situation. We rejoined the tarmac road and walked the final yards back to the pub, the light over the water logged field was begging for photos to be taken, I obliged.

Back at the pub I stopped the GPS logger and we had walked over 13 miles (may be adjusted down). What a fantastic day out 8.5 hours out on foot, with the wife, plenty of tea and bird watching stops, can life get better?