That was nice :)

What a lovely surprise to be invited to the Chair of the Council "Civic Service " to celebrate voluntary work in our community.
I took on voluntary role of Foot Path Warden 2 years ago after seeing the post advertised in our local press.Honey was a young dog with lots of energy so we were out on lots of daily walks any way and I thought why not make use of it and do some constructive routes, we both get so much out of it.We regularly walk Public Foot Paths and Bridleways and report back any problems such as broken stiles or hedges which need cutting back etc anything which obstructes the right of passage
In the last year I have devised some circular walks in our area incuding public footpaths and bridleways, with a lot of local interest and with the financial help of the local parish council I have put the walks into a folder and distrbuted them into 15 local pubs and cafes to give visitors to our village information and to encourage local residents to explore thier area.
It was lovely to have public recognition for my work which I have thoughly loved doing.

                                                   Presentation of flowers and bubbly

Happy 3rd Birthday ...:)

Well first of all I must say I can not believe I have not posted anything since May !!!! I can not believe it has been sooooo long :) But we have been very busy with the unexpected sale of our house.We always thought we would down size in the next few years but a property came on the market that took our eye so we decided to put ours on the market.I am a great believer in "What will be will be " and fate , and cutting a long story short we sold fairly quickly and managed to buy the house we were taken by.It is in a lovely position on the side of a canal , we have great neighbours who come to the banks and tease Honey

                                                       

                                                            meet the neighbours


 and Im sure there will be narrow boat trips to report in the near future.

We have lots of new foot paths to explore and are making friends with all the local dog walkers who are very taken with Honey.

                                But for today we wish Honey a great 3rd birthday xx

                                              Formby Beach September 2014

Monsal Dale

We are off back to the Peak District today.We are heading for Ashford-in-the-Water ,the car park was small but only £1 to park all day ,but as it is already full we find a space on the road side and park there.

                                                                 um ,,, which way ....

We head out of the village and a steep climb starts our walk but with fabulous views are your reward.

 The paths on this walk are all well defined and easy to follow.Our first viewing point is the fantastic Monsal Head , you will not be disappointed :)

Monsal Head is the perfect place to have your picnic lunch or spoil yourself in the cafe or pub.

We head down the hillside onto the Monsal Trail which is a disused railway track now popular with walkers and cyclists.

We have a flat walk for a while as we  follow the River Wye before climbing again through the Deep Dale Nature Reserve and up into the Great Shacklow Woods.

                                                             Beautiful River Wye.


 This was the most strenuous part of the walk I felt,but the paths are good that meander through the wood.

You arrive back at Ashford-in-the-Water where there are several places to eat and rest a while :)

Ladybower

It`s a beautiful Sunday morning , we pack our lunch into our rucksack and head for the "Peak District " hills.
We decide to walk the Lady bower Reservoir today , we have driven past but never stopped to walk and admire this fantastic scenery.
Before WW11 the new reservoir was started and finished in 1946 , two villages ,Ashopton and Derwent were demolished and flooded to make the new water provider.

There was lots of designated parking areas along the winding road which lead to a visitor centre and toilets and refreshments were available.
We parked along the roadside and walked down a slope to meet the path.

The path has some unusual way markers which I thought were fabulous.

Honey enjoyed her walk as we did , and the views were great.

 

                                We look forward to walking in the Peak District again soon :)

Beacon Fell and River Brock

Well it`s Good Friday and the sun is shinning :) we haven`t done a walk any distance from home for a while and the weather is just perfect today.
Earlier in the year whilst in a walking and leisure shop we came across a book containing walks around the Forest Of Bowland , we have driven many times through this part of Lancashire but rarely stopped for the day and walked , so we decided to buy the book and this year head to this stunning area and take in the sights.
On our first walk we were not disappointed with the views ,with such perfect weather we could make out Blackpool Tower in the distance.

                                                                      Stunning views

We park at Beacon Fell Country Park , there is a visitor centre with lots of helpful information , toilets , refreshments and ice cream ...oh and a funny face sculpture ....

The first part of our walk is high up with great views towards Blackpool , then we descend through dense woodland , then the route takes us along the River Brock where Honey was in her element ....

 We usually take a picnic on our walks and today is no exception , we find a bench beside the river and enjoy our refreshment , all the picnic tables were taken with families also enjoying the great Easter weather :)

There were some ladder stiles that Honey had to negotiate , but with some pushing shoving and lots of encouragement she made it over them.


The walk then climbs back up and back to the car park where we started , and a welcome ice cream was our reward :)

Where does the time go ????

Well ,what can I say ....... where has the past 12 weeks gone since my last post .... I`ll tell you where , hubby and me had a holiday to Madeira ,we did some lovely Lavarda Walks , these are channels in the hillside which bring water down to farm land etc and act as irrigation systems for growing crops ,veg etc.You can walk along side them like we have paths alongside canals here.

                                             part of Lavarda walk from Monte - Funchal



Honey enjoyed her holiday with a family she stays with on a "Home from Home " arrangement , she is really spoilt  :) I`m surprised she wants to come home ...lol


We have done lots of local walks and at least we are now hat and mitten free as the weather starts to warm up.

                                                                 collection of mitts

But after such a wet winter and still having rainy days I fear it maybe a while longer before the wellies can be put away :(

                                                           Array of wellington boots

Welcome too 2014 :)

Well firstly let "Honey, Me and Hubby makes Three" wish you all a Happy and Healthy 2014 :)

Up-to-now the weather for 2014 has been welcoming mild.Today we decide to explore an area not too far from home as it is quite mild but wet under foot ,so we choose a walk which has plenty of tarmac paths.
We head for a village called Moore which is near Daresbury in Cheshire.In the village centre is a lovely pub called "The Red Lion " and we find on road parking just past the pub.
If you stand in the pub car park ,leave turning to your right.
Follow the path , over the railway bridge , past Moore Village Shop , turning left onto Moore Lane.
We walk down this lane until we walk over a bridge spanning the Manchester Ship Canal.

                 Just over the bridge you enter Moore Nature Reserve, it is a lovely wild life haven.

There are bird hides at points around the reserve where you can observe the wild life , today we see Cormorants , Moor hens and Mandarin Ducks just to name a few.

 We eventually do a circular walk and end up where we started at the Red Lion pub , and just in time to take advantage of the Sunday Brunch which is served 12 noon till 2pm , it was a real plate full of sausage ,bacon ,black pudding ,beans ,tomatoes ,toast , most welcome comfort food after a January winter walk :)
                            Where ever you take your winter walk for the new year enjoy it :)