Mission accomplished!

Did the final walk on Friday. And very nice it was too. Pity the weather didn't brighten up till after 2, by which time I had done the bits with the best views. It took me round the reservoir at Langsett, and down to Midhopestones. Saw quite a bit of bird life - grouse, curlew, wigeon, stonechat, skylark, lapwing, and a good sighting of a weasel. He was too fast for me to photograph, but I know where he lives. As St George's day approaches, the eyes can't help but drift downwards. Here is a beautifully gelatinous blob of Witch's Butter (exidia glanulosa). Perhaps an outing for morels might be in order in a week or 2. The new job will keep me busy, but the light evenings will have to be capitalised on, as will the weekends. I have a few things lined up, then it will be back to the Barnsley Boundary walk. I also like the look of the Dearne way, which I sampled neat Bretton Hall. South Yorkshire really isn't so shabby when it comes to great countryside, and I haven't even got to grips with the Donny area yet. Did a short walk this evening down the Upper Don to the canal basin.It was very pleasant; I hadn't realised the extent of the gentrification through Neepsend and beyond.

Another walk.

This is not the heron of doom, but an altogether kindlier creature minding its own business on the reservoir at Worsborough. Yesterday I completed the penultimate of my Barnsley walk checks. A superb walk which took me to Worsborough Mill and Country Park and on to Stainborough Park and Wentworth Castle. Spring was much in evidence and the tally of birds and wild flowers was pretty impressive (not that I'm keeping a tally, you understand.)

Birds: herons (more than you could shake a stick at), Canada geese, goldfinch, grebe, mute swans, mallard, kestrel, and many more I couldn’t name
Flowers: the bluebells were just starting – amazing as there was no sign of flowers just a few days ago – but the real glory were wood anemone and celandine in huge swathes; also violets, primroses, wild garlic, hedge garlic, marsh marigold, butterbur....

The people at Worsborough Mill were incredibly nice and helpful, and there was so much bird and plantlife in such a small area that I really must go again soon. A full day at Stainborough Park and Wentworth Castle Gardens is also warranted. Even the god of public transport was smiling on me, as my journey was almost seamless there and back, giving me plenty of time to enjoy the many sitting opportunities on this walk. Sadly, the chance of a NCOTASD was missed because of an unfortunately placed locked gate. Still, you can't have everything.

penultimate week of freedom

The most interesting day this week was Wednesday when I checked another walk, this time starting in Yorkshire Sculpture Park, getting full value of my day tripper and getting by bus, tram, train and another bus to the very brink of Wakefield. The heron of doom was there to greet me as soon as I stepped of the bus, circling lazily over Junction 38. Rain had been forecast but my main problem was the wind. It turned out to be quite an adventure, as part of the walk went off the map so I was reliant on Rob's clear instructions to guide me. All very fine, till I realised I seemed to have mislaid a page of the instuctions. Fortunately, having read through prior to setting off, I remembered that the walk followed the Dearne Way for this section of the walk, so the waymarks saw me safely back into the Sculpture Park in good time for the bus home.
Learning about birds does not lend itself to multi-tasking with walk checking as well as I had hoped. Nevertheless, I was able to watch and take photos of this grey wagtail, and note a great crested grebe and some Canada geese and heard lapwing. I think a heightened awareness of birds and birdsong but not being able to pick up on what many of them are, is a frustratingly necessary stage of trying to become a more knowledgeable birder.
I finally got to the garden centre on Thursday and yesterday, seeds were sown: courgettes, borlotti beans, butternut squash and leeks. Today saw a bit of tidying and topiary, with occasional dashes for the binoculars and camera. A pair of starlings made a couple of visits to a hanging worm feeder; it's the first time I can remember starlings in the garden for ages. I could hear lots of different songs as I worked but I can't identify them, apart from the blackbirds.
Not sure how much work will get done in the garden when I start the new job in just over a week's time. I'm really looking forward to it, but I'm going to have to make sure I make time for the garden and walks. A new routine will be needed, if that's possible, with lots of travelling in prospect.

Grebes and other stuff

Been on two outings this week since our return from Spain. On Tuesday, we went to Old Moor. A completely different selection of birds from last time I was there; this time ther were lots of black-headed gulls and tufted ducks, and greenfinch and bullfinch at the feeding station. There were also quite a few great crested grebe, and what I reckoned was a camera shy little grebe. And of course, the heron of doom.

Yesterday did one of my walk checks, which took me to Elsecar, Harley and Wentworth. The weather was superb, so I took my time and enjoyed the sunshine and emergence of spring. 4 types of butterfly in early April: small tortoiseshell, peacock, comma and a very fast moving small white - not bad! At Elsecar res there were also several great crested grebes. Typical! Haven't seen any for ages then a load come at once. And needless to say, the heron of doom was there as well. See Flikr for more pics.

Andalusia

High time to get up to date. Been back from Andalusia a few days now. It was a really useful and interesting taster of the region. We talk about 4 seasons in one day here in the UK, but during the 6 days we were away, we had hot sunshine in Seville (over 30 degrees if those LED display things are to be believed) and icy cold sleet in Ronda. We had a guide who sounded just like Nicholas Parsons, which was weird because he spent most of the tour hesitating, repeating and deviating.
Difficult to say which were my favorite bits: the mosque in Cordoba? the Generalife in Grenada? the art gallery in Seville - Murillo, especially - what a pity he just painted religious paintings; his technique was awesome. Probably the ceramics everywhere we went, but especially in the Marie-Luise gardens in Seville.

Frog Blog

And here they are.

Joys of spring

March is certainly doing all the things it's supposed too - especially winds. The pond is (as it should be) full of frogs. I seem to have been busy doing quite mundane things, but managed to have a brilliant day out on Thursday. Rob, the guy for whom I am checking got the idea I lived in Barnsley and so asked me to check walks there. This is why, in case any of my Twitter friends were wondering, I went to Stocksbridge via Barnsley. Now I expect you are wondering why Stocksbridge is in the Barnsley section of the book. So am I. But since it was such a splendid walk, I'm not too bothered. My fungus nose told me that it would be a an excellent walk to do in the autumn, so watch this space. It had a couple of nice woodlands, and some fine upland pasture - my favourite combination. In my new found role as a more active bird enthusiast, it was great on the top of Whitwell moor where I saw and heard grouse, curlew, lapwing and skylark. The views from the top where spectacular. The bus ride from Barnley was well worth the trouble. It took nearly an hour, but went an extemely scenic route. It also enabled be to indulge in another of my hobbies: ranting about public transport. As that is part of my research for the book I have a valid reason for asking those poor souls in the information (!) office questions like "how can you find out which buses serve a particular place?" I believe the best way of doing it is to go to that place and trawl up and down examining the information on the bus stops - provided of course they haven't been removed or vandalised. Not really satisfactory in the information age.

Anyway the walk itself was definitely one of the best I've done for a while. No bird pictures, I'm afraid, as I had my landscape lense on. More on Flikr. (click the title)

Birdies

So, new camera lense. Not one of the enormous wildly expensive ones, but one that means I can photograph birds without having to be too close, and then enlarge them on the computer screen to be able to identify them. It's quite a good way of learning to ID birds; they are such flighty things, not at all like fungi. Anyway, I've joined the RSPB and had a couple of outings to Old Moor, which is great. The Barnsley Boundary walk is on temporary hold, as I am checking some routes for someone who has a publishing deal for a local walks book. They are in the Barnsley area, but circular walks. Did a nice walk around Cawthorne / Cannon Hall last week, and saw this duck. I reckon it's a ringed teal. It was very pretty, as you can see. Perhaps I'll open a bird folder on Flikr!

Frogs have arrived in the garden pond - they appeared quite suddenly yesterday - more that 20. So lots of spawn soon, no doubt.

Half way there!

Sadly, the views were less spectacular on this leg, although because the weather was pretty miserable, it mattered less. The rain which accompanied us for most of the walk also meant that I took vey few pictures. This one was of the towpath and canal where we joined Elsecar Greenway I had company on this walk, which made a pleasant change, and a slight detour to Old Moor RSPB reserve was also a welcome opportunity for some refreshment at the excellent Cafe "Gannets". No time to look around the reserve, unfortunately, but it's definitely worth a return visit. Wayfinding was very easy on this section, as it more or less followed a straight line, and a train station at both ends kept the travel simple. I had also covered a short part of this route on the Penistone Line walk, and the next leg will also duplicate bits of that around Tankersley.

Heading south.

From Grimethorpe to Bolton on Dearne. Nearly. I picked up the route where I finished last time. The weather forecasts couldn't agree, but after a wet start to the day, the sky was blue by 9.00am. Well done met office! At the risk of repeating myself, the views on this walk were once again spectacular. It was a long leg - 9 miles in total, so by starting at Grimethorpe I probably reduced it slightly. There were a number of nice woodlands on this section, including the one on the left - Challenger Wood, which was the first one for a while to have quite a lot of fungi in it, especially stinkhorns, but sadly nothing edible. There were quite a lot of muddy fields to cross, thanks to the ongoing damp conditions, which made the walking heavy going in places. Phoenix Park in Thurnscoe was very nice and has a lot of sculptures, and an interesting concrete church in Goldthorpe added to the visual interest once the route took me into more urban areas. The end was in sight when disaster stuck: after negotiating a broken and somewhat challenging stile for my old bones, the route became impassable. I was obliged to retrace my steps, renegotiate the broken stile, and recalculate my route along the road. As I was studying my map, a voice rang out from across the road: "I know you think you've arrived in paradise, but this is Goldthorpe.". I passed a few bus stops with no information on them, and decided my best option was to go to Goldthorpe station and catch a train. even though I had by now missed the 3:30 train and would have to wait until 4:30. Eventually, on meeting a main road, I saw a young woman waiting at a bus stop. "where do the buses go to from this stop?" I enquired. "All ovver" came the reply. I could see this was going to be hard work.

"Can I get to Barnsley?"

"Yes. "

"How frequent are they?"

"Every hour".

"Back to Plan A", I thought and headed up the hill towards Goldthorpe station. As I reached the next bus stop, a bus hove into sight with the legend "Barnsley via Wath". I was overcome by the desire to be seated on a warm, moving form of transport, so joined the queue and climbed gratefully aboard. Barnsley via Wath. Perhaps not a direct route but no matter. What it omitted to add that it was also via Zagreb, Rio de Janeiro and Vladivostok. Certainly, the trip was good value for money. As the bus finally pulled into Barnsley station, I was just in time to see a Sheffield train pull out. I eventually got home at 6.45. The transport challenges will be different now I am headed westward. In theory at least, it should get easier as my route will take me to the Sheffield boundary. More pictures on Flikr. Also, why not try the link to "Wild West Yorkshire", the web diary of Richard Bell, whose lovely sketches and eclectic musings on walks, gardening, drawing, wildlife and anything else that catches his keen eye is well worth a visit

Barnsley and beyond

This title might have been more appropriate for last week. It came from a leaflet I picked up on the no.59 bus on the way back to Royston - a map of Stagecoach bus routes in the area. I managed to pick another day of blue skies, even if it was somewhat colder than last week. Astonishingly, it snowed in the Midlands earlier in the week. This walk took me from Royston to Grimethorpe, via a lot of old tramways and dismantled railways. Shortly after setting off , I was surprised to see what appeared to be a fully functioning colliery, but was unable to figure out which one it was from the map (Lund Hill?). I briefly encountered the Trans Pennine Trail again and this wonderful signpost. Once more, fabulous views, including the small Tuscan hill village of Brierley which I approached through bamboo fields!
I got slightly lost on the way from Brierley to Grimethorpe, but I could see where I should have been, so I'll start at Grimethorpe next time. More pictures on Flikr.

The cabbage fields of wildest Wakefield

Friday was forecast to be the best day, so leg 3 took me to Woolley Edge. Last week's walk was so wonderful that it spoiled me for this one. Nevertheless, there were some great views, this time to the north, and the relatively flat area of West Yorkshire. Much of the walk was on tarmac - true, mostly quiet country lanes, but the 7 miles seemed shorter than last week's 5. The route zigzagged across agricultural land with just a few bits of woodland on the way. One of the most dramatic sights was a large field of cabbages, before the route descended into the attractive Applehaigh Clough. Once again my route was punctuated (!) by a none too camera shy comma butterfly. This autumn seems to be all or nothing in the woodland fruits department - sloes and hazelnuts are a no show, whereas there are huge quantities of many others - rowan, rosehip, acorns, elderberries, and some fine swags of black bryony. Some fine looking fungi (clitocybe nebularis) but nothing for the pot. The pheasant from last week exceeded my expectations. I hung it in the shed for 6 days, then skinned and drew it. I did a variation of a Nigel Slater recipe, and roasted it in a hot oven, rubbed with thyme and juniper butter and wrapped in streaky bacon. Not only was it delicious, the meat was tender and tasty, but there was much more than I had anticipated - a generous amount for the two of us.

More pictures on Flikr.

Second Leg: Cannon Hall to Bretton Hall

Earlier in the week, I decided on a foray. After a while it was clear that once again, there wasn't much around so I turned it into a walk. Until now, the furthest I had walked along Woodlands Valley was to the Hagg farm turn-off. This time I continued along to Rowlee Farm , crossed the Snake and returned along the other side of the River Ashop. There was a lot of birch along this stretch and signs of plenty of fungi which has gone over. It was pretty muddy underfoot, but the forecast was again over-pessimistic and the weather was much better than it had predicted.

Yesterday, I completed the second leg of the Barnsley Boundary walk. It was one of the finest walks I had ever done! True, the weather was perfect - cold and bright - and the leaves were turning. There was not one bit of the walk that I did not like. The views were outstanding, and there was the bonus of the attractions of 2 country parks. It whetted my appetite for a visit to Yorkshire Sculpture Park - long on my "meaning to" list, but now promoted. I saw quite a few sculptures without leaving the route of the walk, but had neither the time nor the energy to make a detour to give the park the attention it deserved. The only thing that would have improved the walk was mushrooms, although a recently deceased pheasant on my path provided an alternative source of free food. I took lots of photos, but I've decided that I will only put one per post in my blog, as previous ones look messy and don't have the desired impact. I'll post the best of the rest on Flikr and try and put a link to it on this blog.

A new challenge.

Earlier in the week, I met up with K. Again, the weather was better than the forecast suggested it might be. After a wettish start and before a late afternoon downpour, we had the best of the day enjoying a fine afternoon by Rivelin Reservoir and Wyming Brook. The leaves are just starting to turn, so I've made a bin to collect leaves for leafmould - something I've been meaning to do for many years.
Having sent off for and received maps/guides for the Barnsley Boundary Walk and the Trans Pennine Trail, I decided I couldn't wait to get started on the next challenge. Not that I need much motivating at the moment with plenty of time on my hands, but as the prospect of work looms, I will need A project that doesn't require me to think where to go next. I regret not having chronicled the Sheffield Country Walk fully, and the Penistone line walk not at all, so I am resolving to record the Barnsley Boundary Walk in words and photos, at least. One of the challenges with linear walks (OK, the whole thing is circular, but each leg is end to end) is getting to and from either end of the walk. The first leg (Ingbirchworth to Cannon Hall) was a good indication of this. From the range of possibilities, I decided that the train to Penistone, and a 2 mile lead in was the best option. There looked to be some routes which avoided the main road, but not wanting to walk too far before starting the walk proper, I went for the shortest route. Fortunately, there was a pavement for the entire length, the road was not too busy at that time of day, and the views from the road more than compensated for the tarmac under foot. The bad news is that I relied on the walk description to find the start of the walk rather than look at the map. The Rose and Crown Pub was the landmark I was looking for. I sensed something was wrong when I passed the carved stone sign that marked the end of the village. It turned out the pub had been demolished to make way for a development of town houses. A sign of the times! It might be interesting to see how many remain unsold by the time I complete the circuit. That problem overcome, I had no futher problems finding my way on what proved to be a lovely walk with stunning views. The area has a timeless quality about it, townhouses notwithstanding. Ingbirchworth, Upper Denby and the tiny hamlet of Gunthwaite with its medieval barn have many old but beautifully maintained buildings, and are set in lovely rolling countryside. It was very wet under foot, but the stunning weather compensated for this. The homeward journey was more successful that the outward one. A bus from Cawthorne to Barnsley coincided with my arrival at the end of my route, as did a train from Barnsley to Sheffield. It was also a day of coincidences; I ran into a former work aquaintance in Penistone, and a former colleague returning from a conference in Leeds on the train home.

The great annual foray and bacon butty event

Lovely to have company on my most recent foray. The forecast for Saturday was grim, but the reality wasn't quite so bad. We'd expected rain, but in the end it was the cold that did for us. It's not easy picking mushrooms with your gloves on. Once again, there was an unusual distribution. There were a couple of parasols in the pasture on the way up, and lots of meadow waxcaps (butter mushrooms). There were also a number of field mushrooms, but not in the same quantity as we've found in previous years. The big surprise was the lack of nice edible mushrooms along the woodland edge. J. found a wonderful cep, but that was about it. K spotted this stunning Hygrocybe calyptriformis, and there were generally lots of waxcaps. As always, the bacon butties at Grindleford caff, which traditionally round off this event, were an absolute delight.

Wet and Windy!

After some fine Indian Summer weather, today was much more autumnal, but I didn't let it deter me. I went to GW again as I'd had an interesting haul last time. The walk I did was 4 sides of a square, and as I approached the third corner, I was mentally composing my blog ... "Zilch .." it was going to say. Then, a lovely large orange birch bolete sprang into view. All was not lost. As I turned the corner I saw a bay bolete, then another. And another. And another... they were mostly small or a bit chewed, but from having had an empty basket, I had quite a respectable collection. On returning home, a hot bath and a slab of home made plum cake were in order. It was a bit wet to get my camera out, so the picture is from my last visit to this location.

A quiet week.

Two outings this week yielded little. In LV there was nothing in the beechwoods, surprising when other beech woods have provided such a lot of good eating. I refuse to come home empty handed so I brought home crab apples and made jelly. There were some lovely brackets at the top of the valley. On Friday, I managed just enough for tea from LL: one nice badius, a couple of suillus and some field and wood mushrooms.

Here's hoping they are gathering their strength for a big show next week!

Even more treats!

Yesterday's foray produced even more fine specimens, including the Penny Bun I've been looking for to upload as my profile. More horns of plenty and hedgehogs and a very respectable number of chanterelles made it a very worththwhile trip to M.

A brief local foray on the previous evening resulted in a couple of very acceptable orange birch boletes.

Rich pickings

Found not only Trompettes de mort but autumn chanterelles, a few chantrelles and one very small cep at G.Woods today. Also collected some biberries and saw a beautiful dragonfly.

A new mushroom season!

I've been out mushrooming twice this week; I was interested to see what effect the very wet weather of August had had. On Tuesday, quite a lot of very large Hedgehog fungi at the car park yielded very little once cooked. the woodland edge provided quite a few badius - also quite watery, but delicious. Of other things, only one or two - 2 saffrons, 1 horse mushroom, a slippery jack and a butter mushroom. Yesterday, it was a long time before I found anything, but above the brook quite a few orange birch boletes - enough for tea. Very strangely, there were long stretches of nothing at all, then huge numbers of things - like russulas and deceivers,. It looks like the next few days will be dry and sunny, but their are signs that the weather might turn colder. I'm optimistic of rich pickings and fortunate to have the time to get out to search for them.