Saturday 22 June 2013

The Rowthorne Trail and Lady Spencer's Wood ...

I think I was out on my fourth walk in four days ... back in April 2011 !

So, who was I out with ? Who's this ?

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...

 It's my grandson ... with his mother !

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...

 I had told Katy that it would only be a stroll so we parked on the Rowthorne Trail not so very far from Hardwick Hall ... and set off in the sunshine ...

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...

 We left the Trail and headed across a field of oil seed rape towards Norwood ...

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...

 The ground was very dry ...

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...

 We entered Norwood ...

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...

 The bluebells were in flower ...

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...  

They grow quite a lot of oil seed rape in this area but at least the footpath across the large field leading to Norwood Lodge was clear ...

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...  

There are three or four properties at Norwood Lodge but the path is easy enough to follow between the gardens ...

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...

 We turned right along Newbound Lane and after a few hundred yards entered Lady Spencer's Wood owned by the National Trust ...

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...  

As you can imagine, with eleven year old Benjamin with us [as he was then] the walk was far from dull ...

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...  

The next wood we passed through was Park Piece where there was a wonderful display of Dryad's Saddle ...

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...   

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...

 After leaving the wood and crossing a field we reached the driveway which led us away from the Hardwick Estate ... and back to the car.

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...

This walk was followed on the 28th April 2011
 
Length of stroll ~ 2.84 miles *
 
Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 149.93 miles
 
Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 28th April 2011 ~ 677.98 miles

  34 of 2011 [which means in 2011 I was averaging just over 4.40 miles a walk.]
 
* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap


After the walk we went to Hardwick Hall ...

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...

 This lady was dressed as a gardener of the time ...

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...

 I often go to Hardwick just to look around the garden [as I did yesterday !] though all these photographs were taken a couple of years ago ...

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...

 It is a marvellous place, well worth a visit.

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ...

 We finish as we started with a photograph of Benjamin. I think he was just about to take flight off the mounting block ...

The Rowthorne Trail and Hardwick Hall ... 

12 comments:

  1. A rather enjoyable walk, with additional company this time. Considering how dry the ground was, I was surprised how healthy the Oil Seed Rape was looking. Of course, the woodland part was the bit I enjoyed the most.

    Hardwick Hall and it's gardens look very appealing to a photographer :-))

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    1. By the way.....I have some new animal shots posted, if you want ot have a look, they are HERE

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    2. Will be along to look at the photographs Mitch ~ I've had wifi problems and have only just resolved them. In short I had to get a new router.

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    3. Yes, it was surprising how well the oil seed rape was doing. Hardwick Hall and the area around it is a fantastic place for photography, there's no doubt.

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  2. Lovely story of a walk! I have a few childhood memories of Hardwick Hall, and one from a few years ago when I went with my father for a meal in the nearby pub, and some people came in dressed in costume, rather like the one in your photograph - unfortunately I wasn't carrying my camera at the time.

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    1. I never travel without a camera of some sort though I hate to admit that more often than not nowadays it is my Samsung Galaxy SIII ~ a mobile phone ! I never thought I would type that.

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    2. I am rarely without at least one + mobile phone, now. In fact I may have to check back through my files, though I may have lacked the nerve to photograph the people - i am getting braver these days.

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    3. I have asked some of the people dressed in Elizabethan clothing at Hardwick whether it's ok to photograph them and they have always said yes. The 'gardener' was however snapped as she walked towards me. I think people are getting more used to being photographed anyway nowadays.

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  3. A lovely walk as usual,and even more enjoyable to have Katy and Benjamin with you.I love the tulips in the garden.Ann

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    1. Thank you Ann. It was lovely being out with Benjamin ... and Katy. I don't know that we have done it again since though. She's hard work when it comes to getting her walking.

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  4. The only place I have seen miles of bluebells like in England is in Oregan State, USA. We came around a corner on a mountain road and they were everywhere for miles along the shady highway.

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    1. It seems like the greatest percentage of bluebells is in the UK. Whether this will be the case in 20 or 30 years remains to be seen !

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