Wollaton - But It's Not January
w/e 09 May 2021
All of this week's
pictures were taken with a Kodak DX6490
There's a mantra in this house that if it's January,
it must be time for a trip to Wollaton. That's because in the
period after Christmas each year there's not a lot going on and
we usually end up during the month enjoying a walk in the Deer
Park there. The pandemic put paid to such a trip this year but
now that the restrictions are being eased it only seemed natural
to head in that direction - and this is the result.
We entered the park from Parkside passing through a gap in the
trees that splits Thompson's Wood into two halves to reach the
avenue that leads down to the lake. Instead of heading directly
to the lake we turned left to follow another path along the edge
of the northern part of the wood.
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There were glimpses of bluebells in the wood and way over to
the right we spotted some of the park's deer lying on the grass
but we continued along the edge of the wood for about a quarter
of a mile.
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At an old gate post the path meets an area of the park called
Pilkington's Paddock. We followed the path round to the right
to head towards the lake.
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The path runs alongside the ha-ha wall all the way to the lake.
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Over to the left and up the slope we could see the Hall peeping
over the trees and also as we neared the lake, a path leading
down to it from the Hall.
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The path crosses the ha-ha via a small bridge and so did we.
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  This is a popular feeding area for the water
birds and as we neared a reception party swam towards us. A feeding
frenzy followed but it was not so much the waterfowl but numerous
black birds of the crow family that descended with raucous calls
from the trees. We contemplated walking around the lake to extend
the walk but as we stood here one of the forecast showers started.
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We decided therefore to head back to the avenue to exit the park
again onto Parkside and as we did so the rainfall turned to hail.
The avenue is actually part of the long distance route known
as "The Robin Hood Way".
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On the way back up the avenue we were closer to those fallow
deer we had seen earlier.
And with the benefit of the zoom lens I was able to get a few
close up shots of them, of which this is one.
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With the small hail stones now bouncing up off the ground I was
still able to get this shot of the bluebells in the southern
half of Thompson's Wood before exiting the park. Because we had
shortened the route it turned out to be only about a mile in
length but that leaves plenty for next time which, pandemic permitting,
will more likely than not, be next January! Well, if it's January
.... you know the rest.
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