Brockholes Nature Reserve...

A visit to the Lancashire nature reserve at Brockholes this week

showed a wealth of colour and new growth for Spring.

The Bluebells were especially wonderful in Boilton Wood.

Brockholes  - April 2017

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Standing Stones..

Those who know me know of my fascination for Standing Stones


I was fascinated to see a group of stones at Brockholes Nature Reserve

Stone Circle

 These have been deliberately placed to add interest to the nature reserve but are still very atmospheric.

In the Distance

A Collage of Stones

"...Stone circles appear all over Britain and Europe- some in slightly better repair than others

some differing slightly in orientation or form, all of purpose and origin unknown..."

Diana Gabaldon : Outlander

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Autumn Walking...

Today was beautiful crisp day so I headed for Brockholes Nature Reserve for some late Autumn colour

I found the golden glow of Beech and Birch and the bright red promise of Holly Berries

Autumn Colour

And along the path I met  Mole, Toad and Ratty

Mole, Toad and Ratty

I also saw 

Buzzards

Heron

Robins

Chaffinches

Coal Tits

Blue Tits

Magpies

 I was't fast enough to capture them but I did get a view of  a couple of swans hiding in the reeds

Through the Reeds

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Siding Lane Nature Reserve ~ Rainford

On the site of what was once Rainford Colliery is the Siding Lane Nature Reserve

A pleasant place to spend an hour walking through the woodlands

Steps through the woods

This is the site of the Pit Head Winding Gear

Hart's Tongue Fern grows abundantly

Lichen covered tree

Catkins at the start of Spring

Floating on a flood plain...

The nature reserve of Brockholes in central Lancashire floats dramatically on the the remains of a flood plain on what was once a huge quarrying site.

The achingly beautiful visitor complex floats ethereally on the water and is reminiscent of an ancient

 Anglo-Saxon settlement.

Not too many birds around today. 

Just this

mallard and its mate and a friendly Canada goose.

And a few swans basking in the Spring sunshine

The rushes and the grasses were blowing in the wind

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Amazing maize....

I love how Maize grows in such straight lines - they seem to go on for miles !

Maize is a domesticated form of a wild grass, first cultivated over 5,000 years ago in tropical Mexico that produces an adaptable and productive grain. It has been inextricably linked with the rise of the South American civilizations and following their conquest by the Spanish, it was exported around the world. It was introduced to the UK in the early part of the twentieth century.

In the more northerly climates like that of the UK where there is insufficient summer warmth to ripen the crop, maize is grown largely for forage. Here it has become an important crop being the most important forage after grass.

Even something so ordinary can look beautiful if caught at the right angle

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Lurking in the undergrowth...

Today's picksipic

 is

A beautiful Meadow Brown Butterfly drying its wings in the sunshine

Maniola Jurtina

The Meadow Brown is one of our commonest and most widespread butterflies, and a familiar sight throughout the summer months. This species can be found in all parts of the British Isles, with the exception of the most mountainous regions and Shetland.This is a highly variable species with four named subspecies found in the British Isles, although the differences between them are often subtle.

The picture is mine but my thanks to the experts at http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/index.php who clarified the breed for me.