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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Snowdrops...

This cold, but bright, February morning was just right for walk around 

Gorse Hill Nature Reserve

Aughton

Lancashire 

Gorse Hill is an 85 acre site nestled on the northern and western slopes of Gaw Hill, a sandstone ridge with views across the Lancashire plain.

The snowdrops are just starting to peep through, and even though they need just a little more sunshine, they still look magical.

Galanthus (snowdrop; Greek gála "milk", ánthos "flower")

" Beneath these ice-pure sepals lay

A triplet of green-pencilled snow,

Which in the chill-aired gloom of day

Stirred softly to and fro"

The Snowdrop by Walter de la Mare

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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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Walking in Haigh Plantations

The Haigh Plantations is an interesting place to walk on a Sunday Morning

Toggers on the bridge

On the move

A new glimpse of the hall

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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A walk in the wild, wild wood....

Awake! arise! and come away!

To the wild woods and the plains;

And the pools where winter rains

Image all their roof of leaves;

Where the pine its garland weaves

Of sapless green and ivy dun

Round stems that never kiss the sun

Away, away, from men and towns,
To the wild wood and the downs-
To the silent wilderness
Where the soul need not repress
Its music lest it should not find
An echo in another's mind,
While the touch of Nature's art
Harmonizes heart to heart

Poem taken from

 The Invitation by Percy Bysshe Shelley

1792-1882

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Pictures Haigh Plantations
Wigan
Lancashire

The walk in my week....

This morning's blast of Autumn sunshine meant a lovely meandering walk alongside Scotman's Flash in Poolstock, Wigan. Since I didn't take my little Fujipix camera, these photos were all taken with my Samsung mobile phone!

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Wigan Flashes are a group of wetlands, which were formed originally as a result of mining subsidence.  Over time this area has evolved into landscape rich in flora and fauna and is a haven for birds. Its hard to imagine that just 100 years ago this area formed one of the major coal fields in the area. 

What a legacy those hard working miners left to the town.

Scotman's Flash alongside the Leeds-Liverpool Canal

Mum and her babies

From Ugly ducklings....

.....to a beautiful swan!

A View from the Bridge

My favourite stopping place gives a perfect view of the

Leeds-Liverpool canal towards Poolstock

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Beautiful Birds...

On my walk in the autumn sunshine  I photographed these beautiful birds  

at

Three Sisters Recreation Area

Ashton in Makerfield

Mute Swan

Canada Goose

Three Sisters Recreation Area is located in Bryn, near Ashton in Makerfield, Greater Manchester, England. In 2011 it was designated a Local Nature Reserve.

The area was reclaimed from three coal mining spoil tips during the 1970s and now comprises a large area of woodlands and ponds. It has become a flagship example of brownfield regeneration in Greater Manchester.