Ashley

Waskerley – Red House – Waskerley Kennels – Horsleyhope – Birkhott - Smiddy Shaw Reservoir – Waskerley.

Extremely windy, stayed fair while the sun came out later, fairly mild.

Ashley, Ron, Sandy, George.

Michael and Michelle - skiing in France

Evelyn - injured ankle

Bernie - too much school work

Carol - could not manage

The old goods shed and the remains of the platform were still visible at Wasterley.

There were lots of cyclists on the old railway line, some struggling more than others against the strong wind and the slope, though all were outperformed by four golden girls. There was a bench called Colin by the track. The descent down to the river was nice and gentle. We passed a kennels and cattery at Wasterley, and also saw lots of pallets. There were several interesting bridges en route.

Several delapidated stone houses en route were in danger of collapse. Two old fireplaces were visible from the outside in one building. One stile was obstructed by a fallen tree. We spotted several traps for small animals, one of which was set off by Sandy.

There were lots of uprooted trees and saplings and several challenging bogs. Smiddy Shaw Reservoir was very full.

We had a look around St. Matthew’s Church on our return to Wasterley. There were lots of fresh flowers on the windowsills. It also had an interesting collection of old photographs showing Wasterley before the railway closed in the sixties.

We found a nice café at the west end of Wasterley Park. There was an interesting iron horse sculpture outside and a giant bear’s claw inside.

Wildlife:

Birds: Six oystercatchers and several lapwings. Hen and cockerel, pheasants, grouse, flock of starlings and curlews, black headed gull.

Mammals: Horses, spaniels and collies, three rabbits (one dead).

Flora: Bracket fungi on a tree, cotton grass, a few snowdrops and croci. Holly tree and tree with catkins (unidentified).

Miscellaneous: Dead trout at the bottom of the reservoir wall. Skeleton of a bird with only its wings still intact.

Border Minstrel: good value although the helpings were a bit small.

 March walkers

Up and over

Above the bridge

Bridge

Fallen tree

Style

Into the wind

Lunch

Fungi

Ruins

By the reservoir

Fish

High water

Foot