Day 02 Walk at your Local Park

This evening I had planned to don my wellies and stomp around in some mud at my local park.  However, with there not being that much mud around my neck of the woods, today's random act of wildness was a short walk at my local park instead.  

It was still windy here in Merseyside this evening but the rain had stopped and I was joined on my walk by my youngest daughter whilst the eldest stayed at home to do her homework.

The park is only five minutes from my house and is a place that I have fond memories of having spent most of my childhood either playing in it or walking through it on my way home from school.

Kirkby brook which runs through the park
(we used to jump across this brook as kids)

St Chads church

Me in my wellies

Mud!

Mud stomping

More mud!

More mud stomping

St Chads Park

My company this evening

Buttercups

Blowing Dandelions

We spotted an Heron 
in the distance at the wildlife pond

Bridge over the brook

Kirkby brook

Wildflower

The wildlife pond

Looking for the Heron

Frogbit

Yellow Flag Iris

Various pond plants

Yellow Flag Iris

A Coot with it's young

(all three dived whilst we were watched them)

View across the wildlife pond

Coot comes closer

Looking for tadpoles

Back near the start

St Chads church

built between 1869 and 1871

The Bell Tower

We used to watch Kestrels

nesting in the tower from our 

classroom window at Millbrook School.

Gosh I worked out the maths,
 that was over 30 years ago!

Day 01 Explore a New Local Trail

My challenge almost never got off the ground this evening. After an okay sort of day weather wise, as I arrived home from work the wind began to really pick up and the heavens opened up.

The plan in the morning had been to start with something easy for day one of the challenge, to explore a new local trail around Bickerstaffe, about a five minute drive from my house.  The rest of the family were to join me but given the horrible weather, I told them that accompanying me on my first challenge was voluntary. My eldest daughter decided to come along and keep me company so after tea we drove out to Bickerstaffe and parked up in the car park next to the football field.

It rained throughout the walk, the wind never relented and I lost count of the number of times I had to wipe the camera lens but thirty minutes later we were back at the car park.

Let's hope the weather improves tomorrow!

Map at the ready

Car park and the starting point

Holy Trinity Church

Colour in the churchyard

Churchyard flowers

Start of the Trail

Puddles on the trailpath

Goldfinch

Buttercups

Purple and green

Buttercups and nettles

Looking across the field

Hidden ponds

Hints of purple amongst shades of green

Windswept Fields

Windswept!
 

Ploughed field

Hidden streams

Looking back towards
the woods we passed by

A spot of purple in the field

I wonder what wildlife you

can find on that roundabout

Under the motorway bridge
and out of the wind and rain

The halfway point

The bridge over the motorway appears

My daughter soaking wet

Bridge over the motorway

The M58 motorway

Rain washed leaves

Soaked but the end is near