A walk from Wray Castle NT

Our first outing after lockdown relaxed was to Wray Castle near Ambleside in the Lake District. The castle itself was still closed, but the car park had some space (although it is rather pricey for non-members of the National Trust) and there are plenty of walks to choose from. It was a fine day. We took a picnic and met a member of our family, suitably socially-distanced, of course. It is advisable to check online for how busy car parks in the Lake District are, before setting out.

The circular walk we did took us to the lake (Windermere), along a path, up a hill and back through a village. We saw lots of wild flowers and some birds.

View from our picnic spot

An ancient alder

Alder tree and crow

Water skier

Boat rides have restarted

Reflections in a pool

An old post

Wray Castle from the side

A photo of sheep I took has already appeared on Sue’s Trifles Paint Chip Poetry challenge 28.

On the Hunt for Joy – Week 9 – Shop your home

This week’s photo challenge from Cee Neuner is to find items around the home and create a still-life. I found some birds in two different rooms and on a total of four surfaces. A table napkin placed on the kitchen table made a background. Out of the four photos I took (one with natural light and three with the fluorescent light on) I am posting the first and the last.

From above

On the level

It is interesting to notice the reflections on the owl’s head. The kitchen window and the fluorescent light can both be seen on the second photo. I took the first one standing and looking down. The intermediate photos led to some rearrangement before I arrived at the final one, taken sitting at the table. (I had to straighten this photo!)

I enjoyed the experiment in which no birds were hurt! Observant viewers of this post may notice wild flowers too.

I am posting for the challenge on Saturday this week instead of my usual style of post.

Wallington NT revisited

We broke our journey home at Wallington, where it was a National Heritage Open Day. When we arrived the person checking membership cards said, “You can come again.”

I replied, “We have; we were here on Saturday!”

As the house did not open until noon we went to the wildlife hide and spent some time watching the birds.

The area around the hide was well-stocked with bird-food, attracting lots of birds. Unfortunately my phone was not ideal for this sort of photography, so I have only one picture to share. (I have also mentioned our bird-watching experience in a post on Sue’s Trifles.)

I took a few pictures in the house, which is a fascinating building containing many interesting items. The ones which caught my eye were of flowers and owls as I have friends, who are also interested in these.

We had time for another walk in the grounds after looking round the house. There is plenty to do both at Wallington and Cragside for many visits.

Wooden owl

Spot the bird!

An owl

Wild flower panel

Early autumn colours

Another owl