Further Afield....

I had a plan in mind today for my walk. And it worked out beautifully! Rather than just confine myself to the flat walk around the lake I thought I'd put some height into the mix. It didn't mean travelling any further afield, just walking further around the Trentham Estate.

So I started along the lake but then left main route and headed up towards the Duke of Sutherland monument. There's quite a view from the top - see the extra. This view over Stoke-on-Trent may have been very different in the height of the pottery industry. In fact you may have seen very little due to the smoke ffrom the kilns.

I then continued into Kings Wood, which skirts around the Monkey Forest, and back down towards the entrance to the complex.

It was a great 2 hour leg stretcher with a couple of good ups to get the heart and lungs going. I really must do this route more often. I hardly saw anyone else, which is another good reason to do it again -  a little bit of solitude is what I some times need!

The weather was beautiful too, again another sunny but cold day. This lone tree was just around the back of the Monkey Forest.