Winter Wander

Calke Abbey was heaving. The car parks were full and the overflow area, usually full of grazing sheep, filled up in the hours I was there.

Nearly everyone had a small child or two, and a mutt, often of the mongrelpodoodle variety. It appears they had designed a special “Winter Wander” with prizes and this had proved very popular.

It has a huge park so the extra numbers were not a problem.  Less pleasing was the fact that they’d locked off many of the lovely areas (the Orangery and wildflower meadow areas, the Grotto and the tunnels were the most missed.) 

People were directed in a particular direction and this meant a steady stream of families.

It was chilly, but very few of the children seemed to be worried. There was a bit of hiding in the bushes and inevitable tree climbing. It was a super family occasion.  I do hope many return when it’s less artificial and restricted.

I did what I could of my usual circuit. I rang my niece and my sister as I sat in the sparkly sunshine, and headed back up.

Just checking where the deer were as I reached the car park, I noticed that several were close to the fence, and distinctly posing.  Sadly, most of the families stuck to the route and missed these treats.

They also missed the bird hide where lots and lots of hungry birds were flying in. I sat in there for rather a long time, enjoying the huge varieties of birds, and also enjoying a lovely appearance of one of the woodpeckers.

I do hope the families return. They’ve only seen a fraction of what nature offers.