A Walk to find a Local Treasure...

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Last Sunday Derek and I drove a few miles into the countryside, parked up, changed into suitable shoes, (it had poured all the previous day) then armed with our cameras took ourselves for a wander.
Over the stile we go and straight down the slope to the hedgerow at the bottom of the field, the edges of the field are designated wildlife area’s ..The land we are walking on is part of the Exton Estate owned by the Earl of Gainsborough, there are many walks to choose around here but today we are on a mission…

We have to keep to the side of the field as this one is ploughed so no taking shortcuts across the middle, then we walk to the left along the side of a hedgerow full of berries as well as a wire fence which as you can see also has nasty barbs along the top…wonder why???

Peeking through the hedge, well you have to don’t you…

I didn’t know what the pools were for, Derek told me its a trout hatchery, I never knew it was here but then I’m not into trout fishing, not sure how many pools there were but its obviously a well cared for place..

Now thats something you do not usually see in the fields, a proper sign, usually they are wooden ones, I always end up singing" Follow the Yellow Brick Road "when I’m following the yellow signs; lol…..Actually even without signs we wouldn’t get lost as these paths are very popular as you can see by the well walked route..

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The trees are just beginning to change, in another couple of weeks they are going to look amazing with their autumn colours…..

Buried under these hillocks somewhere is the remains of a medieval village used to be named Horn, all it is now is a name on the map but there is a property further up the hill named Horn House…

Thank goodness for the bridge over the brook which runs across the land for a long way, after all the rainfall in the past week I would not have fancied my chances trying to jump over it…

Another stile but we were able to take the easy option as this gate wasn’t locked. Derek thought it was a good place to sit for a while whilst he was trying to figure out the contraption to the side of the style …

We have to walk past the lower lake and up around those woods, plenty of company now, four-legged and feathered, they’re so used to people they didn’t really take a lot of notice as we passed by, in fact some of them even posed for us..( I kept lagging behind as I was clicking away with my camera)

Ah!!!! look at that lovely face….

Whoopsy Daisy time!!!! LOL.
I know I shouldn’t have laughed really but the camera bag got caught up and he nearly came a cropper over that stile just as I was taking a photo of my first sighting of our destination and the reason for coming…(I was reprimanded none too politely for not helping him) but it really was funny….

Nearly there, the gravelled road leads up to the village of Exton, it is a shorter route to the lakes but there is no room for parking near that entrance and not a lot of space in the village either, it didn’t matter we are both capable and our walk is doing us both a power of good.
Upper Lake, the sign near the lake states that this area is used for nesting so asks for members of the public to not walk along the edge, instead we go up the track for a short distance and around the outskirts of the trees and shrubbery.
Oh well!!! keep going Susie, whats a few more steps matter…

Lots of glimpses through the trees…

Built for Henry Noel, 6th Earl of Gainsborough between 1786-1789 by William Legg who came from Stamford (my town) apparently the family used the lake for many boating activities, including the re-enactment of naval battles.
Fort Henry designed in what was considered at that time to be the latest in “Gothic Style” was a place where they could entertain their guests and was also used to celebrate big family occasions…..

Now wasn’t that worth the walk, I have ridden my bike, been on a motor cycle and been driven around this area many times during my lifetime, it really is lovely countryside around here, I’ve spent hours travelling around exploring further afield, typically being so close to home its only taken 67yrs to see this particularly beautiful place……

Remember he couldn’t figure out what the contraption was at the side of the stile, well he discovered it lifted up, which confused him even more, I had to put him wise as it really was bugging him, “Derek its for letting the dog through”
I also got another lecture as I snapped him with his eyes closed.LOL.

I hope you enjoyed taking a walk with us to find what I think of as a local treasure ….

• 22 Oct, 2014
• 22 likes

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