With us visiting a friend in Lancashire on Saturday,Tracey and myself decided to make a weekend of it and on Sunday we travelled over to Bolton Abbey and the superb Stridd Woods and on Monday we visited a new area we had both not been to,Arnside and Arnside Knott,the following is what we saw and lovely scenery we encountered.
Sunday 1st
After a superb breakfast at the B&B we travelled the hour or so over to Bolton Abbey through the Forest Of Bowland and the lovely Yorkshire Dales.
The forecast wasn't the best today,being cloudy with a few sunny breaks,but it was still a pleasure to be out.
After parking up at Cavendish Pavillion and getting our boots on and gear together for our day,we set off.
It wasn't long before we were watching our first Common Sandpipers of the visit,as a male displayed along the river and overhead the first of 10 singing male Pied Flycatchers sang along with a lovely Redstart.
It seems the Pied Fly's and Redstarts are a little late this year and we didn't see any Spotted Flycatchers either,but the weather has been hardly conducive for migration,with the constant northerly or easterly airflow.
We did manage some nice views of the afore mentioned species and some of the locals at our favourite spot at Harrison's Ford seat.
Tracey really enjoyed watching the Nuthatch,Coal,Blue and Great Tits along with several Chaffinches as they flew in at close quarters to us to feed.
After our rest,we carried on up to Bardon Viaduct,watching a Dipper nest building on the side of one of the arches of the viaduct structure,which was great to watch.
It was noticeable today,that like our visit last year in the spring,how low the river was again.I guess it is these dry cold springs we keep having with no rainfall and also the wildflowers also looked to be behind in flowering,but there was still the lovely carpets of Bluebells on show.
After arriving back at Cavendish,we decided to dump some gear and walk up to the village and get some lunch.
The grounds of this lovely area,really are impressive,but i do worry about the disturbance all the visitor footfall has on the breeding birds here.
After lunch we walked back to Cavendish and the car,just as i spotted a female Goosander with a brood of ducklings heading our way.I dashed back to the car for my phonescoping kit and scope and managed to get a pleasing video clip as the birds swam past.
It was really great to watch these lovely little ducklings attempting to get a ride on their mums back and she did have a whopping brood of 11 as well to look after.which isn't easy with the fast current to contend with.
Another great visit here.
Monday 2nd May
Today we were travelling to visit a place we had wanted to see after seeing it on the BBC series Winter Walks....Arnside & Arnside Knott.
It is a lovely,picturesque village on the side of the Kent Estuary,where the River Kent flows into Morecombe Bay.
After parking up on the prom,we got our kit together and off we went exploring,enjoying amazing views of a pair of Ravens with their fledged juvenile,a handfull of Little Egrets and Cormorants feeding in and along the side of the river.
The scenery is just amazing here and we came across a lovely cafe at the New Barns caravan site and enjoyed a refreshing cuppa and the best cookies in the world before we tackled Arnside Knott.
The Knott is a limestone hill that sits above Arnside and Silverdale and is a SSSI with nationally important habitat for one of our rarest butterflies the High Brown Fritillary.It is 522 feet high or 159 metres and we had a steep ascent through some lovely woodland,but the views at the top of Morecombe Bay,the Kent Estuary and Grange-over-Sands made the effort certainly worthwhile,what a cracking area!.
After enjoying the amazing views,we made our way back into the village of Arnside and had some lunch before heading back home along the motorway.
What a fantastic couple of days away and we will certainly go back to Arnside as the area is such a gem for wildlife,birds and obviously the views.
The Causeway Across The River Kent,Which Supports The Railway.
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| Some Of The Stunning Views At Arnside Knott. |
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| Mrs R Walking Up Arnside Knott. |
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| Views Of The River Kent & It's Estuary. |
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| Bolton Priory. |
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| Cavendish Bridge. |
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| Wild Garlic & Lovely Woodland Views. |
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| Bluebells Carpeting The Woodland Floor. |
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| Striped Millipede,Which Mrs R Found. |
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| Exposed Roots On This Huge Beech Tree, |
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| Some Beautiful Views Of The River Wharfe & Surrounding Woodland |
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