mybigadventures.com

The weather today was pretty mild with even a bit of blue sky and sunshine. I decided to head over to National Trust, Clumber Park for a bit of walk about and to make the most of the weather. The park is just outside Worksop so pretty close to my mums, but I think it's been a pretty long time since I've been. I certainly hadn't appreciated just how massive the place is.

There are trails off in every direction, but in the end I settled for a fairly conventional walk around the lake which as it turns out is miles further than I thought (about 4 miles infact). The autumnal colours were wonderful and I managed to get a few more photos for the half term album. All in all a great day out and definitely worth a revisit next time we're up this way!

Today was 'red squirrel day'.

We didn't have a firm plan or destination for the day, so we thought we would set off in pursuit of red squirrels, a rarity in the area and only seen in small colonies in certain places. We set off to Dodd Wood near Keswick, a place mum and dad have been to many times, where red squirrels are being carefully nurtured and where ospreys can also be seen over Bassenthwaite Lake, at the base of the wood. We walked up towards the first osprey viewing platform where the squirrels can also be seen and it was quite an uphill walk! Once we got there we looked and we looked... but not a single squirrel to be seen!

Not to be dispirited, we continued up the hill - an unexpected mountain climb - towards the second osprey viewing platform. There weren't many signs so it was a bit like the blind leading the blind, but we got there eventually. It wasn't quite what we expected - we had anticipated a hide but it was an exposed picnic table with a small fence to prevent any unsuspecting visitors from plummeting down the mountain. We sat for a bit and looked out over Bassenthwaite. The views were glorious and you could see a long way - the weather was fair although overcast so visibility was good, with some cloud just nestling on the peaks. So, we were sitting and looking - but to no avail.

We gave it a bit of time, but decided to give in and set off back down the mountain, planning on calling at the lower viewing spot again, just in case. And it was a good job we did! Two little red ones crept out of the undergrowth to feed at the feeding station! It was awesome! A lady there had said that she's put some food out for them a bit earlier in the day and it was nearly all gone. And the squirrels were really brave, coming pretty close and feeding from the tree stumps nearby. We stood and watched for about 30 minutes, completely absorbed by their activity.

We made it down to the car park again, just before our pay and display ran out. We sat in the car, eating our picnic before heading off towards Grasmere, where we were aiming for Allan Bank, an unknown (to me) National Trust property, also known for red squirrels. We made it there for about 4pm - not giving us long, but we didn't really know what to expect. We were surprised to find a bit more than we expected - it isn't a conventional historic house, and (although we didn't go in) the house is set up very much as a family home to relax in. The gardens, which we did explore, seemed quite expansive, rising up into the landscape behind the house. We toiled up, for a while, admiring the lovely views as we went, and also trying to spy out the red squirrels. But no such luck. 

However, that quickly changed as we descended to the lawned area behind the grass. We saw at least 6 squirrels, dashing and scampering and chasing each other through the trees! It was truly awesome! We speculated that they might be siblings, as there was a lot of chattering and bickering going on. And they came quite close, feeding from the stashes of nuts that had been left about. We stood and watched them - even past closing time! It was at least 5.10pm by the time we felt we ought to move on and the property had closed at 5. Ben got lots of photos, although these squirrels were quite a lot livelier than the previous ones. 

From now on, this day is to be red squirrel day. A day not to be forgotten.

It was the first day of mums holiday today, and we were off to a busy start with the gas man servicing the boiler. We then had a few more jobs to complete including a trips to the tip, library and bank before we were on our way to Bolsover. It's not very far away but neither of us had ever been before and given the blue skies and sunshine I was keen to get out and about. You can see the castle from quite a distance before you get there as Bolsover it located at the top of a steep hill, so finding it was no problem, parking on the other hand was a little more difficult. The main car park seems to be fairly tiny and located just off the high street right next to a weatherspoons, consequently it was full, as were the other three car parks that we found as we did loops of Bolsover. Just as we were about to give up and call it a day, we finally managed to secure a place in some additional castle parking that mum spotted based just a little further down from the castle entrance - hooray!

The castle is managed by English Heritage so members get in free - unfortunately me and Dani let our membership lapse this year as we found that we weren't using it enough, but it was a pretty fair £10.80 adult entry so not too bad. The castle looked pretty picturesque in the sunshine and commands a splendid view of the surrounding areas; it was a very clear day and you could see for miles.

We sat and ate some lunch enjoying the view and then spent the afternoon having a good walk around. There were lots of kids about dressed up for haloween as they were due to be running a "Haloween Specatular" event later in the evening. Feeling pretty knackered we headed back. I'm glad we went and it's most certainly worth a revisit!