Tuesday 12 August 2008

A walk through leafy Cheshire

On Sunday Peter, Badger and I went off the the Macclesfield Sheep Dog Trials. Where are all the signs? I thought. Typically we had got the dates wrong. There was nothing else left to do but go to the pub for lunch.



Mmmm. That was good. Now for a walk. One of the local longish distance walks, is the Gritstone Trail. I have done quite a bit of this trail but never the part that starts near the pub by Macclesfield Forrest. Off we started our back to Teggs Nose.



This is part of a country park and is very popular with walkers and riders. I once did a cross country race which finished running up that hill. The area we were walking in is on the edge of the Peak District and the Cheshire Plain and is very good farming land.







That's enough for the fauna, now for some flora:









Rowan (Mountain Ash), Yarrow (Achillea Milefolium), Harebells and Rosebay Willow Herb.
The yarrow is mythically the herb that Achilles used to stuff in his injured ankle to try to heal it. Yarrow is a great medicinal herb and tea made from the leaves is brilliant for colds and flu. Rosebay Willow Herb is Jemima's favourite flower. She once tried to use it as a password for her ebay account, but they weren't having any of it, as it included the word 'ebay' in it.

We eventually came to the edge of Macclesfield Forrest.



A number of years ago the police found a stash of weapons hidden in the forrest by the IRA. Through the forrest and back to Ridgegate Resevoir with some coots for Maalie.



It was really nice to go for a walk so close to home that we hadn't done before. And of course, Badger loved it!

24 comments:

Shammickite said...

They say if you plant yarrow next to your front door you'll never have ants in your house.
I don't know who "they" are though.

Maalie said...

Saw some lovely Cheshire countryside today as we took the scenic route from the M6 through Gnutsford and Sylvia guided me via some country lanes to avoid Macclesfield.

The are various pools, lakes and meres in the area which are nationally known for birdwatching.

Thanks for the two cups of coffee.

Anonymous said...

this post makes me want to go out for a walk.

very enjoyable, thanks for sharing.

Estelle des Chevaliers said...

That horse looks as if it's seen better days.

lorenzothellama said...

I'm sure you could chivvy it up a bit Estelle!

tut-tut said...

Well, Shammy, I've got yarrow and I've got ants galore.

Nice post; makes me want to take a brisk walk, preferably somewhere in Britain.

Tortoiseshell said...

Nice blog - I'm staying up late in a hotel giving some long-overdue TLC to my sidebar.

Shammickite said...

Tut-tut.... but is your Yarrow planted right at your front door? It makes a difference y'know.

Anonymous said...

Estelle - yes, that horse definitely needs feaguing.

Jack

lorenzothellama said...

Feague

lorenzothellama said...

Hey I did it!! Wow my first link!!
Maalie kindly emailed me how to do a link, then I deleted his email by mistake, then I found it in my delete box, then I forwarded the email back to me, then I copied his instructions down and hey, do you know what ... Bob's yer llama!

lorenzothellama said...

p.s.
JLS has got a new posting up. At bloody last!

Plumpy said...

Were there any Cheshire Cats?

I am living with Mum's flatmates Ginge and Jonesey at the moment. They're not too bad really but they don't give the best cuddles. I thought I might get better meal portions out of them (and some extra meals) but Mum told them about my stupid diet.

When Auntie Casey gets back into the country after her trip to Australia she will come pick me up and I'll live with her. Mum and I used to live with her before we came to live with Ginge and I KNOW she gives good cuddles so I think I'll be okay.

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't like the job of a feaguer!

Jack

Maalie said...

Personally I think that think should be put out of its misery and sent to a butcher's shop. Horse meat is delicious, I have eaten it. More tasty and tenderer than cow meat.

Estelle des Chevaliers said...

Oh, you mean "une boucherie chevaline"? There was one down the road from my apartment in Montpelier, the meat used to look awful hanging there, but I have to admit it tastes nice - best in a cassoulet, I think.

Maalie said...

On a point of order, Madame Llama, a scientific binomial name has the species (second word) in lower case, and always in italic.

Hence: Achillea millefolium

(I will overlook the fact that it is also spelled with a double 'L').

lorenzothellama said...

I don't know how to put italics in.

Kiwi Nomad said...

Heh> I think these photographs are designed to make me find out about long distance walks in Britain;-)

Unknown said...

Ooh Teggs Nose! (I grew up with the name so am used to it but when you think about it it realyl does sound strange). Ooh Macc Forest! Ooh Ridgegate reservoir! Ooh the pub! I'm feeling all nostaligic now.

And I get a photos of harebells - one of my favourite flowers.

Btw I have Milk Honey and Cider up and running, (well, just walking at the moment) again.

simon said...

that photo of badger....whats the dogs name? hahahahaah

getting the date wrong..well I have also done that.. and a good walk sorts it out for sure

Martin Stickland said...

Allo me old mush! it's about time you did a blog post!

What have you done to your hands then?

You poor little bunny wunny!

Use oven gloves in future!

byeeeee

Sara said...

Aha! Surprise! Glad to hear all's well in your world Lorenzo. It would have been so dull to have popped over and found nobody in.

Martin Stickland said...

Keep away from me!!???

You'ze been at that Padstow scrumpy you Ave.

Hope you had a breeze ... and a gayle.