I took the dogs out to Clifton Wood today. The aim was to see if I could find
Seqouiadendron Giganteum. I walked through the City Centre to the River Trent and crossed via this pedestrian bridge, which I think will be used as the river crossing for the tram when the new line is built:-
After a mile or so, walking along the south bank of the river, I arrived at the entrance to the woods:-
The woods are on a very steep slope coming down to the river bank, with a path running alongside the river at the base of the slope. The obligatory dogs bottoms photo:-
Swamp dog:-
After half a mile or so I arrived at Holme Pit Pond. I had to put the dogs on the leads here as there were several anglers and Milo tried to snaffle some sandwiches:-
I found out from another walker that the
Seqouiadendron Giganteum were to be found at the top of the hill and so I headed up a very slippery, very steep goat trail. I almost slipped back down a number of times, but just managed it, having to grasp onto little saplings to pull myself up. I was fair peched by the time I got to the top, the dogs had no problems getting up there and sat on the hill top watching me struggle. Here's the view down the slope, although it doesn't really show how steep it was. The
Grafham Water Health and safety team would have a fit if they saw this slope:-
The climb was worth it, as I found what I was looking for:-
The woods used to form part of the grounds of Clifton Hall and this Giant Redwood was planted in about 1830. A short distance away there is another one:-
The descent from the hilltop was even more perilous than the route up and had me nearly swooning with fear a couple of times. I had to do a bottom slide for the last bit of the descent. My route back to the riverside took me down this long grass footpath:-
I crossed the river at Clifton Bridge, a busy dual carriageway (the A52).
The north side of the river at this point is a concrete jungle - busy roads, flyovers, retail parks and industrial estates:-
In amongst all the concrete is
King's meadow nature reserve, a tiny patch of orchid habitat:-
The weather has been fantastic the last couple of days, I'm trying to build up the dogs and my stamina for the summer and so am gradually increasing the distances. I'm not sure how far I walked today, but I was walking for five and a half hours.
After a mile or so, walking along the south bank of the river, I arrived at the entrance to the woods:-
The woods are on a very steep slope coming down to the river bank, with a path running alongside the river at the base of the slope. The obligatory dogs bottoms photo:-
Swamp dog:-
After half a mile or so I arrived at Holme Pit Pond. I had to put the dogs on the leads here as there were several anglers and Milo tried to snaffle some sandwiches:-
I found out from another walker that the Seqouiadendron Giganteum were to be found at the top of the hill and so I headed up a very slippery, very steep goat trail. I almost slipped back down a number of times, but just managed it, having to grasp onto little saplings to pull myself up. I was fair peched by the time I got to the top, the dogs had no problems getting up there and sat on the hill top watching me struggle. Here's the view down the slope, although it doesn't really show how steep it was. The Grafham Water Health and safety team would have a fit if they saw this slope:-
The climb was worth it, as I found what I was looking for:-
The woods used to form part of the grounds of Clifton Hall and this Giant Redwood was planted in about 1830. A short distance away there is another one:-
The descent from the hilltop was even more perilous than the route up and had me nearly swooning with fear a couple of times. I had to do a bottom slide for the last bit of the descent. My route back to the riverside took me down this long grass footpath:-
I crossed the river at Clifton Bridge, a busy dual carriageway (the A52).
The north side of the river at this point is a concrete jungle - busy roads, flyovers, retail parks and industrial estates:-
In amongst all the concrete is King's meadow nature reserve, a tiny patch of orchid habitat:-
The weather has been fantastic the last couple of days, I'm trying to build up the dogs and my stamina for the summer and so am gradually increasing the distances. I'm not sure how far I walked today, but I was walking for five and a half hours.
No comments:
Post a Comment