Southern Road Trip - The Return Leg

As promised here is the second part to our Southern Road Trip blog, starting with a visit to the London Wetland Centre which we made just before heading North.
I gave you a sneak preview last blog of some of the wildfowl we saw and asked you to name them:

In no particular order the video featured Smew, Goldeneye and Tufted Ducks, both males and females. The male Smew were particularly impressive:

Male Smew

Some less impressive ducks had to go through a gymnastic routine in order to be noticed:

Mallard Gymnastics

Egyptian Geese Synchronised Gymnastics

As in most Wildlife and Wetland Trust (WWT) reserves there was a mixture of captive exotic birds and wild native birds, with a scattering of 'in-between' birds that were semi-wild/not-really-native.
There were also some semi-wild Otters, which although kept in a  large enclosure and fed fish, did not seem to make any attempt to escape and acted quite naturally:

Another little mammal I enjoyed watching was definitely not captive, it was a young House Mouse, which was furiously digging under some gravel to uncover either seeds, roots or small bugs to eat:

My favourite part of the trip to LWC was watching the wild birds which take advantage of the man-made habitats provided at the wetlands, such as these Sand Martins nesting in a fabricated sandbank:

The Heron was impressed by them too, or was it trying to figure out how to catch and eat them?
Also got good views of Lapwing at the water's edge:

And a fleeting view of a Reed Warbler:

It was a very enjoyable day out at LWC, with lots of wildlife and 'not-so-wild' life on view; definitely worth a visit.

When we left London we headed northwest and spent a few days near the village of Hanley Swan at the foot of the Malvern Hills. It was a large but well laid out campsite and the village was only a twenty minute walk down the road.
Moira thought it looked very like the sort of village that they regularly feature in "Escape to the Country"............ complete with village pub, village green and duck pond:

The Swan at Hanley Swan

Duck Pond and Village Shop

Moira enjoyed escaping to the park bench to watch the ducks:

Moira in Hanley Swan

Ducks at the Duck Pond

There was also a lovely village church and some swan carvings:

The Church at Hanley Swan

Ornate Church Gates

Swan Carvings

I went for a walk through some of the fields near to the campsite, it was very pleasant but not much to report on the wildlife front:

Fields near Campsite at Hanley Swan

Speckled Wood Butterfly

It was a nice couple of days in Worcestershire, but it was time to move on and head further North.

Next stop was The Lake District, in particular a campsite a few miles from Kendal, in the woods beside the River Kent:

River Kent near Kendal

Reflections of River Kent

Waterfall on River Kent

Although all the habitats were in place and the water seemed lovely and clear, there was very little bird life on the river apart from a couple of Mallards. I would have expected to see Grey Wagtail or Dipper but nothing like that......... not even a Pied Wagtail........... strange!
What I did see was rather less welcoming; it was a Harlequin (or Asian) Ladybird larva, unwelcome because it is an invasive species which is having a devastating impact on our native ladybirds:

Further along the riverside path I had to cross a lovely meadow where there was a magnificent Oak tree:

Mature English Oak

The grass meadow also supported many butterflies, insects and day-flying moths, including this pretty little Chimney Sweeper Moth:

Back at the campsite I was fascinated to discover that the area use to be home to a Gunpowder Factory! In fact some of the remains were still visible, including parts of the building that housed the water-wheel which powered the machinery in the factory:

Supports for Water-wheel

Remains of Gunpowder Factory

I also found The Lade, which was a channel from the river that supplied water to power the Water-wheel:

Water-wheel Lade (now defunct)

Amazing what industry existed in what appears a quiet wooded area beside a small river.
As well as the Gunpowder Factory, my abiding memory of the campsite at Kendal was the pair of Jays that woke us up every morning with their squabbling in the trees and bushes right next to our motorhome:

After Kendal we headed home, having been away for over two weeks and having covered over 1,000 miles I can safely say we enjoyed our Southern road trip, but were glad to get back.

Take Care

Teddy Edward

Southern Road Trip

Back in June we took Vannie out for his longest journey to date; a road trip down to London and back. Here's how we got on:

First stop on our road down south was Barnard Castle, County Durham where we spend a couple of nights at the campsite we had stayed in last summer. This gave us a break from driving and allowed us to have a trip into the historic town which sits on the River Tees:

Moira on Footbridge across the River Tees

View towards Barnard Castle

The Old Bridge at Barnard Castle

Eddie on 16th Century Barnard Castle Bridge

The weather wasn't great but despite that we still had a walk around the area near the campsite, which is pretty good for wildlife:

Fields in front of Campsite

Countryside near Campsite

Moira scanning for Wildlife

There were plenty of breeding waders around, such as Curlew, Lapwing and Oystercatcher, which were pretty vocal if you got too near to their nest area.
We did manage to catch a glimpse of these Lapwing chicks with their protective parent:

Each morning we were greeted with the songs of many birds, but the most distinctive was that of the Song Thrush, which aptly chose to broadcast from the campsite communication mast:

That was a nice couple of days at Barnard Castle despite the weather, no onwards and southwards.

Next stop was Harbury Fields Farm campsite in Warwickshire, were we again spent a couple of nights. It was right next to a working farm in a predominately rural area. The weather had picked up a bit and there was a pleasant walking path around the campsite/farm area:

Path around Harbury Fields Farm Campsite

View across the fields

Little Pond

Wild Rose at Harbury Fields Farm

The area around the campsite had plenty of farmland birds to look at, including this colourful Yellowhammer:

About a mile along the road was the village of Harbury so the day after we arrived we had a walk there for a bite of lunch. It was a nice little village with some characterful buildings:

Old Millhouse (with windmill at rear)

Old Petrol Station (not in use)

Old Garage (wonder what's inside?)

The village also had a couple of pubs, we chose to eat in The Shakespeare and I can highly recommend the steak pie and the beer:

Beer Selection at The Shakespeare, Harbury

It was a long walk back to the campsite; take note there are no taxis in Harbury and the buses are very, very infrequent. The girl who served us in the pub did offer to run us back to the campsite, but we foolishly declined her offer.
The next morning we continued our journey south to London.

We chose to stay at Crystal Palace campsite on the south side of London and my sister and brother-in-law had also travelled down in their car and caravan to join us. The campsite is right next to Crystal Palace Park and that was one of the first places we explored:

Moira and Florence at Crystal Palace Park

Fishing Pond at Crystal Palace Park

Boating Pond at Crystal Palace Park

The park was full of all the usual park-life including Grey Squirrels:

The birds usually hung about the pond areas and included all the usual suspects like Pigeon, Heron, Coot, Moorhen, Pigeon, etc. Some of them even had baby versions, such as this Coot with Moorhen chicks? (and of course a Pigeon):

I am fascinated by Coot's feet, a marvel of design that incorporate flaps that flex to permit maximum thrust going forward and minimum drag on the return stroke, just so well engineered.
The park was created in Victorian times and some of the original features such as the concrete dinosaurs still remain (these are based on what the Victorians thought dinosaurs looked like):

Victorian Dinosaurs

Moira, Florence Danny and a Megasaur

Not Victorian Dinosaurs

There were also some other hints of Victorian design, but I think these might be retro street furniture:

In case you get lost

Posh Poo Bin

As well as dinosaurs there were also some sculptures of extinct Giant Elks, that apparently lived in Ireland:

Giant Irish Elks

We had a barbecue at the campsite one day (well Danny did all the barbecuing, we just set the table) and we were joined by Alan, Laura and wee Graeme, who had travelled down from Clapham Junction for the day:

Florence, Moira and HP Sauce

Laura and Alan

Danny the BBQ King (can I have more?)

Graeme entertaining Dad in the awning

Graeme with Auntie Florence

Graeme fascinated with Nana's buttons

We had a brilliant day that day........... probably ate too much though............ I blame Danny for cooking too much!

I mentioned that the wildlife in the park was pretty standard for a park in England, however the wildlife in the campsite was a bit more varied. Okay we were woken every morning to the sound of Ring-necked Parakeets (which I know are quite common in the South London area) but we also saw a pair of Peregrine Falcons perching and hunting from Crystal Palace Tower right next to the campsite:

Crystal Palace Tower (sorry no Peregrines)

Crystal Palace Tower at Night (still no Peregrines)

I am sorry but I didn't manage to get a video of the Peregrines........... but they were there............ honest!
I did however manage to get a brief video of another visitor to the campsite one evening........... an urban Red Fox:

I presume it was an urban fox and not a far-roaming rural one (unless of course it stowed away on Vannie in Warwickshire!!)
One place I always wanted to visit in London was the Imperial War Museum and we managed to do it on this trip. It may not be everybody's cup of tea but I found it very interesting and at the same time quite harrowing; especially the WW1 exhibits............ no wonder they hoped that this would be the war to end all wars........... but of course it wasn't. Here are a couple of not-so-harrowing pics:

Naval 15inch Guns at Entrance to IWM

Iconic War Machines: Spitfire, Harrier and V1 Flying Bomb

I wouldn't say it was a fun day out, but the IWM is well worth a visit.

On a lighter note we also visited the London Wetland Centre the day before we left London to head on our return journey................. but I will cover that in my next blog posting........... here is a taster for you:

Can you name all the wildfowl in the video?

Take care,

Teddyedward