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High river levels this month.

We started our John Muir Discover Award in January, exploring Dog Marsh, Fingle Woods, Dartmoor. This month the river was high with lots of rain and the fields were waterlogged. Some mornings the puddles froze over. We read about John Muir’s childhood and how he came to emigrate to America.

From beach, to river, to moor. The light fades, the wind scowls. The way ahead, lit with a beam. Searching for islands of dryness. Rocks offer the ruse of refuge. Wet feet find wet bog. The air is mild, the darkness foreboding. The sky offers the outline of edges. The moor offers little to lead the way. The sound of the river, tempts home. The bothy, a sanctuary, a welcome relief. A speck in these wild lands. To cross the door, to escape, to discover. To brake the silence, to impose a new visitor. A passer by, a truth seeker, a stravager, a holiday maker. We find it empty. Darkness. Enter - with heavy shoulders, waterlogged boots. Explore, assess, rest. Time, minutes, brings familiarity. Peat, coal, wood. The smoke rises, the steam from the socks. Sandy sits by. I hope he approves.

Litter clearing on an evening walk through the park

Wollaton Hall Park is one of the most famous parks in Nottingham City with its breathtaking scenery of forest, deers, lakes , a golf course and the Wollaton Hall. We are a group of friends staying nearby Wollaton Hall who have decided to survey the area in the evening and pick up litter to keep the park and pavement clean. We had an amazing time walking around the beautiful Hall and brought a bin bag with us on this occasion to pick up litter. It was great seeing how deers roam around freely in packs! (Picture)

From my camping trip in Northumberland.