High Places

Hello Lovelies,
after a week of miserable wet and dark days the return of the sun this weekend was wonderful.

On Sunday morning we chivvied our boys out of the door and  went to explore somewhere new.
If you've been reading my blog for a while you'll know how much I love high places with a view. I'd read THIS country park could offer just that....perfect.

I think the best way to appreciate a great view is to climb the hill. When you finally get to the top and take in the view it feels like a reward for all your effort, but as we drove uphill I realised that we would be at the top to begin with......never mind.....the sun was shining and the sky was blue....I was happy just to be out enjoying such a gorgeous late spring/early Summer day.

We parked and followed signs along this pretty track...........

The weather was perfect and everywhere looked so fresh and green...........

After a half-mile gentle stroll we arrived at the entrance to the country park. I did look odd .....a flat field with some bumps strewn with orange mesh............

we never found out what the mesh was for.

Hubby spotted a bat , which I managed to capture in this photo........ just!

I was looking into the sun so I'm surprised I even managed this rubbish shot.

There was an information board that explained the top of the hill was the site of an Iron Age Hill Fort......

Oh, now I understood a little more of what those little hills were......they were the walls of the fort.........

The path led through a dip in the wall............

And across the top of the hill to a beautiful view........this is what I had hoped to find :0)

There was a chap flying  his model aircraft here when we arrived ( he's in  white and the plane is that tiny dot in the middle of the sky) and the boys happily stood and watched it for a while.

Which gave me chance to admire the view. I zoomed in on the pretty village of Burrough on the Hill that we had driven through...........

Then wandered down the grassy slope and was thrilled to spot little flashes of blue in the long grass...........

I think this is a COMMON BLUE....it's not the best picture but I was happy to get it anyway.

After a while we walked along the top of the walls, well they are more correctly called Ramparts............

The Ramparts are filled with boulders and covered in soil....sort of like a castle hidden under your feet...preserved for over 2000 years.....I liked that.

There's more on the archaeology of this site HERE

At one corner there's a  Toposcope which shows the direction of various landmarks................

As we continued our walk around this ancient site we were treated to wonderful panoramic views.........

Looking West

I love looking down on the landscape below.........it's so pretty from up here............

Farms and distant church spires

And at my feet are dainty wild flowers

When we got to the North side the view was of more hills and a little wood I'd like to explore on another day.............

We sat down on the grass for a while just as this family were doing a bit further along...........

And the boys climbed on this felled tree...........

Still keen to do a bit of uphill walking eldest and  I carefully descended the steep slope. These paths looked so inviting but the ground was super boggy.....

So we climbed uphill again, picking our way around the worst mud..........

Wellies would have been good here.

The whole park was home to various types of sheep. It was quite hot by now and lots had found a shady spot under this Hawthorn tree..........

We crossed the field and caught up with the others who were waiting by the gate. I loved these twin lambs who were waiting with them..............

Then it was back along the track where the last of this years Cow Parsley still bloomed..............

To this lovely picnic spot by the car park..............

where we all enjoyed some of the boys Birthday cake......

my mum in law is an excellent baker.

I so enjoyed this visit to a beautiful and interesting local high place on the first day of June.

Jacquie x

P.S. there are loads of hill forts across Britain........many of which have public access and great views. THIS is the largest...doesn't it look stunning from above.