Monday 1 December 2014

A Sunday Stroll

Hello Lovelies,
the cough and cold season has arrived here. I suppose it's inevitable at this time of year. We have spent a lot of time indoors and I have been spending too much time thinking about the past. A bad habit of mine.
 These days it's so easy to feed my nostalgia for the gorgeous place I grew up by gazing at beautiful photo's of those hills and villages.

Gosh, I even made a Flickr gallery HERE.....this is not good for my contentment.

By Sunday I was so keen to go and find some hills.......a trip into the Peak District was my first choice. The day dawned sunny, but while Mr BM and eldest are coming out of the snotty, achy phase, youngest and myself are just going into it.
Maybe it would be best to reel back my plans and stay local instead. Luckily my  Flickr searching had also thrown up some wonderful and fairly local images like THIS and THIS....wow, how I LOVED those old canal buildings and reflections.

So I chivvied the troops out of the house by 10am and we set off.
We parked and wandered through fields for a while, not sure of our bearings. I was relieved when we eventually came to a tow-path..........


We squelched along in the mud, enjoying the slow pace that the mild sunny weather allowed.

So many of the canals closer to home are sadly closed, it's much more cheerful and interesting to see a living canal...........


were the locks are in use...........


and traditional narrow boats sit in picturesque locations.........


the lock turned out to be in the wrong direction so we retraced out steps back to this lovely old bridge ........ and ducked as we carefully picked our way along the slippery path by the water.......


In this direction there was a motley assortment of craft, but the scene still looked pretty idyllic on such a gorgeous morning..........

 just Look at the colour of that sky.

And being by water means stunning blue sky reflections. How I loved the glittery red and blue patterns here............


Further along we came into the village. I'm pretty sure this boat belonged to the people who own that house.
I smiled as I thought how great it must be to have a cosy house by the canal and a floating holiday home, moored at the bottom of the garden, which you can set sail in whenever you get some time.............



Further along the houses didn't have boats, but they did have interesting gardens.........

 once again I adored the reflections

and we all liked the sight of these two dogs, greeting each other around the garden fence.....


Mr BM spotted a crocodile!........


Look out ducks :0)...........


they were all so different. I especially like this one..............


A little further along now, and the buildings are getting older and more interesting..........


Then around the bend we came across this gorgeous spot. How I loved this old canal building ..........


I gave this rather scary swan and wide berth as I admired the scene. There's something so appealing about all those semi-circular windows...........and the yellow camper van........

I always wanted it to be the arched window on "Play School" :0)

gazing back at the reflections..............


And the pretty scenes just kept unfolding as we strolled along. Another, smaller but just as gorgeous canal-side home.........


then a working boatyard..........


I loved the original signs..........


colourful boats..............


and humour...........


There was just SO MUCH to see, and it all looked at it's best on this calm and sunny morning.........



We went under  a large bridge, where everyone called out to hear the fun acoustics and echos........



then it was out into the sun once more. This is the Shardlow Heritage centre. It was closed when we were there............

a good reason to pop back "in season".

and here is that view which inspired this trip.............

gorgeous.

This warehouse is a pub these days...............



what a wonderful spot to stop and enjoy all things boaty...........


The boys were getting hungry by now, so we walked back to the car, past characterful old cottages............


and energised by such a great little dose of fresh air and pretty scenery I cooked up a storm in the kitchen...........a roast chicken dinner was enjoyed by the whole family.

 And I even whipped up a fruit loaf to go in this week's packed lunches............


Then flopped in the chair :0)

This little outing was the perfect cure for my rose tinted nostalgia.
Here and now is great. I an blessed with a loving family and good health.
What more could I want.

Jacquie x

27 comments:

  1. Beautiful and interesting armchair traveling for me, Jacquie, thanks to this lovely post. Wishing you and yours well. Have a happy week! xx

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  2. A real pleasure those magnificent , sunny photos of your beautiful surroundings! So pleased to have discovered your precious corner...
    Have a happy new week!

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  3. Looks like a lovely way to spend a Sunday! Love the reflections best, magic! xxxx

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  4. Thank you for the virtual walk. Love the canal side walk.
    Julie xxxxxxxxxxx

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  5. Fantastic crisp and clear photographs, sorry to hear you are all poorly but a good stroll out often helps. Cannot believe that this was taken on the last day on November! A strange climate we have at the moment x

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  6. What a great walk! There are a lot of places on your pictures where I would have lingered too.

    Hope you get better soon! I have a head cold myself and it gives me horrible headaches... Ouch.

    Have a lovely advent time!

    Take care
    Anne
    http://crochetbetweentwoworlds.blogspot.de

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  7. What an amazing trip, thanks for taking us all along with these beautiful pictures! Glad you felt better afterwards, nostalgia can be tricky, but our loved ones and a special place are all it takes to brighten the day!
    Wish you a great week! xx

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  8. I'm missing something here. rofl The croc is a joke, right?! lol ;-)

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  9. I dearly love all of your photos...wow...what beautiful scenery, the locks...everything...wow...Beauitful Photos :)

    Happy Crocheting
    Linda K, Railroad

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  10. Jacquie beautiful photos !! Loved loved !!

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  11. What beautiful photos that looks an amazing place for a walk on a bright day, it's been grey and damp here for the last week or more I'd love some bright days to enjoy. I hope your cold is soon better we had it here a couple of weeks ago.
    Take care
    Jackie x

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  12. Oh what a wonderful Sunday stroll! Thanks for sharing, I love those narrow boats, in another life I want to live on one (which I would need two, one for my yarn). lol Any time I'm away from my home hills, mountains I miss they so, I can't imagine living far from them. Wishing you all a speedy recovery!

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  13. I hope you're all feeling better now - kudos to you for getting out and not letting the cold keep you down! WHAT a gorgeous walk. When I saw that building with the semicircular windows I just said "Oh, oh, OH." Arched windows (and doors) are somehow so much more fascinating and storybook-looking than square-cornered ones.

    Love the beautiful reflections and the cheerful boats. The canal-boat decorating style reminds me of Nordic tole painting.

    There is one small lock that I know of down in Madison (a bit of a drive from here) - it's not nearly so picturesque as yours. But it's always fun to watch the water rushing in and the level slowly rising under the occasional small boat that goes through. Thank you so much for these lovely watery photos.

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  14. What a beautiful stroll you had. Loved the pictures.

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  15. The canel looks so calm and the sky is so clear, the pictures are great, it feels like we are there with you. Thanks for sharing, hope you enjoy the fruit loafX

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  16. I simply ADORED this post! I'm in *love* with your canals and canal boats! I lived aboard my 26 foot sailboat for 4 months in the San Juan Islands and just loved it. Then I bought a houseboat in Portland, OR on the Columbia River, with my sailboat moored outside the front door. So.. thank you for showing all those boats.. it made my day. Good for you to get out and enjoy your wonderful places. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  17. What a super trip out, and the weather looked perfect, just the thing for a pick-me-up.

    I lived for 16 years just 15 minutes away from Haworth, in fact I lived for 4 years in a village where the Bronte's father was vicar for the local church. I still pop back to visit friends and to mooch around the little local places.

    Hope you are feeling much better very soon.

    Helenxx

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  18. I know what you mean about too much introspection, but a walk always seems to help. What a stunning day you had, all that blue sky and amazing reflections. There are some really pretty houses by the canal aren't there, I'd love to live there, and like you, I love an old path sign. We like to walk by the canals sometimes, although the little people make me a bit nervous when they're too near the edge. The nearest one to us is 16' deep! CJ xx

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  19. I'm sorry that you and yours are fighting illness and hope everyone is well vrey soon. I so enjoyed taking a Sunday stroll with you this morning. Such a gorgeous day and area to walk in. The canals, buildings, boats and blue, blue sky are all so beautiful. I truly wish I could join you someday.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  20. A beautiful walk : )
    Hope you are all feeling better very soon.

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  21. I always enjoy your walks and lovely pictures and oh yes I love ducks too, rather prone
    to liking the simple white duck ☺☺

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  22. Loved our walk together....between you and Lucy, I start feeling like I've seen so much of the English countryside....and would SO love to visit!

    Beautiful pictures....could almost feel the warmth of the sun as we strolled along.

    Blessed and Merry Christmas to your beautiful, loving family...they are what it's all about!

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  23. The water in your shots looks absolutely perfect! Gorgeous photos! Lil xx

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  24. Here and now is what's important. Lovely pictures of your time out.

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  25. It looks like you had a wonderful walk by the canal, and the colours are amazingly bright and clear. Sunday lunch and a fruit loaf to finish - what a lovely day! :)
    Cathy x

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  26. I do hope you and the family recover very soon from the nasty colds you have - at least they should be over by the big day! I have to say I was 'virtually' skipping along with you along those tow paths. How absolutely perfect that walk was! I love canal boats, riverside properties and a low autumn sun. Magical - I'm going to have another look now :-)

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  27. Ah, the cold and flu season. I don't miss it. However, where we live, it's still hay fever season! We can't wait for that to go away. It shouldn't be long now, as the harvesting is almost done here.
    What a beautiful trip. There's nothing like that around here. I think the canals are just gorgeous.
    Stay well and keep your energy up with lots of love n laughter and yummy foods.

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