Bluebell Time

Hello Lovelies,

on Wednesday morning eldest and I went for a walk in the same woods I visited a couple of weeks ago HERE

I had seen lots of pictures of lovely Bluebell woods on Instagram and wanted to see if our own area was in bloom yet.

The path certainly felt more shady than on my last visit.

and just a few Wood Anemones were still flowering, but disappearing rapidly into the undergrowth.

After climbing the steep hillside path we found a beautiful glade of Bluebells.

I think another week or so and they will be at their best.

I do love the woodland in springtime...I think I may have said that before :0)

Eldest liked the bluebells but things like this twisted tree....

and this Amazing spiral fungus were more of a draw to him.

I loved noticing the tiny saplings.

and the green fields.

and, of course, the Bluebells ♥

The Red Campion also made me smile. Blue, pink, white, yellow and green. The colours of the woodland in spring are just perfection.

I loved the patches of multicoloured prettiness, but for eye catching perfection it's hard to top that sea of blue.

Another glimpse of the view through the trees.

the low path led us back to the start of our circular route.

Not so many Bluebells here, but delicate Stitchwort made me smile.

and the fresh green of the new leaves is so uplifting.

Here eldest spotted a Hare. Can you see him?



Let me zoom in. Not the best picture, but always a treat to see.

Soon our circuit was complete

It's such a special time of year, and on a sunny morning the woodland really did seem the nicest place on earth to me.
Jacquie x

Over Ashover

Hello Lovelies,

It's another walking post from me today. I do hope you enjoy the pictures.

All my boys are on Easter holidays at the moment and since good weather was forecast for last Sunday  I had been priming them for a Derbyshire walk. I can only get away with this once every few months :0)

I also wanted to take my friend and knew we would not be able to get on the road too early...so where to go?

I decided to avoid the National park it's self and any of the more well known Peak District destinations, where I expected loads of folk would be heading on a sunny spring Sunday.

Mum had mentioned Ashover a while ago. It's less than an hour from here so I googled "walks around Ashover"...my usual method of finding suggestions. 

I found a few walks HERE that seemed to fit the bill. I chose the hilly one. Because I love a climb and a view...and because it's great exercise without having to do lots of miles.

We easily found a parking spot and nice clean toilets...a great start :0)

Soon we were walking through fields away from the village, and I looked back to see hubby and the boys playing catch.

The ball games stopped when we reached these tunnels.

And the climbing got steeper.

I loved the gorse flowers we passed.

and the hazy views as we soon got higher.

Before long we were in the land of Heather .

And rocks.

And the village looked small below us.

The boys made a bee line for this large rock, which happily was easy to climb.

and we sat on the rock to eat a little picnic of homemade flapjack

I noticed somebody had planted a little Magnolia tree by the rock... it seemed to be thriving.

There were wonderful far reaching views in all directions. A great reward for a shortish climb.

Soon we decided to carry on with our little adventure and wandered along a quiet road...did I mention the lack of tourists ;0)

Another view of Ashover...it's church spire clearly visible.

It was such a warm day there was no need to rush. Looking at this picture I'm surprised how tall youngest is now...he has been growing a lot since he turned 14.

This pretty farm caught my eye...and it's garden wall, made of stone slabs. So unusual.

Soon we were descending steeply across fields.

More lovely stone cottages...and fabulous tree shadows.

In the valley bottom the river Amber glittered.

I would like to say it was a tranquil spot but a trials bike meeting was in full swing, with noise and dust and fumes. I suppose that's the downside of this not being within the national park.

Never mind, it certainly didn't ruin the walk. We soon left it behind and this sweet, wonky house with a very "un-wonky" extension made me smile.

One last footpath led us towards the Church.

And past a quiet pub.

It did look tempting, but happily I had thought to leave further drinks and snacks in the car, enough to tide the boys over till we got home and I had time to cook.

I'm so glad we all got out to enjoy this warm spring day together and I can thoroughly recommend Ashover as a great little place to go for a walk. 

Jacquie x