Tag: WalkingSquares

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Flowers to Celebrate, Thank and Remember

Large flower arrangement with coral, pink and cream roses

Can you believe I happened upon this huge flower arrangement which had been deserted against a backdrop of greenery during a walk? We were exploring gardens attached to an art gallery the morning after some form of celebration had been held.

I was surprised they had been abandoned, but happy to have a few minutes with such a brilliant floral showpiece. Pink, apricot and cream roses popped out, while lilies, peonies and larkspur provided white highlights. Eustoma, eucalyptus, sprays of azalea, other leafy foliage and (I think) an ornamental cabbage carried the garden flowers theme and helped to pack it out.

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The Gravity Pull Of Plants

Acer leaves with pink tips in autumn

My home town has many rows of Victorian terraces and to get to any of my countryside, wood or park walks, I go through some of them.

While not exactly lying higgledy-piggledy, each batch of terraces forms its own grid dictated by the hillside rather than a uniform plan. Walkers are offered an alternative way at nearly every corner: all being even, my choices are dictated by plants. I visited these three along my walk yesterday.
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Seeds of The Horse Chestnut or Conker Tree (Aesculus hippocastanum)

Conkers (Horse chestnut seeds)
Horse chestnut seeds are called conkers

While not a native tree, characterful flowers, leaves and seeds have made the horse chestnut tree so wildly grown that it is (or should be) part of every British childhood. Tough, spiky cases with an inner layer of padding protect large, polished chestnut-coloured seeds (conkers) while they form.

One of my memories of Autumn ’22 will be standing under the canopy of the biggest horse chestnut tree in Bold Venture Park to see if any fine conkers were left in the leaf litter underneath, a habit that dies hard. Better than that, I soon discovered, turn and turn about, conkers tippling their balance from unreadiness to ripeness in a decisive instant were slowly, heavily, falling around me. Continue reading “Seeds of The Horse Chestnut or Conker Tree (Aesculus hippocastanum)”

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Tackler’s Trail, Part of Witton Weaver’s Way, Darwen

Stone wall with lichen and barbed wire fence

Inspired by Becky’s WalkingSquares, I’m inviting you to take in the view along Witton Weaver’s Way, a 32 mile circular walk that crosses Darwen moor.

Witton Weaver’s Way has four sections: Beamer’s, Reeler’s, Tackler’s and Warper’s Trails, all named for jobs in the cotton industry. My first two pictures are taken from Tackler’s Trail, not far from Lord’s Hall.
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Pebbles Along The Path

Pebble decorated with a flower and Be Kind

Walking on your own is an acquired skill for many of us. I can’t claim to enjoy walking for exercise, though I do it. I’m more motivated by the things I might see. A kestrel is way up on my hoped-for list. Right now, in our damp climate, it’s fun to look for miniature forests of mushrooms that spring up seemingly out of nothing and have vanished without trace next time you pass. Continue reading “Pebbles Along The Path”

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On The Fairy Path

Trees arching over a path

Regular readers may remember that I’ve mentioned a fairy path that tracks a leat draining the meadow above the southern edge of Sunnyhurst Wood in Darwen. Oak, chestnut, birch, beech, sycamore, ash, holly and elder are scattered among tall evergreens. Somewhere between a park and a wood, it is laced with main paths that run down to Sunnyhurst stream at the bottom of the valley. This isn’t one of them.  Continue reading “On The Fairy Path”