Summer Flowers

Despite the witheringly high temperatures at the moment, the wild flowers are doing their best to hold their petals up against the sun. Most appear to be bright yellow at this time of year. It has to be said that the Evening Primroses are suffering quite a bit, but this one was still looking good.

Barely standing above ground level, Biting Stonecrops are also battling the drought and scorching sun, but still braving things to put on a show.

Hundreds of tiny star-like flowers form a shining mat of colour among the gravel.

In the same place as the Stonecrops, the tall, delicate stems of Yellow-wort are both aptly named and just about the brightest of bright yellow flowers - so bright, that the camera finds it tricky to focus.

Of course, not all the summer flowers are yellow. There is the Purple of Purple Loosestrife...

the pink of Common Spotted Orchids (this one in our front garden)...

and of course, the white of the Daisies...

Privet...

and Meadowsweet which is just starting to flower.

All rather floriferous!

Shady Spot

Another bright, sunny and hot day today, so once again, Malcolm and I set out on our walk this morning to find a shady spot to enjoy a view and a flask of coffee. Keeping to the trees as much as possible, we avoided the biting flies and headed towards Mapperley village. Then, it was up Shipley Hill to find somewhere to sit for a while. We found this spot, overlooking the surrounding parkland.

Sitting under the canopy of trees, sipping our coffee and enjoying the sound of birds singing and insects buzzing, we could have stayed for ever - especially with this lovely view.

All round Shipley Park at the moment, the grasses are turning brown as the drought conditions begin to take their toll. This was the view from the other side of Shipley Hill a few days ago.

Close by, where the old open-cast mining has recently been replaced by open fields and more parkland, the huge numbers of Docks are ripening to a beautiful russet shade when seen against the blue sky and the green of a distant copse of trees.

Here too, the grasses are setting seed and ripening to a dusty brown while the stately and spiky Spear Thistles add a bit of welcome colour.

They always reward a closer look - providing you don't stab yourself on their fearsome spines in the process.

With the hot weather set to continue for some days yet, there will no doubt be plenty more opportunities for our walks in search of shade!

High Summer

We seem to be experiencing something of a heatwave at the moment. The thermometer is hovering around the 80 degree mark and the sun is very strong. So Malcolm and I took ourselves off to find some shade around Mapperley wood and reservoir this morning. Through the wood, the dappled sunlight was playing and sparkling on the waters which trickle along what's left of the old canal.

Reaching the reservoir, we stood for a while, looking out over the lily pads.

The deep blue of the sky was reflected beautifully in the water, making it look a lot more inviting than its usual, slightly muddy appearance.

Floating gracefully around the reservoir, a group of about twelve Greylag Geese were taking things easy in the heat of the day.

Such a beautiful bird when seen close to.

At the far end of the reservoir, we stopped again to admire the scene and were immediately struck by the vast numbers of fish fry swimming among the lily pads.

Time for one last look at the cooling water, before we made our way, hot and bothered, back home.

Bee Orchids

It's Orchid time again, so Malcolm and I have recently spent some time searching for these delicate and beautiful little flowers. The most abundant are as always, the Common Spotted Orchids.

Growing and flowering close by, are Southern Marsh Orchids. Often tricky to separate from the Common Spotted. This is made even more difficult when the two species hybridise, producing a plant which is neither one thing, nor the other.

The most exciting member of the Orchid family to be found around these parts however, has to be the Bee Orchids.

Much less showy and with smaller flower spikes, these little charmers always seem to hide away among the grasses, making it quite a task to spot them initially.

But once you have got your 'eye in' you begin to see lots of them dotted around the dry parts of Shipley Woodside. They always reward the effort of getting down for a closer look!

No doubt there will be more pictures of orchids to come over the next few weeks.

Last of Norfolk

On our last afternoon in Norfolk, we spent a long time walking along the Weavers' Way once more. This time however, we headed the other way, leaving the Bride behind us.

Once more, the river Bure was dotted with pleasure cruisers chugging up and down, scattering ducks as they went, whilst, looking the other way, we had great views of those huge Norfolk skies.

Out across the fields, a couple of Marsh Harriers were quartering the ground looking for prey. Sadly, they stayed too far away for me to get a picture - typical! We were however, being watched by a few black cattle in the field

Malcolm was enjoying the views and fresh air...

... and we eventually reached Clippesby Mill.

This was another drainage mill and is quite an old building. There was an older mill in place long before it was heightened using wider, more modern, red bricks sometime around 1814. It has a 'Norfolk' boat shaped top - but sadly, no sails now as it stands watch over the river. The sails were removed after the mill was struck by lightning in 1978.

The modern pumphouse next to the old mill, also dates from the 1970's.
During the few days we were away, we were lucky enough to encounter several species which I hadn't seen (or heard) for years. I have already mentioned the Cuckoo, calling from the Willow trees but remaining out of sight. To add to this, we also saw a Turtle Dove and stood listening to its reeling, purring call for some minutes. In the small bit of woodland close to where we were staying, we encountered a Roe Deer as we walked along. I don't know who was more startled, it, or us!
I managed one new 'tick' for the life list too. Not as handsome as a Roe Deer maybe, but no less exciting (for me anyway). This is an Amber Snail.

And so, the sun set on our short jaunt around the Broads. We will certainly be going back again.

Mills?

Of course, the Broads is littered with what look like windmills in various states of decay. In the days before electricity, these mills were used, not for grinding grain, but for pumping huge quantities of water from one dyke to another in an effort to maintain water levels. One of the more celebrated of these mills, can be found at Horsey - close to where we were staying.

Built in 1912, Horsey Windpump is among the youngest of its kind but has seen quite a lot of action through its life. It has seen floods, lightning strikes and storms and has even suffered collapse at one time. It replaced an older pump called the 'Black Mill' because it was covered in a weather-proof fabric coated in tar.

The current building is undergoing extensive restoration by the National Trust who now own it, so it wasn't possible to see much of it - but at least the sails are now in place, having been missing for some time.
Close by, Horsey Mere offered some nice views across the water.

While a few please boats were moored up along a small channel which leads to the mill.

Always with the mill keeping watch...

... and as we walked around the mere, the sight of sails gliding by over the tops of the reed beds, seemed a little incongruous .

Still a few more pictures to come!

Weavers

As usual, Malcolm and I did a lot of walking while on our short break. We were lucky that we had a wonderful walk close to where we were staying, called the Weavers' Way.

The Weavers' Way actually stretches from Cromer to Great Yarmouth, a distance of around 61 miles in total. Needless to say, we didn't do the whole thing!

This small piece of it, ran south from Acle, crossing the A47 and the railway line, then heading across more open farmland, but all the while, keeping the river (an off-shoot of the Bure), to the side of us.

The trees were filled with singing birds. Chiff-chaffs, Willow Warblers and Wrens accompanying many others and even a Cuckoo - the first one we've heard for several years.

We couldn't believe how quiet it was. In fact, I don't think we saw a soul all along the walk.

Soon, it was time to turn back to Acle, taking in the parish church of Saint Edmund.

Somewhat unusually, the church has a round tower with an octagonal section on top. The round part dates from around 850 to 950 AD with the octagonal bit added in the 13th century and the battlements atop it, from 1472. It all looked very well looked-after too!

Still more to come...

Broads

Malcolm and I have had a few days enjoying the delights of the Norfolk Broads. We stayed at Acle and had a fine time exploring the surrounding countryside... Flat of course and rather watery!

Around the fields surrounding the river Bure, there are plenty of channels cut through the reeds to drain the land and lots of pump buildings of one sort or another, who's job it is (or has been), to lift water from lower channels, up into higher ones and eventually into the river Bure itself.

About a mile from the village, the main road crosses the Bure at a rather picturesque spot where small cruising boats go throbbing by.

By the bridge, the Acle Bridge Inn was busy with boaters and locals alike. The bridge itself was once a stone-built, three arched affair, but has been replaced a couple of times, the current one being built in 1997. The inn has also changed a lot over the years, but the current, thatched building looks lovely.

All along the river, old pump buildings are being replaced or updated too, often with thatched roofs...

and everywhere, huge, 'Norfolk, skies.

More to come....