I'm still playing catch up after several days without internet followed by a busy week...
Monday 11th June
A sunny, pleasant evening and, having not been outdoors beyond a short time in the garden, I made a spur of the moment decision to head for a late afternoon walk in Dovedale. I haven't been here for a while. It's somewhere I will only visit on weekday evenings or weekends if the weather is not so good as it is, of course, one of the Peak District's iconic spots and is therefore far too busy for my liking!
I have so many photos for this post so I won't say too much, I'll just let the pictures speak for me mostly :)
The River Dove separates Staffordshire and Derbyshire here and, as I do on most visits, I walked up the dale in Derbyshire and back down in Staffordshire.
There were so many mayflies around. Ephemera danica I think.
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| Dryad's saddle - in the same spot I photographed much larger specimens last time. |
After the first set of fossil-filled limestone steps, I left the main path and headed off up the hill.
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| lacewing |
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| common blue |
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| View above Dovedale |
I headed back along the hill, with Thorpe Cloud just ahead.
Looking down on the Twelve Apostles...
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| cranefly (Tipula luna I think) |
I sat down to watch the grasshoppers for a few minutes and was surrounded by a very nice scent. I'd sat on some kind of mint.
Descending, heading down towards the stepping stones...
There were ravens overhead and redstarts in the trees...
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| Redstart |
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| Cinnabar moth |
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| Large skipper |
Back down beside the Dove. I went for a little paddle of course.
Before crossing the famous stepping stones, into Staffordshire, and following the river back to the start.
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| King Alfred's Cake fungus |
When I got back to the car park, I found my car covered in mayflies. Probably at the end of their life but I did move them all to the surrounding grasses, just in case.
Today's walk was just an after work quickie, around 2.5 miles but it was well worth heading out.
You can see a different walk in Dovedale, from September 2016, here - http://louises30dayswild.blogspot.com/2016/09/a-walk-in-dovedale.html
On this day in 2017 I helped a bee in my garden. The year before that was a little wilder, a whole day on the coast and many hours spent rock pooling in Treardurr Bay. In 2015 I had a quick evening picnic in a wildflower meadow.
What a beautiful walk. I will have to visit Dovedale one day :) x
ReplyDeleteLike you I try and avoid the dale at the weekend and always start at Milldale, that way I can often reach Ilam Rock before meeting anyone. I also frequently avoid most of the dale floor heading uphill at the caves to drop back down into the dale at Lover's Leap and come back via Bunster Hill, dropping back down at Ilam Rock. Occasionally I make myself walk through the whole of the dale, but never in summer.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's a nice walk too :)
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