Just on my doorstep. (pic heavy)

[mick91]

Being at a bit of a loose end, johnie and I decided today to go for a little walk around the wooded area near my house. It's an area we have walked through literally thousands of times, for a start we used to walk through it twice a day to and from school! Never really paid attention to the place before but from now on certainly will. Interesting flora and fauna and some amazing views. Even if there is some stupid signage!

the castle the dene is named after, it has a nearby housing estate named after it too, to give you an idea how close, this is a 180 turn around pic

A short walk into the woods showed the damage of high winds, a huge felled tree

The stupid signage starts rather early, on a marsh, indiciating it's a marsh, in case you hadn't noticed

Although we did notice some kind of reed we didn't recognise

Along with a good supply of cramp ball

Upon climbing the hill in the dene and passing one of our haunts we went past the lambton worm

And some of the views although bang in the middle of a city are quite something

Walking back you come across some more tremendous signage

In reference to this small area of swamp

The larger pond further in was home to a few ducks, usually around me in season their lifespan is somewhat shortened but nice to see them about

The problem with the area is the water quality of you where to camp it, the reason I would boil it from that stream!

And just a little tip that most people know, this kind of compass is surprisingly accurate!

A really nice walk out and noticed some things we've both overlooked many many times. As I mentioned we walked through it at least twice a day for school, and then 6 nights out of 7 generally hung around in there (not sure we where all that ecologically sound!) but certainly somewhere I'll be going back to for more little afternoon jaunts like that. But next time we'll be brewing up! Go out and explore your local woods, it's amazing how often you look but don't see!

 

[kaiAnderson]

whats the house? it looks boarded up?

 

[crosslandkelly]

Nice trip report, proves you don't need to go far, just to open your eyes.

 

[mick91]

whats the house? it looks boarded up?

It's the remnants of Hylton castle, long since empty of course, it was occupied by barons as I understand up until the 1800s then used for a short time as a school

 

[bob_the_baker]

The reeds are horsetail ferns, edible when young and found in every continent except Antarctica
L

 

[mick91]

The reeds are horsetail ferns, edible when young and found in every continent except Antarctica
L

Thanks for that, very useful! I'm what way are they edible? As in processing etc?

 

[crosslandkelly]

From wiki.


If eaten over a long enough period of time, some species of horsetail can be poisonous to grazing animals, including horses.[15] The toxicity appears to be due to thiaminase enzymes, which can cause thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency.[16][17][18][19] People have regularly consumed horsetails. The young plants are eaten cooked or raw, but considerable care must be taken.[20] For example, the fertile stems bearing strobili of some species are cooked and eaten like asparagus (a dish called tsukushi[21]) in Japan.[22] The people of ancient Rome would eat meadow horsetail in a similar manner, and they also used it to make tea as well as a thickening powder.[23] Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest eat the young shoots of this plant raw.[24] The plants are used as a dye and give a soft green colour. An extract is often used to provide silica for supplementation. Horsetail was often used by Indians to polish wooden tools. Equisetum species are often used to analyze gold concentrations in an area due to their ability to take up the metal when it is in a solution.[23]

 

[dewi]

Looks like you've had an adventure! Love that castle... beautiful building.

The signs you see all around are ironically for the people who can't see what is in front of them... and for some reason the councils think they will read the signs and more importantly, pay attention to what the signs say.

Best one I've seen, which I believe is a spoof, is a huge sign stating that the edges of the sign are sharp in big letters, then underneath in much smaller text it reads 'by the way, the bridge is out'

 

[Johnie]

Nice trip report, proves you don't need to go far, just to open your eyes.

No truer word spoken. We've lived on top of it our entire lives. Excellent days wandering this was

 

[mick91]

No truer word spoken. We've lived on top of it our entire lives. Excellent days wandering this was

Apart from me slipping over

 

[mick91]

Looks like you've had an adventure! Love that castle... beautiful building.

The signs you see all around are ironically for the people who can't see what is in front of them... and for some reason the councils think they will read the signs and more importantly, pay attention to what the signs say.

Best one I've seen, which I believe is a spoof, is a huge sign stating that the edges of the sign are sharp in big letters, then underneath in much smaller text it reads 'by the way, the bridge is out'

When you come up here not a bother if you fancy a 15 min wander round it Dewi mate. Cracking day out. Aye I feel that sign may be a spoof... Well I hope!

 

[mick91]

I did forget to add. Probably not a suitable area to camp in, it is (or at least was when I was that age) a popular drinking spot for teenagers, for all the damage they do is honestly quite minimal they'll still probably keep you awake