September Sunshine.

                                                

                                                                             September Sun.

What an absolutely beautiful late Summers day, this is the last Sunday of September as I set off with my dog for an afternoon stroll over the fields to some ancient woodland. The sun was at its highest, the heat felt on my head and neck. The breeze was most welcome as I walked out in the open. My little Cocker Spaniel was searching through the cover as we crossed through the pasture and the new plantation, his nose to the ground searching for the scents drifting over the ground of any passing Rabbit, Hare, Pheasant or Partridge.
Overhead a Buzzard or two circled on the thermals created from the warm air as it rises upwards from the ground. A rabbit shot out as my dog entered some ground cover, I called him, he had a smug look on his face as if to say aren't I a clever boy dad.
As I carried on along the track towards the wood through the new plantation I noticed several Fairy Rings. They were once believed to have been made by Fairies or caused by lighting or where an animal, such as a horse, was tethered to a stake in the ground but the explanation, although more scientific and less superstitious or romantic is caused by the additional nitrogen that is released by the fungal underground mycelium of the network of fine threads that the fungi produce. According to country lore it is taboo to interfere with a fairy ring in any way, for fear of being struck dead and any young boys wishing to avoid being enticed into the ring to dance with the fairies, must wear their hats back to front as they walked by them.



A Fairy Ring.

With no further ado we entered the ancient woodland reckoned to be over 300 years old. A Tawny Owl called out from a nearby tree and a Jay flew into the trees disturbed by my dog, as it was collecting acorns. As I walk along I wonder if I am perhaps walking in the footsteps of Robin Hood or where Kings and other nobles once hunted the deer and wild boar that once lived here.
Many years ago it was thought that these woods once had herds of wild cattle in them that were hunted for their meat. It is said that Earl De Ferrers a Norman Knight who came over with William the Conquer herded up some of these cattle and put them in the Great Park he created at Chartley Castle, where you can see the remains from the road as you travel to Stafford from Uttoxeter through Loxley, where Robin Hood is said to have come from. Walking on through the fallen acorns and the newly fallen leaves, signs that Autumn is now with us, as I walked on through the wood I looked at the different trees that are there. The Old Ancient Oaks that still survive after hundreds of years, the Beech Trees and Ash that make up this truly amazing beauty spot. I walked through the wood and out into the old pasture, an open area where even now cattle graze and feed on the fallen Crab Apples from the trees that have been there forever. The cattle that once grazed here were the Aurocs and the descendants of these cattle that were herded up and driven to Chartley can be seen grazing around the old castle ruins. These cattle became to be known as the White Park.

 A Chartley Bull.

A Herd of White Park.

Wild Boar.

I sat down on the seat that looks out across the little Brook and over the valley, I took in all the sights the view presented me loving every breath I took as several Dragonflies dashed backwards and forwards around me. I had seen a few days earlier here a Red Tailed Kite circling overhead but it was not to be seen today.
Having rested for a while I set off along the footpath beside the wood for a short distance before taking the path back into the wood again and out on to the fields that took me back to the car park. My walk over, we got back into my vehicle to take the scenic route home. It was an enjoyable afternoons outing.

Oak Wood.

Oak Wood.