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| What appears to be a beautiful male House Sparrow, a very common bird seen near fields and estates. |
In a further attempt to explore the area we currently call home, the Mr and I decided some months back to visit
Bestwood Country Park which sits just north of Nottingham city centre. We had gone by dozens of times on our way in to Nottingham and just once, I thought, why not stop at this seemingly tranquil little park and see what it has to offer?
The park itself lies at the end of a long road that forks through Bestwood village, a close-knit community with many small housing estates with just one very popular neighbourhood shop on the main road. The bus stops just outside the park entrance. There is no parking or entrance fee and dogs on leads are welcome. As with all parks, however, we came across dozens of free roaming dogs and I couldn't help but wonder, for perhaps the millionth time, why couldn't I summon random portals to Florida swamp lands and watch how quickly the owners tethered their dogs. For the uninitiated, Florida is home to perhaps thousands of very large, very hungry alligators that wouldn't be bothered making a meal of a wayward dog.
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| These wheelie dealies greet you at the entrance of the park. |
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| Bestwood Winding Engine House |
Bestwood, once a coal mining facility, now is largely woodland and field except for the Bestwood Winding Engine House, the last remaining vestige of an almost extinct era.
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| The elevator leading down in to the colliery. |
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| The view of the Engine House from the backside of the forest. |
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| Looking down at the village below. |
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| Google indicates this may be a variety of Spirea Japonica commonly called "Joseph's Coat" |
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| This one is rather common throughout Britain. Called "Cow Parsley", this plant is edible but not tasty. It's related to the carrot. |
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| A meandering pathway of white. I didn't get a close enough look to establish variety. |
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| What a happy little Canada goose family! I think goslings are absolutely adorable! I wouldn't want to mess with the parents though. |
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A lovely wild rose in bloom. Many varieties bloom through the spring and summer months in Britain.
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The lake in the heart of Bestwood where we found swans, geese, ducks and Crowned Grebes that wouldn't sit still for a photo.
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What appears to be wild Red Campion growing in the thicket around the lake.
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This trail had many dozens of people meandering along, some fishing, others walking their dogs.
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| A water Iris. These plants, while very beautiful, are very poisonous if ingested! |
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| Which way shall I go, I wonder? |
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| Back at the Engine House. |
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| Feeling a bit peckish we stopped in at Larch Farm, somewhere we'd not been since I first visited the UK back in 2013. |
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| Flowers that remind me of the sunset, like this amazing orange rose, will always be dearly cherished by me. |
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| For not being a proper Italian restaurant the food was very decent and a good price for what you received. I always recommend stopping in at Larch Farm - but turn up before dinner or you may be out a seat! |
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| Now to end the lovely meal with a banana split! You can't see the banana through the whipped topping but I assure you it's there! |
Now seeing as it's taken me absolutely ages to post this simple article, I'll forewarn you now that the next ones will come out very quickly as we've gone loads of places since Bestwood and I truly need to catch up now else I will forever be left behind!
Tune in next time for my latest edition: Munich, Austria and Beyond!
