Brailsford Fishing Lakes & All Saints Church

All Saints Church - Brailsford

We didn't stray far this week, Ike wanted to have a look at Brailsford Church and Rob thought we could check out some fishing lakes he had heard about in the Brailsford area. We parked at Ike's Daughters cottage on the outskirts of Brailsford and took a route to down Slack Lane across the A52 and into the first of many fishing lakes under the banner of Birch House Lakes Fisheries.
Rob & Ike had a chat to a fisherman on the first lake finding out what fish are stocked, day tickets etc.
From there we tracked across a footpath that has not been used very much, some of them very overgrown and not marked , its just a good job i had my GPS to verify the track routes.
Brailsford Church is very unusual that it sits remotely in the middle of fields.

1st of the fishing lakes

Heading to the church

Sign outside the church

 Brailsford Church, or half a church as stated in the Domesday Book - referring to its status as a shared church between Brailsford and the hamlet of Ednaston - is about half a mile from the village. It was originally built in the 11th and 12th centuries and consists of a nave, chancel, south aisle and tower. There have been later modifications like the 14th century chancel arch. The tower is ashlar-faced and diagonally buttressed with a Perpendicular west door and west window. It contains an octagonal font in the Perpendicular style, with the lower part of the base exhibiting the Tudor rose. In the churchyard is a mid 11th century Saxon cross, showing interlace and a human figure

Mid 11th century Saxon cross

All Saints Church Brailsford

This oak gate had a wooden latch

Geoff taking a rest in the church yard

We left the church and followed the footpaths to Ednaston

Footpaths were overgrown

Part of the footpath actually went through the back of private gardens

Heart of Ednaston village.

It is a sign of the success of Birch House Lakes that a fishery which started off as one small pool 16 years ago now boasts eight lakes and 13 acres of water - with room to spare for the possible addition of other waters in the next few years Part of a 1,030-acre arable farm which produces potatoes and cereal crops, the fishery itself now occupies 15 acres and provides a mix of pleasure and match angling on new and established waters which should appeal to most anglers.

More fishermen taking part in a match.

This was in a garden just alongside the footpath

This gate and footpath hasn't been used for a very long time.

We had to clear debris off the bridge to get over the brook.

This field was just covered with Himalayan Balsam

 Himalayan Balsam is sometimes cultivated for its flowers. It is now widely established in other parts of the world (such as the British Isles and the United States), in some cases becoming an invasive species weed. The aggressive seed dispersal, coupled with high nectar production which attracts pollinators, often allows the Himalayan Balsam to out compete native plants. In the UK the plant was first introduced in 1839 at the same time as Giant Hogweed and Japanese Knotweed. These plants were all promoted at the time as having the virtues of "herculean proportions" and "splendid invasiveness" which meant that ordinary people could buy them for the cost of a packet of seeds to rival the expensive orchids grown in the greenhouses of the rich. Within ten years, however, Himalayan balsam had escaped from the confines of cultivation and begun to spread along the river systems of England. Today it has spread across most of the UK and some local wildlife trusts organise "balsam bashing" events to help control the plant

Another unmarked bridge 

Geoff  being chased by a Shetland pony.

Rob getting a nice straight Hazel stick

2 dogs and a chicken chasing each other.

Ike watching his snap.

Breakfast at Rachel's.

We had an interesting walk although only 3 and a half miles it was very pleasant and we trekked over some footpaths not used for years. We got back to the car early and had a quick breakfast before heading off home.
See you next week
Cheers