Manners Woods

First time this year all 4 of us together and the first time for weeks for me to get out with my camera. It was a 07:30 start, still dark and very cool with the forecast being cold and overcast all day. Ike wanted to have a trip around Manners Woods just beside Bakewell. Geoff had said its high up in the woods so there'll not be any mud around, well he was wrong, there was loads of it lol. Geoff has had a bad cold and was still coughing like a sick dog.We parked up close to the old Bakewell railway station and walked down the track until we got to the first footpath on the left that took us up past Bakewell Golf Club and then into Manners Woods. It was a bit of a struggle for me after being ill for a few weeks, i was very week and slogging up the hill was a real effort. There were quite a few tree's down over the track and we either had to climb over them or squeeze under them.The nice bit was getting onto the level section then coming down. The track was sometimes steep and sometimes very muddy. All the way through the woods which are quite extensive we only saw  a robin and a raven, unusually quiet. We came down out of the woods and found somewhere to have our breakfast and this is where we saw the first person on our walk, another walker out on his own stopped to have a chat.
The track came down past Coombs Farm where we had been a couple of weeks before. We got back onto the disused railway track where we saw a few more people out walking. Our eagle eyed Rob spotted some wild deer grazing way off in the distance below the woods.

Route around Manners Woods

Geoff at 80 still climbing over fences.

Footpath up the steps towards Manners Woods

Crossing over the golf course you have to ring the bell

View over the golf course

Fallen tree

Me just logging on

Ike & Rob

Geoff striding up the woods

Under one tree and over the other

Looks like some workings in the foreground

Lovely pine tree's

Lovely bit of colour in the woods

Rob & Ike

Geoff sporting his winter hat

Very misty and murky conditions but you can see Coombs farm on the right and the white bits on the left belong to  the buildings on Bakewell Show ground

Ike & Rob

Coombs farm

Geoff 

A herd of deer miles off in the distance

I only got one shot at this Goldcrest and it moved its head, you can just see its beak poking out.

 Just what i needed to get me out and about, a bit of a struggle and I'm very stiff sitting writing this. Just around 4 1/2 miles and we think this will be a very good walk in the spring/summer in better conditions. So we'll be back.

Cheers

Jim