Burbage Brook & Longshaw Estate

All 4 of us to day and we had a 06:00 start with Geoff driving. No idea where we were going except to try and keep out of muddy fields. We ended up parking up at the ice cream spot at the entrance to Padley Gorge. We went through the gate and down to the wooden pedestrian bridge and the we turned right. We walked up the side of Burbage Brook crossed over the main road and into the area leading up to Burbage Rocks. The boys wanted to have a look in a pond to see if there were any newts which we've seen there before. No newts but plenty of frogs and spawn. We had our breakfast there then headed back along the path we had came on until we got to the main road then we went into the woods leading to Longshaw estate. We passed the old and new Stoops at the entrance then went to the visitor centre and sat watching the birds feeding for a while. From there it was a slow walk down through the estate footpaths past the lake and back to the car.

Route around Longshaw

Even the outflow pipe just behind the gate was flowing well

Bridge over Burbage Brook

Part of the route has been paved

Me

Ike

Rob

Geoff, Ike & Rob

View up to Carl Wark from Burbage bridge

Gateway to the Burbage Valley

Ancient unfinished trough

You have to feel sorry for the poor guy who was making this, looks almost finished when it got a crack through it.

Geoff

The old pack horse bridge 

Looking for newts

Friendly sheep

Breakfast stop

This is hard to see with it being underwater but its a frog spawning

Handful of frog spawn

Track through the Burbage Valley

Mountain bikers

Geoff trying out his golf swing, i think he needs some lessons

How can a tree grow like this

This is called the monkey seat, see next pic for explanation

3 wise monkeys

New and old Stoops

Female Siskin

Female Siskin

Male Siskin

Nuthatch

Longshaw lake

Looks like someone has lost their wellies

Female and Male Mandarin

Male Mandarin

Higger Tor and Carl Wark in the distance

Who can see the tortoises face

Odd shaped fairy tree

This tree has literally got knotted

An old swallows nest in the info barn next to the icecream van.

Inside the information barn

 This was a very pleasant little walk just over 3 miles across moors and through woods, a couple of the short tracks we had not been on before.
Get out and About and see you next week