Stunning pictures of a Kingfisher feeding on the banks of the River Goyt in New Mills, accessible from the steps beside New Mills Heritage Centre Pictures by jonkiddphotography.com
Flora and fauna – female Kingfisher Read More »
One thing leads to another. I don’t know whether you saw it, but last winter I posted an entry about the large number of field voles there were in rough pastureland around town (increases like this are called ‘explosions’ and a similar thing occurs with lemmings – close relations – in Northern Europe). Well it
Flora and fauna – Barn Owls Read More »
The curators at New Mills Heritage Centre were delighted to be invited by the BBC to take along the museum’s WW1 Torr Top Tunnel trench sign for filming at Lyme Park last week (10th September). The day stayed fine and was much enjoyed by the museum party made up of curators Linda Whitaker, Maureen Hall,
Antiques Road Show Read More »
Flora and fauna : Jaywalking We were visited by a pair of these beauties the other day, collecting peanuts (they can hold up to a dozen in their gullet at one time) to store in hidey holes. You’re most likely to see them in the autumn when they’re busy collecting their favourite food, acorns, and
Flora and fauna : Jaywalking Read More »
Foxy ladies What a good year for foxgloves. They take a full two years to reach flowering…and as you’ll know the aim of all flowers is to attract insects which pass on pollen to fertilise others. Through evolution, different flowers have developed expertly to attract specific pollenating insects from tiny wasps and flies to the
Flora and fauna – Foxgloves Read More »
Familiar to everyone the wren is still a favourite of mine…(does anyone else remember them on farthings?) We’re lucky enough to have a pair nesting in a quiet corner of the garden again this year; they’ve spruced up a nest which was built two years ago, but was left unused last year. Normally the male
Flora and fauna – four for a penny Read More »
In my book there are wild creatures, and there are WILD creatures. The former include bluetits, rabbits, robins, blackbirds and so on…the sort we see every day, but the latter, they are the ones that haven’t seen much of humankind. They spend most of their lives in wild, sometimes desolate places and scarper at the
Flora and fauna – Ouzels Read More »
Webs of intrigue? I was reading recently about spiders webs and in particular the silk that they’re made from. Most of us know of its strength, stronger than the equivalent steel thread (so they say) but what I certainly didn’t know was how it actually soaked up heat. I assume this speeds up the
‘Handy for the Hills’ has long been a phrase synonymous with New Mills and has long been an attraction for those that go running in the hills around New Mills. We are spoilt for choice with routes up past The Fox Inn at Brookbottom towards Mellor Cross, up and around Lantern Pike towards Rowarth or
Anyone walking up behind Whimberry Wood lately will probably have seen the large flock of lapwings which have been wintering there. These wonderfully aerobatic birds, members of the plover family, are evocative of our area preferring to nest on damp meadows where they forage for food (worms and insects), nest, and bring up their young.
Having our Peewits about us Read More »
