" Stanford ~ Angie and David's ~ " at EveryTrail
 

[ Alter the settings to zoom or change the Map, use Everytrail to download the Gps route ]

 

On the way home from visiting family we were invited to spend two nights with Angie and David at their home.

They live in the middle of the countryside north of Stamford, their house being the Old Keeper's Cottage on the Holywell Estate.

Consequently there are marvellous walks from the door for ourselves and the dogs.

Angie and I just before or after one of the walks.

The only picture I have of David at the house.

Sorry David but I think Ann was taking a photo of the lilies . . . still you feature shortly . . . hang on a bit.

A little further round the woodland  Dylan suddenly stopped and stared . . . a new sight for him . . . a Fallow Deer crossed the path ahead.

Full marks for Dylan, at just five months he stopped when asked and returned to me without question.  I think he's going to be a very obedient dog.

He was so good that I had time and the confidence to catch this picture of a second deer

just before they both turned and disappeared into the woods.

Lovely Beech Trees with twisted trunks a little further on.   - - - o o o - - -   Down at the bottom of the wood we reach the local river, an unnamed tributary of the larger West Glen River that flows through Little and Castle Bytham.     The West Glen is a tributary of the Welland that makes its way through the Lincolnshire Fens and out to the sea at The Wash. (so now you know)   - - - o o o - - -

The relatively small weir on the river forms a delightful pond.

The small lake provides a haven for wildlife and riverside flowers.

Harry and Dylan stop on a telegraph pole bridge over the river just a short distance upstream.

The dogs and I return to the house for breakfast.

Before you query it, this is the old stables / kennels in the woods . . . not Angie and David's house !

- - - o o o - - -

While we were there we drove over to Market Deeping to visit Maureen, David's sister.

She has recently moved into a lovely riverside bungalow in the village.

Maureen and Angie stand on the bank that forms the flood defence between the Welland and the houses.

The river is moving slowly and there's quite a lot of river plants / pond weed in the centre.

Maureen's new house boasts a riverside deck and a small rowing boat too.

Looking across the river as a family of ducks swim past.

Hold your cursor over the picture to zoom in a little.

If Angie wanted to fish for tidlers she'd be better off holding the net the other way up !

As it is, she's using the handle to ascertain the depth of the water.

The boat was moored up by the staging so David and I decided to haul it out and see what state it was in.

Once out on the grass the next job was to get the pressure washer working . . . we fight the hose reel to see why the water won't flow.

That's better . . . and any spray that splashes the wrong way is quite refreshing in this hot weather.

The ladies tackle a little weeding in the garden, removing some tall hemlock from the hedge.

We're joined by Phil, Maureen's son and together the three of us turn the boat over in order to clean the underside.

Angie enjoys work . . . she can sit and watch it for hours.

David cleans the last nooks and crannies and finds the fibre glass boat in better condition than expected.

He and Phil will be able to restore it to working order reasonably easily.

In the mean time Ann and the dogs enjoyed the garden.

Thanks to Maureen for the invite and for the tea and cakes . . . and a tree from the river for Dylan to chew !

- - - o o o - - -

Angie often mentioned the badgers that come into her garden late at night

so around midnight one night we left the garden light on low and put out some scraps to see if they would turn up.

I turned up the dimmer switch to try for a better picture but he wasn't impressed

so grabbed a piece of food moved off into the bushes just after I took this slightly brighter shot.

- - - o o o - - -

Next day I joined Angie and Ann for another walk in the woods.

It is a fine morning again . . .

A lovely gree/brown Small Skipper butterfly on the woodland leaves.

(Thanks Angie for the identification)

I think this is a male Red Admiral butterfly with its wings closed.

The lake is looking even prettier in the mid-morning sun.

A lovely reflection of the tree and fence opposite.

Alongside the lake the owner has built a summer house which is used for barbeques and relaxing with friends.

On the way through the woods we looked up and saw this fine buzzard.

Many thanks to Angie and David for their hospitality on our journey north.

- - - o o o - - -

- - - o o o - - -