Gelly Babes: Brierley Birds and Butties

10th January 2017

Brierley Forest Park

The day dawned grey and uninspiring but undaunted three babes, two Helens and Alison, and one excited dog, met at Brierley Forest Park for the first gathering of the New Year. We had hoped for an early showing from Pam but with no sign of her we set off for a short exploratory walk.

There's one up there somewhere

Having convinced Helen J that we weren't going to get savaged by Rottweiler's or Bull Terriers or their owners we walked up to Hardwick view, with some bird spotting on the way.

The water birds were a little but disappointing but Betty didn't seem to mind.

Betty choosing her lunch

Bess certainly chose a good spot to build her house...

....she would probably have knocked this down too and redeveloped the land!

No Betty, I am not wading across, you will have to come back the way you went!

Back at the Visitor Centre we settled down with a nice cup of tea (having decided that the coffee might not be of our preferred quality) ready for the arrival of Lynn and hopefully Pam.

Who's for a cup of oxo?

First outing for our new mascot - next stop Sri Lanka

Pam and Lynn arrived for lunch and we were soon tucking into variations of egg and bacon butties and beans on toast.

We were able to establish that most of us were not able to 'fold ourselves calm' and are going to need a lot more practice in the ancient art of origami - Alison proved her expertise with a quick demonstration. We all sent out love to Maggie.

Another bargain lunch

After lunch we set off for a walk, stopping first to spare a thought for the poor old miners who would no doubt be amazed at what their old workplace has become. Alison and Lynn also added their tales of their days down the pit.

Don't fancy yours much Helen J!

We followed the path round the park and the golf course admiring a bit of hedge laying along the way and trying to avoid the worst of the mud apart from Betty who was determined to make the most of it! and adding to the bird list.

We were all on the look out for this missing much loved family pet turkey, so sad to think that it went missing around Christmas time - the children must have been heartbroken - let us just hope that it has been found and safely returned to its home in Norfolk.

Finally we headed back to the visitor centre for another cup of tea and a discussion about the benefits of owning a pet - especially a rescue dog!