A few days ago, when it was sunny - it was sunny wasn't it? I didn't dream it, did I? Well, the photos below tell me the sun did shine for a short while at least so we went for a walk at a local nature reserve, another one owned by the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. This reserve is right in the city just off the main road between Longton and Trentham.
Hem Heath Woods are bounded on one side by an industrial estate and on the other by the railway line which carries the Virgin West Coast trains. Across the road where you can see the Aldi sign is the site of the former Hem Heath colliery.
Once you are in the woods the sounds from the main road, the railway and the industrial units seem to dissipate leaving only the sound of birdsong of which there was quite a chorus. Happy birds to have found such an oasis in the city.
We last walked here a few weeks ago when the trees were bare but now they were a beautiful acid green in the dappled sunlight. Although the trees were lovely we had come seeking blue not green and further into the woods, past the clearing, we found what we were looking for.
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Carpets of blue
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shimmering in the sunlight
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Precious, delicate, ephemeral bluebells. Their beauty almost takes your breath away.
We lingered for ages before moving on to complete the walk which ends
just here - a newly created pathway to
The site of the Wedgwood Factory, Museum and Visitor Centre at Barlaston where you can linger a while
amongst the visitors from overseas, leaving their swish, air conditioned coaches behind, dashing towards the entrance, some stopping to take photos as they rush headlong into the next phase of their whistle stop tour.
You can linger for a coffee in The Ivy House Restaurant, perhaps visit the museum,
wander through the main shop
and the factory seconds shop or you can just make your way back through the woods .
Or you could, if you want to extend your walk, pick up the canal
towpath on the other side of the factory and walk back to the bridge on
Longton Road and then turn back down to the Hem Heath woods car park.
It would double the length of your walk but on a lovely day it is a beautiful stretch of the canal to walk along.
Hope you all have a lovely weekend.
I was wondering where I might be able to see bluebells (though this weekend is already spoken for!)
ReplyDeleteAnd I've never visited the Wedgwood centre. That's an idea for coming weeks.
This time last year we visited Old Moor Wood near Strelley, and saw some beautiful bluebells. The bluebells in Hem Heath Wood are at the Wedgwood end so you could park at the visitor centre and walk into the wood from there if you didn't want the longer walk - not sure how long they will last though, they have just come out this week:)
DeleteBeautiful, beautiful bluebells.. the canal walk sounds lovely too!
ReplyDeleteThere is something very special about bluebells! There are some lovely stretches of canal down beyond Wedgwood towards and beyond Stone and also up into the park in the city centre, after that it becomes a bit industrial but still has a historic beauty of its own:)
DeleteHow lovely. I need to go in search of bluebells now they're open. I have heard of Hem Heath but haven't been there, it looks like a pleasant place to walk, especially when extended along the canal.
ReplyDeleteI expect Parrot's Drumble is looking good now as well:)
DeleteLovely pictures, Rosie. We've been to Queenswood Country Park near us this morning - lots of bluebells there - beautiful. The Wedgewood Centre looks interesting. Have a good weekend, Abby x
ReplyDeleteThe Museum is fascinating to visit - so many beautiful things:)
DeleteAccess to a quiet woodland so near a busy road and the equally busy Wedgewood Centre would be very welcome. The walks along the canal must also be very pleasant. The bluebells are a lovely sight and it's good to seek them out when they're at their best.
ReplyDeleteWe've been waiting for the bluebells to open up for a week or two - it was lovely to see them at last:)
DeleteWos looks great, your bluebell wood photos look just like ones I took yesterday, they are so fleeting I need to photo them to look at on darker days
ReplyDeleteThe blue colour is so hard to capture on photos - they never do it justice:)
DeleteSuch a treat to find a beautiful bluebell wood! Were the bluebells a 'Wedgwood blue'!!! x
ReplyDeleteAh, nearly that 'Jasper' blue but far more beautiful for its ephemeral quality:)
DeleteLovely photos of the bluebells - and wonderful to find peace and beauty there when the surroundings are so noisy. The canal walk looks pleasant, too; strange to think that a couple of centuries ago this would have been the busy highway.
ReplyDeleteThe canal would certainly have been a hive of industry for all the coal and pottery works around the area. How times have changed:)
DeleteI did'nt even know that was there, thank you.
ReplyDeleteWe found it earlier this year and were surprised when we found Wedgwood at the other end, it is qite an interesting wood, there is a pond too:)
Deletewhat lovely photos sounds like you had a great day out:)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amanda. It was a lovely walk:)
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