Walking Jenny Nobles Gill

 

It was such a beautiful morning I decided to walk round Jenny Nobles Gill which takes you onto The Tarras Valley Nature Reserve and my favourite walk. Normally I would take about 1.5 hours to do this walk of 4 miles but today I stopped 3 times as it was so beautiful and sat and enjoyed the sounds of the birds singing. My first stop and 10 minute seat was at The Round House.

I notice TVNR has cut a lot of the dead bracken, but no doubt it will come again in the spring

The first of the Longwood Oak trees with many of them over 300 years old

Although the path was quite muddy and waterlogged in places it was not too bad at this part of the walk.

A couple of the very old Oak trees

This one is one of my favourites

And this must be one of the oldest

The sign post for Jenny Nobles Gill

The old railway line and the site of my next 10 minute rest. I recorded 5 native birds on my phone app in a 5 minute spell. None of them were visitors. Robin, Wren, Great Tit, Blue Tit and a Coal Tit. In a few weeks time I will sit in the same place and should get lots more. My record last spring was 22 birds in a 10 minute spell.

The entrance from the road to Jenny Nobles Gill and the new sign identifying it as TVNR and not Buccleuch Estates. I found a Geocache among the trees near here.

Skippers Bridge from as far down the banking as I dared to go

Border Esk which has been a distillery a garage and now private houses. 

Skippers Bridge from the other side. My last stop was at Langholm Old Bowling Club to see the tremendous work being done by the club to improve the clubhouse. All should be ready for the opening of the green at the end of April. The green is in excellent condition, but I forgot to take a photograph of it.

A most enjoyable 2 hour walk.

A Wet Summer Fortnight

Since my last blog two weeks ago the weather has been pretty awful and I have just done local walks in the rain with maybe a couple of long ones on the few decent days. This was on Monday 20th July when I headed up to Glendinning in the Meggat Valley. The purpose of my visit was to visit Meg who works at The Buccleuch Centre and she lives in the Meggat Valley, but is on Furlough at the moment and I have to contact her every month. It's such a pleasure to walk up Meggat and to be able to get a chat and a Coffee with Meg is just a great bonus. There are a few little bridges on the river and this one is very dangerous and not to be crossed.

This is for the sheep and was crossed by this pair of sheep before I had a chance to catch them on mid bridge 

I walked about 1.5 miles up the valley and then headed back down again. All the time I was walking their were Buzzards flying about and their cry was constantly heard.

I had been unable to photograph the pair of Buzzards as they flew about overhead but just as I went past this plantation of trees they settled in them and I was at last able to get a good photograph.

The perfect pose just as it landed on the tree

And a few seconds later

On my way back down I met the shepherd and his dogs and had a grand crack for 10 minutes

At the end of my walk up the Meggat Valley I visited Thomas Telford's memorial cairn

A selfie.

On Friday night it had been very wet and my intention was to walk round jenny Noble's Gill on Saturday 25th July but I only got as far at just beyond The Skippers Bridge where this huge tree had blocked the road. It looked as if another tree might come down as well as the embankment above it was a bit precarious. The road was not eventually reopened until late on Sunday.  

You can just see the fence at the top where the Langholm Walks footpath takes you so I decided not to go up there in case it was dangerous.   

The Esk on either side of The Skippers Bridge 

At The Kilngreen Mr Grumpy The Heron was conducting a choir of Mallard Ducks in a Common Riding song.

The Meeting of the Esk and Ewes rivers 

When I go my regular walk I try to come past this garden at the top of Walter Street which is always perfect and a real splash of colour. 

On Sunday evening Centre Stage had lit up the Parish Church the celebrate what would normally have been The Kirkin of the Cornet and with the accompanying music this was spectacular except for the millions of midges that had also come along.