Saturday 30th April

This afternoon we walked around the gardens at Harlow Carr. The tulips were in full bloom.

http://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/harlow-carr

Saturday 23rd April

Back again in Altrincham and we visited Denzell Gardens, another local park. It was busy and much more extensive than we expected.

http://www.friendsofdenzellanddevisdale.com/history.htm

From there we returned to Lymm and walked along the canal tow path in the other direction, towards Manchester.

Wednesday 20th April

We visited Dunham Massey near Altrincham, a National Trust property.

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-dunhammassey.htm

The formal gardens were lovely, varied and colourful in the bright sunshine.

There are various lakes and water features in the grounds.

We walked along the extensive trails through mature woodland around the deer reserve.

The deer weren't afraid of people and came close when feeding.

Tuesday 19th April

We are in Altrincham at present and explored nearby John Leigh park which is a very pleasant area with something for everyone.

In the afternoon we went to Lymm and walked around Lymm Dam.

We went through the town and followed the tow path along the Bridgewater Canal.

In the centre of Lymm is the cross that commemorates Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and is built on an outcrop of sandstone.

Tuesday 12th April

Following a recommendation we drove to Langsett, on the edge of the Peak District, to try out a walk in a new area .

Due to an emergency we could not park where we had planned and so this was the start of our walk.

Eventually we came to this feeder stream which we had to cross several times as it was very boggy on either side.

In places there were steep rocky outcrops.

There were lots of Swaledale sheep and lambs all along the route.

Further downstream we spotted this dipper.

We continued to follow the stream to the edge of the reservoir.

When we finished the walk we drove to Langsett Barn to view the dam at the other end of the reservoir.

Saturday 9th April

For a second weekend we visited the York Open Studios, this time in the villages surrounding York.

http://www.yorkopenstudios.co.uk/

We were very impressed with the skills of a woodcarver in Acaster Malbis.

We found a rather good place for a picnic nearby

Wednesday 6th April

We drove to Pateley Bridge to check out the 6.5 mile walk that we are leading for the U3A next week. It was a beautiful warm day with few people around.

The route took us up the sides of becks that feed into the River Nidd. It was a clear day with views for miles in all directions.

Half way round the route we came to Merryfield lead mines where we crossed the bridge at the bottom and had a break by the stream.

The route then took us through farms where there were lots of new born lambs and eventually back down into Pateley Bridge.

Sunday 3rd April

We enjoyed a family visit to York Open studios walking along the city walls between the different venues.