This week we have a guest blog provided by a local visitor Steph Woodhouse! Steph regularly visits Coombes Valley with her family, and this week tells us about her adventures in her local wild space:
About a mile or so from our house we're really lucky to have the most fabulous RSPB nature reserve nestled in the gorgeous Coombes Valley, part of the bigger Churnet Valley landscape that we call home. We visit often to enjoy this beautiful wooded valleys, the meadow and for our boys the stream has always been a huge draw.
We follow the reserve on social media as it’s a great way to hear about wildlife sightings (like the magnificent barn owls) and special events that are often on during school holidays. News about a new play trail and lots of other exciting developments at Coombes meant we just had to visit for the Open Day on a recent Saturday just as our long summer finally slipped into autumn.
Coombes Valley Open Day: The new yurt! Photo by Steph Woodhouse
It was the most brilliant afternoon of discovery and exploration. There’s a great new trail laid to open up access to some of the younger woodland that the RSPB manages, as well as new footpaths to make the site more wheelchair, pushchair and family friendly. What we love about Coombes is that it's quite a small reserve with tons of different habitats including meadows and native woodlands that cling to the hillsides. Now our boys are a bit bigger and up to walking for longer we’re really looking forward to exploring the longer Woodcock Trail to enjoy some really different aspects of the valley.
The Treetop View: wild woods of the Woodcock Trail. Photo by Lucy Hodson
We started off the open day by getting involved in all the special activities taking place, with pond dipping especially being a huge hit. Lovely volunteers helped us identify everything from the familiar water boatman and pond skaters to less recognisable mayfly larvae and a lovely whirlygig beetle. Just brilliant entertainment for wild kids like ours!
Barney & Archie dipping for pond minibeasts. Photo by Steph Woodhouse
Our next stop was a the fantastic new yurt where the Staffordshire Bat Group had the tiniest pipestrelle bat to show us as well explaining lots more about the other bats that live on the reserve.
Then it was time to head out into the woodland and we headed for the new path to a great area woodland where you can make dens to your heart's content, search for bugs, explore the storytelling circle and see where, very soon, a new aerial canopy walkway will give you the chance to get a bird's eye view of the woodland from the treetops! There's a certain eight year old we know who just can't wait for that!
The Treetop Canopy Walkway in progress! Photo by Lucy Hodson
I got quite over excited about the marvellous little fairy houses the volunteers have worked so hard to create. They're completely magical and I was totally absorbed in the detail of doorways, window frames, roof tiles and even lanterns and garden swings they'd made.
Hints of our magical Fairy Village. Photo by Lucy Hodson
We could really feel autumn upon us at Coombes especially with the mist lingering and that dampness in the air that heralds the change of the season. My most favourite moment was when a huge flock of sixty or more goldfinches flew above our heads.
Coombes Valley is a truly special place and free to visit for RSPB members. The RSPB are doing terrific work improving the site and managing the landscape for wildlife and visitors to all get the most out of it. Thanks to all the staff and volunteers we met today who were really friendly and welcoming and helped us find out so much more about our lovely local reserve.
Barney & Archie: the end of a great day in the wild! Photo by Steph Woodhouse
We'll be back again really soon...
For more of Steph's blogs, posts and photographs about adventures at Coombes Valley & other wild places, follow her on twitter: @curlewsteph or find her blog here:
http://curlewcountry.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/wild-afternoon-coombes-valley.html
Come adventure around our play trail at any time; it's always open! Would you like to have a half-term outdoors? We have plenty of events at Coombes this October:
Join us on our Fungal Foray (October 26th), Halloween Scavenger hunt (October 25th - November 2nd), or Woodland Wizardry afternoon (October 31st) for a variety of woodland & wildlife activities. For more info on events, or Coombes Valley in general please visit: www.rspb.org.uk/coombesvalley or call us on: 01538 384017
My very amateur wildlife photos: instagram.com/lucy_lapwing