A fine day in Autumn

Being at home means I can take advantage of good weather days and Tuesday this week was such a day. I had arranged with Pearl, a colleague from many years ago, to meet on Cannock Chase and walk.


We met on the Commonwealth war cemetery car park situated in the middle of the Chase and started walking. We kept to paths and headed for the stepping stones a few miles ahead. Being so close to centres of population means that the Chase has thousands of visitors and can be crowded, but being a working day and well into Autumn we saw very few other people.


The signs of Autumn were all around and on this bright sunny day the colours were distinct. The Chase, an area of heathland, has gentle hills as well as moor like areas. We passed this lightly wooded hillside - tree growth is kept in check by rabbits and deers - Forestry Commision Rangers making sure that a balance is maintained.


Water collects in the valleys, small streams feeding shallow pools. We walked across the stepping stones through such a pool and started the return route. Although the temperature was supposed to be cool it felt gloriously warm - the walking helped to increase how warm we felt!


The fern on the hillsides prove that Autumn is well and truly here. In some parts of the Chase there is so much heather that the ground looks purple. The trees on the Chase are mainly deciduous, but there are great tracts of conifers planted by the Forestry Commission. We stayed away from those areas during this walk - they give the Chase quite a different feel.


The Chase is a very popular recreational area as well as the home to an array of wildlife. We didn't see any of the deer, although thare are several hundreds of them. They have the sense to keep out of sight during the day, but can be seen at the watery places in the evening. There was birdsong. There was also evidence that the Chase is a popular place for horse riding. I saw the evidence and thought of your blog B.
We had walked and talked for three hours by the time we got back to our cars, so we drove to a cafe, situated at another popular part of the Chase. We feasted on tea and scones to help revive our flagging energy levels. It was a very enjoyable day.