Walking group

September Walk 

What a beautiful day it was for the Nursery group's recent walk at Kiplin Hall. The red brick building with its many chimney pots looked striking in the sunshine. We started the walk through the walled gardens where we saw lots of cordon apples, a colourful wildflower bed, leeks, runner beans, beetroot and herbs. Volunteer gardeners were picking raspberries and blackberries for the cafe. We then walked through woodland and came across a lily pond edged with large leaved gunnera plants. A couple of moor hens were hiding in the reeds. Some of the oak trees looked very old. We came out into parkland and had a great view of the hall through the avenue of lime trees. Back near the hall we saw topiary hedges shaped into peacocks, a white garden and attractive perennial borders. Down by the lake, we could hear and see lots of geese and a turreted folly across the water. Ellen spotted several turquoise dragon flies on the path. We had a welcome drink at the tearoom with its dark panelling and large paintings. A picnic lunch was taken on the terrace facing the lake.

After lunch, we toured the house full of furniture, paintings and belongings from the four families who had lived there over the past 400 years. The library and bedrooms with ornate four poster beds were especially grand. The hall was used by the military during the second world war and we saw a bathroom from the era. We ended the day relaxing in the gardens and having a fun quoits match. Well done everyone.

April walk

April's walking group bravely fought all sorts of weather at not so sunny Redcar. On arriving at the seafront, we were faced with blustery winds. The waves were roaring and it was difficult to spot the offshore wind turbines through the mist! The promenade was ideal for our wheelchair users. William enjoyed manoeuvring his chair slalom style through the penguin sculptures and water fountains. The viewing platform at The Beacon with its curved metal ribbons was closed.  Lots of small fishing boats and old tractors lined our route before we reached Zetland Lifeboat Museum. It has free entrance and houses The Zetland, the oldest surviving lifeboat in the world. Some of us were able to view the impressive boat from a platform. It looked huge and would have needed 8 to10 rowers. The boat was built in 1802 and saw 78 years of service. Some of us went upstairs to see a replica of a 1900's fisherman's cottage kitchen, lots of old Redcar photos and a jaw bone from one of the recent stranded sperm whales. We then visited Redcar Palace, a new arts venue where we saw a jewellery exhibition, colourful rag rugs and crafts by local artists. On leaving it was raining heavily, so we rushed back to the bus. We ended the day at Kirkleatham Museum where we just had time to see the First World War room with its model of a biplane. Well done everyone for braving the weather. Thanks Gary for driving.

February Walk

A group from ABLE Day Service had a lovely walk in the grounds of Kiplin Hall this week. It was a good time to visit, as the annual Snowdrop Strolls had started. We got a map with the numbered trail from the entrance. There were carpets of snowdrops and aconites everywhere. We saw several different varieties, and some had a honey fragrance. The topiary hedges shaped like peacocks were impressive too. We walked through the large walled kitchen garden with leeks, artichokes, parsley and kale growing. The paths were muddy in places, but bark chippings made the going easier in the woodland. The red brick of the Jacobean Hall made a great backdrop for the many drifts of snowdrops. It was then good to warm up with hot drinks in the panelled tearoom. After a picnic lunch, we explored the trail a little further. Well done everyone. Thanks to Stefan for driving.

January Walk

A group from Northdale Day Service set off for Studley Royal deer park just as Storm Jocelyn was subsiding and were lucky to walk in the dry. After arriving at the Studley Roger entrance, we found they'd closed the car park, so we parked in the village. We walked through the striking entrance archway and up the main avenue towards the church. Looking back we had a good view of the distant Ripon Cathedral. The deer were nowhere in sight, so we turned right up a track and finally spotted almost a hundred of them in one large herd. There were several red deer stags with their impressive antlers, fallow and the smaller sika deer. Mark G expertly pointed out a low flying barn owl. We also saw some very old oak trees with ideal hollows for owls. Further on, we passed the grand stable block of the former Studley Royal House and crossed a stone bridge. By now it was a bit squelchy underfoot, but nobody complained! Back at the bus we decided to drive to the visitor centre, but we found they'd closed entry due to the storm. So we ended the day in Ripon Market Place for refreshments. It had been a grand day out! Well done everyone and thank you to Martin for driving.