The good weather of earlier in the week let us down but at least the early morning rain had cleared and it was dull rather than damp, when I along with the rest of the U3A Woodland Wanderers group met at Normanby Hall Country Park. .
This is a good place for a tramp and to blow away the cobwebs. In places the ground was covered with snowdrops and in late February the daffodils were just coming into bloom, along with patches of bright yellow winter aconites. Near the house were a couple of bushes of Winter Honeysuckle which scented the air around them. (Memo to self – must see if I can find a plant next time I visit the garden centre…)
We wandered through the woods, admiring the massive Go Ape that now covers a large area of the woodland, since my last visit. None of us were not tempted to have a go though. The very sight of the swinging rope bridges slung between the trees was enough for me.
Ground cover was just beginning to grow gain after the winter and we found an isolated clump of primroses and identified bluebell leaves poking through the soil as well as the spade shaped leaves of wild arum.
We saw pheasants, wood pigeons, blackbirds, jackdaws as well as long tailed tits flitting between the trees. There was a lot of bird song, but no-one could identify the bird. The white male peacock was strutting around the stable yard, but there was no sign of the ‘normal plumage’ birds.
After an enjoyable wander we finished up in the Stables Cafe where I felt I had earned a large piece of sticky toffee cake for the pricely sum of £2.25! This has definitely improved since my last visit with a selection of cakes, tray bakes and scones as well as sausage rolls and pasties.
All in all, an enjoyable afternoon.
This complements a “review”:https://www.silvertraveladvisor.com/review?id=151520 written in 2011. There are more pictures “here.”:http://wasleys.org.uk/eleanor/gardens/england/east_midlands/normanby/index.html
