The Country Roads Walks 2006

Saturday 20th May 2006

This year we had two walks where members of FoJD got together for a day out in the beautiful English countryside in friendship and remembering John Denver. It’s a perfect way to enjoy and learn about the wildlife & surrounding countryside, I’m sure John would have approved.

On Saturday May 20th. We all had a great day of exercise and fresh air after 5 miles in Rockingham Forest, Northamptonshire. We were very lucky not to get wet after the forecast had given the day a washout. It was quite warm and we had a few periods of blue skies and sunshine, John must have been watching over us all.

On the walk around the forest we saw Red Kites and Buzzards soaring overhead and also many other birds. We had our picnic at the village of Kings Cliffe at the half way point. The day was finished off by seeing the first Red Kite chick being hatched from the live CCTV pictures of the Red Kite nest at the RSPB Lodge. The wardens asked us to name the youngster, so we called it John if a male bird and Joanne if female. We should have been a bit quicker in thinking about the name and said John or Annie? It will be 4-5 weeks before they know what sex the chick is. They have to climb up the tree and check the health of the youngest e.g. weigh & measure it, and also take blood samples for health checks, DNA and determine the sex.

We would like to thank Pat and Graham for suggesting this walk and being the walk support team with providing transport, food and hot tea at the lunch time picnic.

Country Roads Walk, May 2006

Saturday 1st July 2006

The second walk was on Saturday July 1st in the Worth Valley, Yorkshire. We walked on the official Railway Children Walk, which was 6 miles long. It was very hot and dry, summer had come at last.

The walk started at Haworth and the Bronte Parsonage, down the main cobbled street and then over the fields to Oakworth station, the ‘Railway Children Station’, where we had our lunch. After watching a couple of steam trains go by, we set off to Haworth station via the railway tunnel. We continued over fields to Oxenhope station, stopping at the Packhorse Bridge for Emma & Daisy to cool off in the stream. The steam trains were running all day so throughout the walk we would see them running along the railway line. It is a branch line and runs for 5 miles from Keighley to Oxenhope as the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

It was then over the stile and railway, up the hill to ‘The Three Chimneys’ before setting off over the fields back to Haworth.

Country Roads Walk, July 2006

Thank you for your support and to all who came on the Country Roads Walk this year.

Please look on Paul & Val’s website for more information and photographs on the Country Roads Walks 2006 and Update Pages 1, 2 and 3.

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