Fairies and Ferrets
16th May 2016 OK admit it, you thought (or hoped) we’d stop writing this tosh now that we’ve reopened for business. Well, here we are still subjecting our blog followers to life at The Laurels. This week we decided to test one of our local walks in the fabulous Churnet Valley. This allows us to map, photograph and describe the walks for our guests in handy little hand(y) outs. Being a tad short of time we decided to wander round one of our shorter walks. Whilst this walk is pretty short, at just over 2 miles, it packs in plenty of beautiful countryside, great views and the odd surprise on the way. (Did we mention it’s also quite short?) Just a 5 minute walk from our front door is Cotton Dell which follows Cotton Brook, a delightful little stream that runs all the way down from Cotton Village, at the top of the hill.
Just as we entered the track leading up The Dell we caught sight of a gentleman taking his pet for a walk. We’re well used to seeing people walking their tiny dogs on a lead, or ‘rats on a string’ as we like to call them, but it’s not often you see this ……
We can’t guarantee you’ll trip over these two every time you visit The Dell, but it’s clear they wander up and down here quite often, so you never know if you’ll be invited to give the little feller a cuddle just as Helen was. (That’s the ferret, not the bloke).
Half way up The Dell we turned off the track and headed towards Owls Clough, which is where the artist currently known as ‘The Fairy Man’ lives. Robin is responsible for Fantasy Wire Fairies and is the creator of the fairy trail around Trentham Gardens as well as Wish Maker who lives with us at The Laurels. You normally have to either stay with us or visit Trentham Gardens to see one of his amazing pieces of art close up, but if you follow this walk, you might be lucky enought to glimpse his garden where some of his fairies may be living.
If you’re fortunate enough to be wandering around here in the late spring, you really shouldn’t miss our very own Bluebell Wood. Situated just above our local church, it’s well worth taking the 10 minute detour to this beautiful wooded hillside, which is covered in a mass of bluebells in late April and early May.
So there you have it. A quick whizz up and down The Dell, via the Bluebell Wood in under an hour – or 2 hours if you’re like us and stop to take photos every 5 minutes. What more could you want from a stroll in the country? We’ve a zillion more walks just like this, starting right from our front door, so why not treat yourself to one some time this Summer?
