" Hamsterley Forest Walk " at EveryTrail
 

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A walk in Hamsterley Forest with Gary Richardson gives Harry and ourselves a chance of exercise after lunch. 

It is a long way to go for an afternoon forest walk but we had an ulterior motive this day.

All will be revealed in due course . . .

The park entrance banners.

The forest walks and drives here are a popular place for walking and mountain biking.

The cafe and forest centre is being re-built at present but the bike shop and ice cream van are working on overdrive.

Gary chose a forest walk leading off the main car park

as it was a route away from most of the bikes and people.

He knows this area well as he lives a relatively short distance away in Darlington.

Decisions, decisions . . . fortunately someone else is making the decisions today !

Forest marker paint was used as a doodle during someone's  tea break perhaps.

Try as I might I could not discern any words or even 'art' in the spray decoration on the log.

It was a cheerful colour though !

Geographically half way around the walk we turned a corner and walked down to Ayhope Beck.

Here was the remains of Metcalfe House Farm, one of several that became redundant once the forest was planted.

Time for a photo shoot . . . Ann and Gary . . . with Harry and Badger.

A rather solid picnic table was a focal point for a shot of all three dogs.

Cleo makes up the third, the centre dog of the three.

Ann sits for a moment and is immediately joined by Gary's two dogs,

eager not to miss out on the photo opportunity.

The ford and footbridge over the beck . . . but we'll not cross.

Our return path stays on this side of the valley.

A delightful small river winds its way down the valley . . . our path stays close by.

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Where our track reaches the main valley drive there is an artwork in timber known as "The Green Man"

The Green Man	The Green Son	The Green Father

Ann sits and watches the Green Man . . .	. . . who stands there and looks back !

We head on back down the valley but before we go, Gary hears the sound of frogs . . .

In a pool by the track side there is a sizeable amount of frog spawn, seen here in the middle of the photo.

When you got close up an altogether view become apparent.

In the pool, amongst the frogs spawn were dozens of frogs !

There are at lest four frogs in this first close up.

Four more . . . count the eyes and divide by two.

Don't get confused by the black dots of the frogs 'eggs'.

No privacy in this breeding frenzy . . . time is of the essence perhaps.

Several time I've counted and each time it was different . . . I think there are seventeen frogs here in this close group.

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Ribbit, ribbit . . . time to go.

The road drive back towards the forest centre.

We'll take the high road, another forest track heading in the same general direction.

Back to the car and a welcome ice cream seeing that the cafe is shut for renovations.

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