Tag: Moorlands

May 7th – High on Morridge, on a farm access track, a wee lamb was spotted trapped but unhurt in a cattle grid, his momma close by calling mournfully for help with his siblings stood close by.

Approaching gently, the lamb – surprisingly heavy and very muscular, much more so than a dog the same size – was lifted free and offered to the mother gently. He bounded to her, and she bleated loudly, then they all ran off.

I’d like to think the ewe was thanking me, but it sounded more like ‘sod off!’…

Good deed for a long, sunny ride.

May 7th – The third day of a long weekend, May Day bank holiday, and I knew what to do. The forecast was for a beautiful, hot day so I hopped on a very early train to Macclesfield, and rode back via the Moorlands, Roaches, Morridge and Weaver Hills.

You can see a full gallery from this ride on my main blog here.

Just on the moors near Thorncliffe, I found this curiosity, something I’ve never seen before – a UK Meteorological Office remote weather station. I have no idea why it’s here specifically, or for the oblique angle it subtends to the road, but it is fascinating, populated with a host of instruments measuring rainfall, win speed, polled count, air quality and other metrics of the atmosphere. All this seems to be remotely operated by telemetry link.

Also in the compound is a GNRR sensor for the Ordnance Survey, a Leica device to provide calibration for GPS signals.

A fascinating and slightly haunting thing, right in the middle of nowhere.

April 8th – The first big hayride of the year – out to Staffordshire, Weaver Hills and the Manifold, then around the Moors and Roaches and returning from Congleton on the train.

More photos on my main blog later today – a cracking ride; I was fluid, had energy to spare and it was a fast, warm ride on a day more usually expected in May than April.

Nice to be back in the saddle for long rides again!

May 14th – A long ride from Congleton to home, a distance of 108 miles. I took in The Cloud, Roaches, Flash (the highest village in England), Morridge, Weaver Hills and Tutbury. It was a gorgeous day, and a good ride despite having mechanical trouble. 

To see a large gallery of this journey, see this post on my main blog.