We started in bright sunshine through young woodland busy with birdlife.
This walk was full of birds. We saw long-tailed tits in their natural woodland habitat, which was lovely as it allowed us to see them at eye level and lower.
Again the topography of the area never ceased to interest. Here we had a wonderful view of the reservoir at Thornton from an angle that highlighted it's height above the original valley floor. On the water here were Grebes fishing and around the corner seven Cormorants were perched on a landing stage.
The wind however rose as we approached the Millennium beacon close to Bagworth. Not a good place for lunch.
We walked on across fields with Lapwings circling above and around and a Sparrow Hawk launching itself suddenly from a perch in a hedge.
The trees were fascinating in many ways. Here the lichens caught our eye, elsewhere we noticed the tress with a short skirt of moss and lichens reaching uniformly up the trunks for 6 inches or so.
Other birds seen included an amusing small flock of farm ducks and male and female Pheasants, including one taking a long and surprisingly high flight. Also a Jay that we startled out of a hedge.
In all we made another 10 miles towards our goal despite the heavy going underfoot.
