Walking Around the Longshaw Estate: Fungi, Fairy Houses, Dens, Ice Houses and Sheep Shit!

It was very overcast and raining this morning, but undeterred, we set off to the Longshaw Estate, owned by the National Trust, which has over 1,600 acres of moorlands, woods and meadows.

We parked up and made our way over the wooden bridge. We were originally visiting to see if we could spot any interesting fungi.

Once over the bridge we walked up the steps, trying not to slip.

We walked past an old ice house that I'd never seen before. Old ice houses were used to store ice to preserve food back in the day before fridges and freezers were invented.

We found a few fungi but less than we thought. Perhaps it's still a little early. I'm not going to pretend I knew what they were as there's so many varieties out there. I'm just pleased I spotted a few.

Through the wooded area, we found some cute fairy houses carved into old tree stumps. The fairies must have been out foraging for food ....

Visiting children, can learn about bushcraft skills here, building dens and shelters. I'm glad I wasn't around when the massive tree fell.

Getting back on to the footpath, three sheep that had been laying down got up and walked off. Obviously, they didn't fancy our company and who can blame them.

They did stop to check us out though.

And we did manage to avoid the sheep shit!

It's always very popular here whatever the weather. The area is great for all abilities, short flat walks, and longer walks if you fancy that.

There's lots of rhododendron bushes here. They have to cut them back as they can take over the place. They do look lovely in summer, and there were one or two buds still in flower.

Going through the wooden gate we started to make our way back to the car park.

We walked past an old building that was run by the Red Cross, and used as an auxiliary hospital in World War I in 1914 -1919.

Around this area, you will always find old abandoned millstones from the local quarries that were used to grind grain.

There was a cool looking bug hotel that someone had put together. It actually looked better than my humble abode.

You don't have to walk miles to see interesting things. It's a place we've been many times but can always find something different to see, especially in different seasons.

As we headed to the car, it just started to rain, so we timed the end of our walk just right.