Unfortunately, the swans, various varieties of duck and the seagulls were feeding too far away, off the end of the island. Even when I went right in on the photo, they could not be seen, but there were a great crowd of them, all making use of an area that was ice-free. A little further along we came to this leaning tree.
I loved the line and filigree nature of it, only spoilt by the detritis that was set in the ice underneath it.
When we got to the Visitor Centre we looked at the plan of the site and decided to follow a tack round through the trees and rond the edge of the site, which passes an iron age fort. I am glad that we did because on the way we passed this monster.
All through the woods, and particularly near the lake, where there are a number of rhododendrons, there was much damage caused by the weight of the snow. A lot of work had already been done, especially where paths had been blocked, but there is much more to do. I expect that this monster had reached this state before the snow, probably by degrees over the last few years, with a gale taking it to its current stage. I wonder how many years it has seen.
Sadly, we failed to find the iron age fort but we completed our walk back at our car park and returned home feeling much refreshed for the hour in the fresh air.
