My love of nature and animals is no big secret. My golden lab Alfie and my cat Molly play a huge part in my life – and I wouldn’t have it any other way! “So are you a dog or a cat person?”, I’m often asked, there is no way I could possibly choose. I think that every animal and creature is totally different and fascinating. Alfie is soppy, mischievous and silly whereas Molly is independent, highly intelligent and skillful, I don’t think that’s a dog or cat thing, I think it’s just who they are.
Animals and nature go hand in hand, especially if you have a dog. The wood across from my house is Alfie’s wonderland. He often tries to drag me towards the bridge, whining and protesting when he realises we’re heading down the high street towards the shops instead. I have to admit going on an adventure with Alfie in the woods, especially when we have time to explore off the beaten track, is usually the highlight of my week. We spend hours darting in and out of the tress; Alfie in search of new smells and fresh mud and I for wildlife, flashes of colour, shadows and textures. I’ve only started to take photos of our adventures recently. I think it started when I joined Instagram. Don’t get me wrong my photos are nothing fancy, they’re taken on my blurry camera phone and my hand tends to make an appearance in a one or two shots but I love how I can capture a moment and a memory to keep for ever, however small.
Blairadam Wood itself is known for a few legends, including ‘The Beast of Blairadam’ – some have reported glimpses of a wild black cat roaming the woods for decades and others have even claimed to see the ghosts of miners from the old coal pits haunting the woodland. I’m a bit disappointed to say I haven’t encountered either yet!
The Glen trail is a lovely walk around 2 miles long that twists through the woods running along a river, this is usually the walk me and Alfie take but we managed to find a few short cuts along the way. Below are a few pics from my massive collection of snaps, i’m sad to say a lot of my winter photos were unfortunately deleted I can’t wait for later on in the year, the woods look magical when the snow falls…
Now here’s a collection of not so lovely photos…
It’s so sad that finding litter among this beauty is becoming a regular occurrence. This level of disrespect and disregard for the woodland’s plant and wildlife astounding! I hate to see plastic bottles and crisp packets been blown about or Alfie walking towards me with some thoughtless idiots rubbish in his mouth. I can only hope that people start to notice and take action whether its picking it up like I did or, if they’re feeling brave, confronting those who do.
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