Motorway and mud

Well, this evening's little run wasn't exactly wild, crossing the M6 (amazingly, not at a stand still) whose audio footprint is quite wide. The choice of running routes from my door is pretty limited, yet even when dissected by the longest and (surely one of) the busiest motorway in the UK, there is nature to be found.

The dusk birdsong was amazingly loud; the verges are bursting with lush foliage (or 'rabbit food' in these parts), and even an unscripted section, off road (lost!) and rather muddy, had lots to notice, including Hassall Hall Pool, a small lake I'd never seen before, but which is claimed to be 'arguably the most picturesque water within the whole of Cheshire' by the local angling society.

Photo copyright Holly Bush Angling Society

 I dimly remember reading, and it seems this way from observation,  that Cheshire has more lakes (possibly a larger area of standing water) than any other UK county but that may be incorrect.

A little idle research on nearby Hassall Hall shows it to be a listed 17th century house with a 'catslide' roof. Fearing the worst I investigated further to learn that it's a normal house roof enlarged to cover a single storey back extension, so that in theory a cat could descend from the ridge to the ground floor eaves in one long slide. Let's hope it didn't happen too often.

After a few days of not getting out much/at all, it was great to be outdoors, using up some physical energy after a working week using mental and emotional energy, and exploring the countryside on my own doorstep.