Monday 31 August 2015

Devon Sojourn 2 - Roadford Lake

After exploring the Granite Way and Meldon Dam, we then headed for Roadford Lake, not far from the enticingly named village of Broadwoodwidger and not far from the Cornish border.

As soon as I arrived at the lake the first thing I thought was how much it reminded me of Rutland Water back up in my part of the world. It may not be as large, but the feel of it, with the cafe and shop, bike trails and sailing school is very reminiscent. But at Roadford, you feel very high up, wind turbines dot the horizon and there is the sense that the sky is not that far away.

The winds blow the training dinghies about the water as we have tea and cake. The world's tallest man stands in front of us and looks at the world's smallest puppy, a baby meerkat sized chihuahua.  A giant metal sundial glitters in a lowering sun.

A bird hide proves the birds are hiding. But there are plenty of butterflies, and a big hawker flies over my shoulder like a strafing Spitfire. Muddy ground hints at the autumn to come.

A child screams eerily in the trees. The dense woods surrounding the lake might be very scary at night. But in the day, it was lovely.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 


The calm waters

Sailing woes

Damselfly

Splashing at the edge

Small tortoiseshell

The butterfly seeks a different world view

Very tatty meadow brown

Silver sundial

Chubby hoverfly

6 comments:

  1. Nice pictures Si. Yes, I agree,not unlike Rutland Water.

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  2. Love the Small Tortoiseshell and the Silver Sundial. Haven't been to Rutland Water for years but from memory it does look similar.

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  3. Thank you! I haven't managed to go yet this year either, although to be honest apart from the reserve bit at the end which costs a fair bit to get into, there isn't a lot to see at Rutland.

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  4. I don't know this area, though know and love much of the surrounding countryside. It looks a calming sort of place.

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  5. What a fantastic place, great photos. I always smile when we drive past the sign for Broadwoodwidger, such a great name.

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  6. Thank you very much Chickpea, it's a world of odd place names...a bastardised hybrid of Celtic, Cornish and old Engliush dialects at a guess

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