On the trail of the elusive hawfinch at Sizergh

Sizergh Castle close to the junction of the A590 and A591 is home to the rare hawfinch. Apparently March and April before 10am is the best time to spot them. They hang around in the tops of the mature Hornbeams so when the leaves appear towards the end of April they are impossible to spot. When I left the house this morning the omens were not good - it was raining. Thankfully this soon cleared to leave a bright morning with a cool breeze. I joined the hoards of other bird spotters all armed with huge lenses or scopes in the car park and waited. And waited and waited some more and got quite cold. Thankfully the National Trust can be relied upon for a good cup of tea and flapjack to revive flagging spirits. The Hawfinches chose today not to appear so I opted for  a walk around the lovely gardens.  Sizergh is only 15 minutes from home so I will return again to try and spot the elusive hawfinch.

After Sizergh I drove up to Ambleside. By way of testing out how well my knee was progressing I opted for a couple of shortish walks that combined uphill, downhill and some rugged paths/tracks. Firstly up to High Sweden Bridge returning via Low Sweden Bridge and then up to StockGhyll Force (picture in extras). It was warm and there were plenty of sunny spells. 

All in all a really enjoyable day despite the no-show by the hawfinches. More importantly the knee only provided mild discomfort on the downhills so definitely on the mend.