Dunham Massey Deer Park

Sunday morning dawns bright and sunny, and after yesterday’s spectacular Christmas light trail, we’re able to return to Dunham Massey in the daylight. 

The joy of staying in the tiny village of Little Bollington is that we can access the deer park by simply walking along the path across the fields, and soon we’re enjoying glorious autumn scenes of golden trees casting long shadows across the russet leaves and curling bronze bracken. We catch sight of a distant stag making his way through tall bracken, a Menil, his pale coat almost ghostly as he catches the sun’s rays. 

Of course, as we move into another area, younger deer are more plentiful - does grazing in small groups, and stags splendid in their isolation. The light is glorious, and we watch as they move in and out of sun and shadow. 

Eventually, it’s time to go; our Sunday/Christmas lunch is calling, and I’m ashamed to say the boys and G opt for the venison choices in the menu! Then all too soon, it’s time for Simon and Lloyd to catch their train for what turns out to be a nightmare journey home to London. We won’t see them again until March - it’s always hard to part with family. Daniel and Solveig leave for the Wirral - though we’ll see them again before we leave on our adventure - and we return home, alone. It’s been a wonderful ‘Christmas’ weekend - but I now need to catch up on some sleep! 

Apologies for the continued back-blipping - I’ll catch up eventually! 

Today’s main is one of the stags (better large if you have time) with an extra collage of others and a further one of deer park landscapes.