Branching Out - Along the Ise

At this time of year it is always difficult to judge what kind of weather we may encounter the photo above is from a day in August and rains continued intermittently for most of summer and autumn.

This resulted in our route along the Ise being both overgrown with brambles, nettles and weeds as well being rutted and muddy in places which made walking an interesting proposition, especially for those who had forgotten their boots (again)!

The weather was kind to us with the December sun casting a lovely, yet melancholy glow through the leafless branches. We thought back to other walks in different seasons as we stopped to sit and enjoy our Mindfulness meditation. We allowed our breathing to slow and felt the warm on our faces, we felt calm now the muddy puddles were behind us and glad that our way was easier to navigate. 

We crossed the bridge and remembered Allan the Storyteller from our last project telling us a tale on the very bridge in a heavy downpour. We felt glad that we were warm and dry, we felt glad to have walked successfully towards another lunch with friends.

As it was a Monday we had the 

Green Patch, where some 

of our group are volunteer gardeners, 

we had the site to ourselves.

We fed the chickens and ducks in the hopes of finding some eggs and looked at these optimistic little plants

Back in the cabin Carole had arranged our fired and glazed

clay stars, birds and trees. We kept the ones we had

made to take home as gifts for friends and family.

We also wanted to leave a gift

for Sue, Nigel, Vicky and all 

the other groups and volunteers

as they are all stars!

So we hung the remaining

decorations on a tree

outside the cabin

to wish everyone all good 

things for the coming year.

After we had eaten, we all got busy tidying.

What an enjoyable walk! What a fabulous team!

Branching Out - East Carlton Park

History of the East Carlton Hall and Park

Carolyn leading our mindfulness meditation

After closing our eyes, focussing on breathing 

we became more relaxed in our den-like woodland space

Carole brought out materials for intervention

inviting us to choose three different coloured paper circles which we cut and decorated then shaped and pieced together to create flower forms. 

We added them to garden sticks and moved logs and twigs to create a secret garden to planted our paper flowers. 

Mindfulness Secret Garden

We discussed how we sometimes felt

and turned our backs on our troubles

We had permission to leave the flowers for others to find and we headed off to explore other parts of the park

We discovered one of the many intriguing carved wooden sculptures on the Story Trail that punctuates the park walking trails.

Just beyond this point we discovered an Owl

We asked him to direct us to a good place for our picnic, he made no reply but we did find a sheltering tree just before the rain came. We didn't mind getting a little damp as the walk had give us a hearty appetite! Below are links to some of he things we discovered.

Mysterious twisty tree

Oak Galls

A path to the trees

Bracket Fungi or Polypore

Threats to Horse Chestnut Trees

Infected Horse Chestnut Leaves

To print off park leaflets click on the title:

• The Lavender Lady
• The Kings Folly Cartoon Leaflet
• The Hall - The Hall unfortunately is not open to the public but can be viewed from the park.  The present Hall, built in 1863 on the site of the previous Hall is thought to be the third Hall on this site.  Like all old buildings, it does have a ghost who has on occasions been known to visit the Old Coach House (refer to The Lavender Lady leaflet).

Further information about the Park, cafe, workshops and events plus volunteering opportunities follow the link

Celebrating Our Senses - Walk 6 - Location

The sixth in a series of Mindfulness and Wellbeing walks.

Finedon Pocket Park

Our Mindfulness meditation - Location - was lead by Carolyn Bantin. Mindfulness is the psychological process of bringing one's attention to the internal and external experiences occurring in the present moment, which can be developed through the practice of meditation.

We have found that to start 

each walk with a meditation 

helps to create a calming, 

warming, gentle frame of mind.

It is an excellent aid for 

slowing thoughts down, 

helping us relax into the walk 

and our surroundings.

Carole had swapped a felted landscape vessel for some ceramic pebbles by artist Lincoln Kirby Bell who has been creating pebbles and leaving them in hidden locations all over the world

"its just been a means of creating a curiosity for the finder, having a bit of fun,mischief and giving the finder cause to contemplate its significance, how it got there, who left it and why. I have dropped pieces deep in the worlds oceans, in rivers and lakes, buried them in the rain forest of central America, left them in the Australian desert, in the Himalayan mountains, on the busy streets of New Delhi, London and Marrakesh just to name a few of the places they have been deposited in the more than 40 countries of the world I have lived, worked and travelled in during the last 25 years." Lincoln Kirby Bell

We  walked into the clearing, chose our pebble, making sure to enjoy it's qualities before we each found a place to hide it. 

We found pieces of salt glaze stoneware edging, bricks trapped in earth, stones and trees covered in moss.

Eye eye

Peeping out

Stone circle

If you found one of our hidden pebbles 

we would love to know!

It must have been very cold overnight as we found some large lumps of ice which became a mini installation with sea glass and shell from Carolyn's pocket.

Walking along the path it was kind of grey

walking back we had mist through trees 

and sparking patches of sunlight

Our picnic was punctuated by music played by Gavin, who hoped to bring one of his many guitars but the unpredictable weather made him worried it might rain. Instead we were treated to a fabulous mini concert via is laptop!

A penny for your thoughts or rather a tin of treasures 

containing Carolyn's Pecan Flapjacks

We loved the beautiful light on the misty field 

opposite and had wanted a group shot in front 

of it - however with the light in the wrong 

place everyone's faces were in shadow

 so we stood in front of the wrought iron gates instead!

Feeling fully fortified we decided we would 

walk the other half of the Pocket Park Trail,

taking time to revisit the mysterious tower 

attached to one of the houses.

The light was changing once again

We found a fantastic den

that Pete just had to try out

and a rope swing.

This was a beautiful walk.

Thank you to everyone that helped make it so special!

You can see the complete photo set here

Walk distance  4 miles.

The Celebrating Our SensesMindfulness and Wellbeing walks made possible with a Grant awarded from Margaret Giffen Community Fund and Northamptonshire Community Foundation and with support from NStep.