Due to other commitments and unfavourable weather it took me a while to get around to a walk after my Tuesday afternoon volunteering shift at Attingham Park. My first walk of the year was a perfect opportunity for a ‘Listening’  walk. This time of year is filled with birdsong which is always a joy to hear. I was also treated to wind rustling through the leaves and the gentle sound of flowing water.

This chapter in the book mentions a study commissioned by the National Trust. Attingham Park, being a National Trust property was the perfect place for this walk. The study revealed that the following sounds bring us the greatest pleasure; birdsong, a running stream, rustling tree leaves, silence, twigs snapping underfoot, animal noises, wind whistling through the trees, rain falling on leaves, conkers hitting the ground and squelching mud.

I agree with all of them apart from squelching mud which has a sensory element to it that I find unpleasant.

The video below shows how beautiful the sounds were.

Click on picture to view video

Today I was one of the walk leaders for the WWII community walk in Attingham Park. It has always rained when I have walked this route for the Attingham Park community walks. Today was no exception.

As we set off on the WWII part of the walk we were treated a spectacular grouping of deer near to the pathway. Despite us intruding on their peace and quiet the deer were quite calm until they were spooked by three more deer running to join them. Some of the deer got to their feet and the stag walked to the centre of his ladies and calmed them down.

There is part of this route where I have always got confused as to which path to take. One of the other walk leaders helped me to know which path to take when the pathway diverges and explained where the other pathway leads to.

I was under no time pressure to get home after the walk so I had lunch in the café. I couldn’t resist the National Trust ’scone of the month’; lemon and white chocolate accompanied by lemon curd and clotted cream.

Saint Francis of Assisi

Anon

As a volunteer at Attingham I was able to see the house decorated for Christmas the day before it opens to the public. The house visit was followed by festive food and mulled wine in the courtyard.

I haven’t yet had time to explore the outdoor decorations along the mile walk. I have been walking in Attingham but my walks in the past two weeks have been in the deer park and woodland area where I was leading and supervising guided walks in Attingham Park. These guided walks are now on hold until after the Christmas festivities. When the walks resume. additional walking routes will be added to what is on offer.

Before the clocks changed at the weekend I enjoyed one last post shift walk at Attingham Park. I was treated to some beautiful Autumn colours and the walled garden was decked out for ‘The School of Magic’ trail.

When the evenings get darker after the clocks change I like to travel home in daylight to avoid the constant dazzling headlights on an unlit road.

I was back volunteering today and for part of my shift I helped hand out the trail leaflets. Then after the (mostly) youngsters had graduated from the School of Magic, I presented them with their spell book and colouring pencils.

Attingham was extremely busy and for the first time in eighteen months of volunteering I wasn’t able to park easily when I arrived for my shift. I ended up half way down the overflow field, and still the cars were steadily flowing in.

It was also lovely to see some former work colleagues as they passed through visitor reception.

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During my recent post shift walks at Attingham Park I have enjoyed seeing the first signs of Autumn. One of my favourite pathways that leads to the suspension bridge has been closed for a few weeks and I am hoping that it re-opens soon.

Fitting my walks around commitments means I often walk alone. Walking alone is good for thinking and clearing my head but walking with others gives me a greater sense of wellbeing.

My most recent walk with others was to check out a route for a group-led walk for visitors to Attingham Park.

My sense of wellbeing started well before I arrived at Attingham. I left home in glorious sunshine which turned to mist as I drove past open fields. The sun was trying to break through the misty layers casting shadows on the ground. As I approached Attingham Park the house was completely concealed by the misty veil only partly revealing itself as I walked to the courtyard where I encountered the VR (Visitor Reception) manager and the group walk co-ordinator. We had a brief conversation and I found out that there was currently a problem with a power outage which they were trying to get fixed.

I headed to the meeting room above the courtyard where the other two walk volunteers were waiting. Both were a little confused as to why the office was empty, it seemed they hadn’t seen the group walk co-ordinator as they passed through the courtyard, although he must have seen them because he told me they were upstairs in the meeting room!

Once the problem was under control, James, the group walk co-ordinator joined us and we set off to walk the route we had mapped earlier in the week. The grounds were shrouded in mist.  As we entered the deer park the house was completely hidden and the trees appeared as dark shadowy shapes. Along the first stage of the route, I was able to point out a large nesting box (for owls?) that I had seen earlier in the year.

We left the deer park and entered one of the woodland paths that leads to the Berwick memorial. When we reached the memorial, James mentioned a tree that had been inscribed by WWII soldiers and prisoners of war. As we were discussing the location of the tree, a man arrived through the gate nearby and asked if we had seen the inscribed tree. Unbeknown to us we were standing next to it! He told us about the WWII connections and the inscriptions on the tree. Some of them are fascinating and I need to research some of the symbols on the tree.

We continued our walk along the pathway leading past the Repton Oak towards the mansion, pausing briefly to chat with a couple of volunteers that were collecting acorns from beneath the old oak tree. Deer, although obscured by mist, could by seen nearby as we continued our walk back to the deer park bridges and the mansion beyond.

On my way back to my car, my VR manager, Nicolas, was at secondary VR and wanted to know all about the walks and would I still be helping out on VR (Tuesdays). I reassured him I would; Tuesday afternoons are my commitment to VR. As I arrived back at main VR the sun emerged through the mist and I chatted to other colleagues before driving home.