Rural Relaxation - Patterns in the Snow

Snow on ice at College Lake

My New Years resolution this year was that at my age the most important thing was to keep fit and relax - and my web sites have to take a back seat. While I have not posted any "Rural Relaxation" pictures for some time I have been out and about with my camera and have joined the Tring Camera Club - and will be involved in a project to record the town in 2015 - in connection with the 700th anniversary of the town's first charter. This is in part to keep me taking plenty of exercise (this week my pedometer clocked up 30,000 paces and I swam 40 lengths in the local pool), and a visit to the Asthma Clinic showed everything well under control - and my weight was down a further 4kg in the last four months. My "social secretary" says we should get out together more (my wife's disability means she cannot join me on rural walks) and this week we went to the Rex Cinema at Berkhamsted to see Testament of Youth - and are booked later in the month to see The Imitation Game.

So this week I have neglected my emails and updates to the site - and if you haven't had a reply accept my priorities - but keeping healthy comes first. I hope to catch up next week, but I also need to do some catching up on my other blog, Trapped by the Box, and prepare some black and white photographs for the next Camera Club competition ...

Rural Relaxation: A Fungus Foray at College Lake

Preparing for the Fungus Foray

This weekend the Bucks Fungus Group and the Herts & Beds Fungus Group got together with BBOWT to run a "Fungus Weekend" at College Lake, near Tring. This included a "Fungus Foray" on  Saturday (and another today, Sunday) and a most interesting collection of fungi on display in the Barn.  

See My Pictures - Bigger Images

Rural Relaxation: Wallpaper views of College Lake

Clouds over the Marsh at  College Lake

For various reasons I have not done many things I had planned to do during September - including posting to this blog. I need to relax - and using these pictures as wallpaper is helpful - although taking a break and walking round the Nature Reserve is even better.

Reeds on the water's edge at College Lake

click on pictures for larger images

Rural Relaxation: The Twist at College Lake

The Seat at the Top of The Twist

The Seat at the bottom of The Twist

When I want some exercise and a breath of country air well away from a computer key board (and with the mobile phone switched off) I frequently go to College Lake. The place has many different habitats and I have been taking photographs of the Reserve for 9 years - recording the changing seasons - and the improvement made byBBOWT, who run the reserve. 

I have decided that at the end of each month my "Rural Relaxation" post will concentrate on one feature of the reserve and include pictures taken at a range of dates. 

This month I visit The Twist, a winding path with a seat at the top, giving good views across the Lake. There is also a seat at the bottom (at present) which is currently the only place in the Reserve where you can stand really close to the water of the Lake. I say  "at present" because only three months ago the water was covering the path in front of the seat, while the other seat near the Octagon hide is already under water. 

For more pictures and descriptive text CLICK HERE

The Twist and nearby features of the College Lake Nature Reserve

Posted in Memory of Graham Atkins

Rural Relaxation - Whirlwind at College Lake

On Sunday we had a bit of a storm at Tring but once it had passed I decided to got to College Lake for a walk and cup of coffee - but couldn't get there as the road was closed because power lines had been brought down near the bridge over the canal at Bulbourne. So on Monday I went to see what had happened.

OK I was a day too late to photograph the whirlwind but had come from the west and cut a gap (see above) in the tall poplar trees that border the Canal.  Between those trees and the smaller ones closer to the water there is a small hay meadow and the second photograph shows broken branches that were lifted by the wind and drop in the meadow. Other branches could be seen on the track leading back to the Visitors Centre.

The whirlwind swept across the lake, a visitor's photograph showing the water whipped up by the island on the right in the first photograph. It then crossed out of the reserve and brought down a tree in Northfield Road, about quarter of a mile away.

Rural Relaxation: Graham Atkins

Graham Atkins at Book Signing

Many of my "Rural Relaxation" walks are around College Lake, a nature reserve only a few miles from where I live. It was created out of a huge chalk pit, associated with the Pitstone Cement Works, because Graham Aktins, a lorry driver who worked for the company, persuaded the management that when the quarrying finished  the site could become a wonderful home for wild life. The Site is now managed by the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), Graham having retired a few years ago.

Graham on College Lake Buggy

Recently a small sign has appeared at College Lake, under a picture of Graham, reporting he died at the end of June. This picture was taken the last time I saw him, in September last year when he was at College Lake when the Castle Hide was rededicated to George Goddard (the former quarry manager who supported Graham's work). In addition Graham signed copies of his wonderful book Creating a Nature Reserve. He was not well at the time and used one of the electric buggies to go to Castle Hide - and we must all be pleased that he was able to leave a written record of how College Lake came about, so that visitors can understand his foresight and achievement. It also provides important guidelines for anyone else planning to establish a nature reserve ona brown field site.

My review of his book says much about Graham, and the way the work that he, and his dedicated band of volunteers, made College Lake a place where I could relax  while enjoying the works of nature. Since hearing of his death I have been thinking about how I can best ensure that Graham's contribution to wild life is remembered.

Since 2009 I have been photographing College Lake as a visitor on a regular basis, and must have taken many thousands of photographs. Some have been posted on my blogs as "Rural Relaxation" and others have been posted on Geograph (see also my latest pictures on any subject)- but the majority are on still on my computer waiting to be sorted out. I have decided that in future I will end each month with a special "Rural Relaxation" post of pictures relating to College Lake, dedicated to Graham. All these pictures (and more) will be available in high resolution on Geograph.

This Month's College Lake Pictures

The New Panorama Board overlooking The Marsh

Great Mullein (AKA Golden Rod)  by path to The Barns

Other Pictures of College Lake on Geograph

Rural Relaxation - At College Lake Again

View from the new viewing platform (formerly site of Goddard Hide)

When I need a break I often take a walk at College Lake, which is only a couple of miles from Tring. There is always something to see as the seasons change and Nature continues to reclaim this old chalk pit. And (assuming I get back to the Visitor Centre by 4 pm (3 pm in winter) I can round off the outing with a cup of coffee and a cake. However I may be cutting back on the walks (but hopefully not for long) because yesterday I strained my back. The first time was well over 30 years ago - moving furniture in my office at work prior to the office being repainted and I was laid up for three months. However I now know what to do - and have a set of exercises which usually get me fully mobile again within a week or two.  The last time was about five years ago, when we still had Franci - who wanted his daily walk - so I went to Ashridge and took a mobility scooter so I could walk him through the woods there, with Franci trotting alongside. 

Many different species of grasses could be seen - but I don't know the names of any of them!

More Pictures of College Lake

Rural Relaxation - The Creation of College Lake Nature Reserve

My daughter Lucy's tragic death in 1985 had a major effect on my life, and was undoubtedly an important factor in my abandoning my research and taking early retirement. As a result I spent some 20 years on voluntary work to try and improve the lot of the mentally ill - and I urgently needed somewhere to relax

And I found just the place - a new reserve was being set up only a few miles from from where I live - called College Lake. When I first visited it there was a large white hole in the ground with the promise of a nature reserve at the south end - and a working chalk quarry at the north end. Graham was often seen with an enthusiastic team of volunteers, while Rita's little Sunday cafe in the old barn was not to be missed.

Over the years I have watched the quarry blossoming into a wonderful nature reserve. Under Graham's guidance the surrounding flat areas have grown up, and while the rising water drowned some of the lower parts plans were changed to make the best of the problem. First time visitors, looking out from the recently built Visitors Centre, find it difficult to imaging the natural looking marsh, swarming with wild life, is a recent human creation. And when I visit it on a weekday I am delighted to see classes of school children using the educational facilities and getting to know something about the countryside and what can be found there.

Rural Relaxation; Avocet & Black-tailed Godwit at College Lake

The hot weather has meant that on many days recently my "rural relaxation" has been sitting in our small back garden, watching the birds on the feeders from the shady area under the horse chestnut tree. On other occasions my wife and I have gone up to Ashridge for a pleasant lunch at the Brownlow Cafe and a walk under the trees - and to take more pictures of the Clickmere Pond. Today was a bit cooler - and more suitable for walking round College Lake, where there is little shade. I am getting better at taking maximum zoom pictures on my camera - and took these photographs of an Avocet and Black-tailed Godwit from the Octagon hide. I don't know the recent sighting history for College Lake (in Bucks) is - but the last reported sighting of an Avocet on the nearby Tring Reservoirs (in Herts) was on the 1st May 2011.

I was also interested to note that the hot weather has reduced the water levels in the main lake by about a foot, and Big Paddy Island - which was disappearing in April. and vanished entirely in May is now just peeping above the water. Another couple of months of very dry weather and the lower path beyond the Octagon hide could be free of water!

The two ends of Big Paddy can be seen on either side of the floating tern island.

Rural Relaxation - The Water levels are up

Startops Reservoir, near Tring, March 2013
A year ago  this view showed medieval ridge and furrow markings

I am keeping up my walking - with frequent visits to College Lake - and around the district. Compared with a year ago the water levels are very high, The above picture shows that Startops Reservoir is full, and no sign of the Medieval ridge and furrow areas I photographed from this point last year. I wonder how many years it will be before the water level is low enough to show them clearly again.

All that is left of Big Paddy, College Lake, near Tring, April 2013

The water level rise at College Lake Nature Reserve is far more serious. When I first visited the reserve over 20 years ago the main lake area was still a working quarry, with active pumping to keep the water levels low. Someone estimated how far the water levels would rise when quarrying stopped, allowing for drainage through the chalk. Several unquarried areas were left to act as islands for the birds to nest on - but the calculations were wrong and the islands disappeared under the rising water. Some years later bulldozers were used to build two more islands in the main lake area. The work was done by a couple of Irishmen - so the islands were called Little Paddy and Big Paddy.  The waters have continued to rise. Little Paddy has already disappeared and the above picture shows all that is left of Big Paddy a few days ago.

Flooded Track at College Lake Nature Reserve, near Tring. March 2013

In addition the water has risen to cover one of the main low level paths at the reserve, which is now only passable if you are wearing wellingtons (or shorts and flip-flops when the weather is warmer). While the water can be expected to drop if we have a dry summer the chances of the water level dropping to clear the path completely are low unless some way is found to pump a large quantity of water from the lake into the nearby Grand Union Canal

Rural Relaxation - A Jack Snipe at College Lake

A Jack Snipe at College Lake Nature Reserve, near Tring
(at least that is what I was told by another bird watcher at the time
Can anyone confirm this?)

Over the Easter period I have been very busy with family and other matters - which have kept me away from the computer. The activities have included two visits to College Lake with my Canon Powershot SX40 HS which allowed me to take some wonderful bird photographs no that I am getting used to it. (I still haven't found time to read the manual to try out the manual features - which in some cases should allow me to get even better shots.)

Chaffinch drinking at the "Window in the Wood" hide, College Lake

While the SX40 is fine for my more serious outdoor shots my older Powershot SX120 IS camera has been repaired and because it has the advantage of slipping into my pocket is more practical for more casual everyday use - such as the family photographs (including a short video of my granddaughter dancing in a ballet) I took over Easter.

Rural Relaxation; Snipe at College Lake

The lack of any "Rural Relaxation" reports is simply that, while I have been continuing my walks - and taking photographs - I have not got round to posting any pictures. I am still visiting the College Lake Nature Reserve at least once a week, often when I have been spending too long at the keyboard and need fresh air, some exercise - and a cup of coffee! Today's picture of a snipe was taken from the octagon hide this afternoon.

Second Impressions of my new Canon Powershot SX40 Camera

Kingfisher at College Lake
Click for full sized picture

Yesterday we took our Australian friend for a walk round the College Lake Nature reserve, near Tring, and I took my camera with me for what could be considered a normal day out and the "routine" pictures were all very satisfactory - but didn't need such a powerful camera.

However as we approached Castle Hide we jocularly suggested that Janet should visit the hide as this time she might be lucky and see a kingfisher. Much to our delight there was one fishing about 40 m away and I took a whole series of pictures of it at maximum optical zoom (x33) plus maximum digital zoom (x4) and have then cropped the pictures (equivalent to another x3 zoom).


The only difficulty was that I didn't have a tripod with me so I used the jamb of the hide opening, plus my left hand, to provide a firm base from which to aim the camera. For amateur wild life snapshots, taken for fun, for display on a computer rather than very high definition prints,  these results taken at the extreme zoom are good enough for me, and I am delighted with the result.

Red Kite at College Lake

However I had problems trying to photograph a red kite at College Lake which were due to a combination of extreme inexperience and the limited eye level viewfinder. Even when the bird was flying above the sky line I could not spot it in the view finder as a dot over the top of the trees, when with a good single lens reflex I would have easily been able to do so. (Of course a single lens reflex with a suitable zoom would have been very much heavier and difficult to control). The kite suddenly swept closer, and not having time to decide what to do I shot blind at full optical zoom and consider myself extremely lucky to get this rather blurred shot (full frame shown, resolution reduced with slight image enhancement).

If you don't know College Lake visit Geograph  for some pictures I took earlier on less powerful Powershot models. You may also like to see my first impressions of the SX40 camera.

The Flowers our Farming Ancestors Saw

Summer Flowers on the Marsh Islands at College Lake

The countryside has changed over the years with the coming of modern farming methods including the use of insecticides, and in the past the fields would have been a mass of colour  from the wild flowers growing in the meadows and as weeds in the arable fields. The College Lake Nature Reserve, near Tring, Herts, but actually in the parish of Marsworth, Bucks,  supports a very wide range of habitats, and I often go there when I want to take a relaxing walk in the countryside, with the possibility of a cup of coffee and a cake in the Visitor Centre afterwards. 

One of the features of the reserve is the Cornfield Flowers Project, where fields are cultivated in the old fashioned way and the wild flowers that used to grow in the wheat fields of the area are protected and encouraged. A few days ago I visited this years plot and saw the following flowers - and there were probably many more species I didn't spot.

Cornflower	Field Cow-Wheat	Ox-eye Daisy
Pheasants Eye	Poppy	Sun Spurge

Over the last four years I have taken many photographs of the countryside around Tring, including of College Lake. The earlier ones are already posted on the Geograph web site, and I am now catching up with some of the more recent views, including many more of College Lake. [List of my latest additions to Geograph.]