sister_luck (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sister_luck) wrote2018-12-28 07:08 pm
sister_luck) wrote2018-12-28 07:08 pm
Boxing Day Walk.
We decided to find a new destination for our traditional Boxing Day Walk, but we didn't want to drive too far. We usually end up somewhere in the Naturpark Schwalm-Nette and this time we started our walk in a tiny little village called Schwaam.
There are several (horse) farms, guest houses, restaurants, a pottery and most of the houses have thatched roofs which is fairly unusual for our region. It's a very cute place but the car park is tiny!
We followed the road for a while past farms and several places offering horse riding holidays - where the kid was impressed by the steam coming off the dung heap and his dad kept joking about stealing one of the chickens:
I was a bit worried we wouldn't get to where I wanted to go - the river Schwalm and surounding wetlands - but then we came to a T crossing and walked down towards the river where the vegetation became wilder, denser and damper.
Of course there is a mill - today it's a restaurant but we followed the river feeding the mill next to which they have recreated the wetlands of the past:
Ironically, the Schwalm would have dried up due to the changes in agriculture and landscape but it is now being kept flowing by the waste water pits of the open-pit lignite coal mine you might have read about on the news lately.
The path was quite boggy so we were glad that we were wearing sensible shoes - but we were back quickly on more solid ground and came to another farmstead where they had the tiniest baby goats - twins and a singleton.
Watching the little one drink took precedence over taking decent pictures so you have to take my word for it.
There was a return to a bit of wood and wetland and then we came back to the Molzmühle. We weren't quite sure which path to follow but then we saw a couple who we'd seen earlier walking towards us, so we knew we had a good chance of ending up where we started.
Next up was a beech copse with old and gnarled trees:
We then walked through the village of Rickelrath although we later found out that we could have stayed next to the river. Anyway, Rickelrath has some very nice half-timbered farmhouses and this charming sign:
We walked across the bridge back towards Schwaam and here is another view of the Schwalm in the evening light:
I think all in all this was about a 5 km walk, so really just a short round but I'm looking forward to returning in a different season to see how that changes the views.
There are several (horse) farms, guest houses, restaurants, a pottery and most of the houses have thatched roofs which is fairly unusual for our region. It's a very cute place but the car park is tiny!
We followed the road for a while past farms and several places offering horse riding holidays - where the kid was impressed by the steam coming off the dung heap and his dad kept joking about stealing one of the chickens:
I was a bit worried we wouldn't get to where I wanted to go - the river Schwalm and surounding wetlands - but then we came to a T crossing and walked down towards the river where the vegetation became wilder, denser and damper.
Of course there is a mill - today it's a restaurant but we followed the river feeding the mill next to which they have recreated the wetlands of the past:
Ironically, the Schwalm would have dried up due to the changes in agriculture and landscape but it is now being kept flowing by the waste water pits of the open-pit lignite coal mine you might have read about on the news lately.
The path was quite boggy so we were glad that we were wearing sensible shoes - but we were back quickly on more solid ground and came to another farmstead where they had the tiniest baby goats - twins and a singleton.
Watching the little one drink took precedence over taking decent pictures so you have to take my word for it.
There was a return to a bit of wood and wetland and then we came back to the Molzmühle. We weren't quite sure which path to follow but then we saw a couple who we'd seen earlier walking towards us, so we knew we had a good chance of ending up where we started.
Next up was a beech copse with old and gnarled trees:
We then walked through the village of Rickelrath although we later found out that we could have stayed next to the river. Anyway, Rickelrath has some very nice half-timbered farmhouses and this charming sign:
We walked across the bridge back towards Schwaam and here is another view of the Schwalm in the evening light:
I think all in all this was about a 5 km walk, so really just a short round but I'm looking forward to returning in a different season to see how that changes the views.