Royd Moor Reservoir

The good thing about setting off at such a height is that the start of the walk is all downhill. Some field hopping got me to the path that circumnavigates Royd Moor Reservoir. The path on its western side was so muddy I could have done with some skis rather than boots. The bankside trees prevented any good views across the reservoir. I noticed about a dozen large birds on a branch overhanging the water. I thought they might be cormorants but there were too many branches in the way to be sure. A concrete culvert followed the path around the reservoir. Unfortunately it wasn't iced over since it would have made an amazing cresta run.

As I reached the dam, the views opened up. I now had a clear view of the large birds on the branch, but now they were too far away to determine their make and model. As I was studying them a kestrel flew over me so low that I thought it might have grabbed my hat. I watched it fly over the dam to some woodlands.

Royd Moor Scout Dike Link

The route doubled back on to a path beneath the dam. As I walked along I looked up and saw the kestrel I'd seen earlier, perched on the top branch of a tree. The low sun illuminated his amazing colours. A strong wind ruffled some of the feathers on his back. What an amazing bird. I tried to get a little closer to get a better photo but, of course, it flew off.

Maze Brook runs from the bottom of the Royd Moor dam to the Scout Dike Reservoir. A footpath follows the brook above it, through some woodland. This isn't noted as a public footpath on the OS map, but the path is good and I've met plenty of people using it.

I kept an eye out for the Kestrel but it didn't do an encore. The footpath descends and crosses the brook before reaching the well constructed trail that runs all the way around the Scout Dike Reservoir.

Scout Dike Reservoir

The path around Scout Dike Reservoir has more open views than that around Royd Moor Reservoir. It also has a greater variety of wildlife to entertain you. On my Bird I-Spy list I included: Robins, Redwings, Great Crested Grebes, Cormorants, Herons, Tufted ducks, Mallards, Canada geese and a Dipper. In fact, I could well have missed the dipper if I hadn't stopped to chat to a chap called Roger. He informed me that he'd seen one near the footbridge that crosses the stream at the very end of the reservoir. He said that it had flew off before he'd had chance to take a photo of it. Sure enough, when I got there, the Dipper was stood on a rock doing it's quadriceps exercises. Although it was dark, I got a half decent photo. Thanks Roger! There's also plenty of fish in the reservoir. Every so often you see one jump high out of the water. Big ones too. No wonder there's so many Cormorants, Herons and Grebes around. The fish also attracts anglers, although none were in action today.

At the end of the reservoir a field was alive with Redwings. I captured a photo of one in a tree with its beak still muddy from his foraging. He was glowing so red with a setting sun that it made me realise that I probably wouldn't be able to make it around the third reservoir on my Plan B itinerary, Ingbirchworth, before I lost the light.

A Walk Of Two Halves

I wanted to go around the Ingbirchworth reservoir in good light since it also has a marvellous selection of birds. As I made my way across to Ingbirchworth, I formulated my third plan of the day. Plan C would involve coming back tomorrow and doing Ingbirchworth reservoir and, hell yes, Scout Dike reservoir again too, since I'd enjoyed Scout Dike so much.

It was a good choice since as I made my way back to Royd Moor reservoir, the sun started dipping below the ridge of Royd Moor. The air became much chillier and I increased my pace.

At Royd Moor reservoir I could still make out those large birds hanging out on that branch. It was too dark now to id them.

My self-congratulatory pat on the back this morning for setting off so high, now turned into a slap on the back of the head as I realised I had to climb back up through the fields to Royd Moor Viewpoint.

I chased the sun to the ridge and got to the viewpoint just in time to miss it setting behind Bleaklow. You can't win them all.

What an amazing day. If I have learned anything from today, it is that when faced with a problem it's sometimes best to sleep on it. I was already looking forward to my Plan C of walking around Ingbirchworth and Scout Dike reservoirs tomorrow (Scout Dike Hike Plan C)...assuming we didn't get another dump of snow overnight again.