As if to prove my theory from last week correct, today the weather did its best impression of summer yet, and glorious sunshine saw us head out to Alton Water.
Set in the Suffolk countryside in an area of outstanding natural beauty, Alton Water is the largest area of inland water in the county. Technically Anglian Water’s fourth largest reservoir, it is situated a few miles south of Ipswich, and provides the drinking water for 200,000 customers. A shortage of drinking water in south Suffolk in the late 1960s saw a demand for Alton to be constructed, and work started in the early 1970s.
Formed by building a man-made dam across a natural valley, and using locally available clay, the water supply to fill the 400-acre expanse was obtained by pumping water from the River Gipping four miles away. Also a nature reserve, the reservoir attracts around 100,000 visitors a year.
We could see why. As we walked around the eight-mile rambling route, trying to avoid the gaggles of cyclists using the ten-mile bicycle track, we literally stumbled across wildlife at every turn. Bright yellow-flowered gorse bushes lead us to spawning frog ponds and cormorant-sitting rafts, small birds and rodents let us glimpse them feeding, while the only signs of the elusive barn owls were their large triangular nest boxes placed high up in the trees.
The frogs were an amazing sight, and we had never seen so many in one place before. As the sun tickled our faces, we sat on the banks of the dragonfly pond, and watched as many pairs of beady eyes looked back at us, wondering whether to swim closer. Under the jetty, in the hope of attracting a mate, a chorus of the slimy amphibians honked away to each other. Sounding like tiny geese, the mating calls didn’t sound like what we had expected, but were strangely soothing all the same. And, as we sat for half an hour or more, they were the only sounds that filled our ears.
By late afternoon, we’d walked around the inland path, and were looking forward to a tea stop, and the visitor centre didn’t disappoint us. As we quenched our thirst, we reflected on the enjoyable afternoon and the watery view in front of us, and vowed to visit again in the summer. It’s the perfect place to take a rug, stake a place in the grassland or wildflower meadows, and enjoy a fun food-filled picnic.
A perfect day.
Wildlife watching closer to home started the day off on Saturday, as the squirrels that visit next door’s garden to use the tree-mounted feeder unwittingly posed for pictures.
Saturday’s weather was less accommodating, but the day was still fun. A mooch around DIY stores to get ideas for home improvements of the paint colour and bathroom kind was followed by a drive out to join the country set in Woodbridge.
We’d seen an old ironmonger’s shop there a few weeks ago on our last visit, and as I need a grate for my flat’s open fireplace, we decided to see what it could offer me. The friendly owner gladly lent us a tape measure so I could compare the widths of the various iron log baskets with my measurements at home. On first thoughts, they all seemed to be too wide, so I returned the pull-out rule and thanked him with the non-intentional punned ‘Thanks, that’s great.’
He wasn’t impressed.
I really enjoyed reading your blog today and found your words to be very descriptive; I could almost have been there myself listening to the frogs mating. Bart also found it very pleasing to read, and maybe we can visit Alton Water in the summer. It does look a very pleasant place to be with a bottle of champagne and a full picnic basket!