Buxton

Mandarin duck

It was one of those mornings where I have three options for a day out planned but really couldn't be bothered, a combination of poor sleep and achy joints with the changeable weather, together with an early morning alarm call from a cat that needs to be reminded it wasn't so very long ago she was dining on bits of old mouse and spiders.

Pavilion Gardens, Buxton

Thus it was I had an early lunch and by a series of random happenstances found myself on the train to Buxton and passing through bands of heavy showers and rainbows into a bright sunny afternoon. Which is good because I've been beating myself up again for not getting to All The Places and I haven't been to Buxton yet this year. 

Pavilion Gardens, Buxton 

The birdwatching in the town centre is pretty much what you'd expect in any town centre. A small flock of siskins in the trees in the Pavilion Gardens was a nice surprise. And there were a couple of pairs of mandarin ducks lurking in the shade of the trees by one of the ponds.

One of the many things I like about mandarin ducks is their capacity for turning themselves into un-ducklike abstract shapes. One of the preening drakes was delivering a masterclass.

Mandarin duck

Canada geese and mandarin ducks

I had a pleasant wander round enjoying the scenery and unexpected sunshine, which provided the bit of uplift my spirits evidently needed.

Blackbird

I made my way over to the market square and got the 61 to Glossop and thence got the train home. The 61's meandering route through splendid High Peak scenery was made all the more meandering because of a diversion at Whalley Bridge which imposes an eight mile detour via Chapel-en-le-Frith to service bus stops less than half a mile apart. The black-headed gulls we're no longer seeing in lowland Greater Manchester are now gathering in the upland fields before moving onto nesting territories up on moorland pools and reservoirs.

From the bus along Long Hill

I need to take more advantage of these £2 maximum bus journeys while they're still available.

From the bus: Lantern Pike from Birch Vale