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Post by migsy on Apr 12, 2013 19:00:34 GMT
Went to Sedgefield on Monday to pick up car,we had Skip with us,so on the way back we called in at Hardwick park.It's super,plenty of people walking their dogs,and even the ham sandwiches from the little cafe were very good too.Its a huge beautiful park,and see on the pamphlet we picked up,that it does very many interesting things for all ages and interests such as days for photography,art ,bushcraft skills with woodland crafts,and lots for children.Sorry we don't live nearer,but well worth a visit for anyone who lives not too far away.
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Post by charlottte on Apr 12, 2013 19:23:17 GMT
Orpheous mentioned it to me I think! I haven't looked into it yet but a few people have mentioned that its a lovely place so may have to nip down one day in the Summer (isn't that a funny joke!?)
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Post by migsy on Apr 12, 2013 19:28:45 GMT
OOOH! I think Orpheus is near to Coatham Woods where there is the dog agility course too,very lucky for her.
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Post by orpheous87 on Apr 13, 2013 16:40:07 GMT
It's a very lovely place! Very nice in summer too, especially since the refurbishment has been completed. There's a nice little nature walk through the bog/marshy bit too, but even in all the times I've done it, I've never seen any wildlife! The only problem I've really got with Hardwick now is that dogs must be kept on lead the whole way round, so they don't burn off much energy. They used to be allowed off lead, but when they've completed the refurb, they've stopped it However, having said that, there's a wooded area closer to the hall (near the big lake) and we've let Pepper off in there before. You just have to watch out for the spent cartridges from the clay pigeon shooters There are also a few bird hides hidden around the place, but I think these are mostly in the old part of the park so I'm not sure how well kept they are now. These are some photos I took a few years ago (ironically, a day after I was in Scarborough for a gig migsy!) This bit is one of the older bits of the park: There's always lots of coots, moorhens and ducks on the lakes, but there are sometimes swans too (hence why dogs have to be kept on leads now - back in the day, we had our old dog there on a walk with the little kid from next door. We took our eyes off her for a couple of seconds and she jumped into the lake to chase the ducks, but luckily came back when we called her with no damage caused!) This is the new bit of the lake. I think it was still being developed at this point, but you can see the wooded area I was talking about right at the back of the photo: The new lake again, just from another slightly different viewpoint. Edited to add: Just found out that dogs have to be kept on lead between the hours of 9am - 6pm and at all times during bird nesting season. I didn't know that they could be off lead on an evening - it makes a lovely evening walk in the summer! It is worth mentioning that there's a dog run area by the car park though, dogs can be off lead in there at all times, although it's not big enough to give them a proper run. content.durham.gov.uk/PDFRepository/Hardwick_Park_Visitor_Guide_2013.pdf - the information leaflet that shows the map of the park (it is huge) and all the events at the park, for anyone who is interested in visiting
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Post by orpheous87 on Apr 13, 2013 16:56:00 GMT
And instead of editing my last post, I'm going to add here - I'm glad you posted this migsy as I wouldn't have gone looking at the leaflet if it wasn't for this post and I wouldn't have found out that there's a Stray Aid event being held there next month with a fun dog show! That's going on the calendar - anyone else in the north east fancy joining me?
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Post by migsy on Apr 13, 2013 20:39:12 GMT
Ah ha,glad you managed to read post Orpheous,I put quick one in shoutbox but it got obliterated in seconds so put in proper thread as I thought it would be nice to let people know about such a great place well worth visiting. We picked up a visitor guide and map and was going to tell you about the off lead times.I took some pics too,and we thought how lovely it will look when all the trees are green.Loved seeing the coots on their nests on the water,(hopefully safe from any foxes)and saw the swans too. Raincliffe Woods,one of our local woods next to Forge Valley used to do photography and nature trails,including dawn patrols to see wildlife etc,hope they start them again.A life sized round house was built by the friends of R.Woods,and husband took Skip for walk this evening and said the straw roof had been set alight,no doubt by local wildlife on two legs.Goodness knows what pleasure they gain from such things.
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Post by orpheous87 on Apr 13, 2013 21:03:41 GMT
Haha, yes I missed the one in the shoutbox. It is a lovely place and there's always things going on too. Plus, you can walk for as long as you want. We've often gone for a quick half an hour walk before (although that was before they started charging for parking). I remember catching frogs in one of the lakes when I was younger too - with my hands, not a net! No idea why I was doing that. Obviously I let them go straight away. It's gorgeous in the summer and if you go at evening, it's teeming with rabbits (which actually makes me wonder about letting the dogs off)! We've had a couple of showdowns with swans there with Pepper. She was on lead, but insisted on staring at the swans, which they didn't like! Oh that sounds lovely. I suppose that's probably the best way to see the wildlife at Hardwick - go on one of the guide led walks. Ugh, they're annoying aren't they? When I went out with the dogs last Sunday, there was a whole patch of grass near our house that had been set on fire and was all black. It hadn't been like that on Saturday morning, so I assume all the idiots decided to go drinking there and light a fire. I hope somebody restores the roof of the round house then, although I'm sure they'll be wondering whether it's worth it
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Post by migsy on Apr 13, 2013 21:12:46 GMT
Orpheous;Yes am sure roundhouse will be restored...again.It lasted a few years this time.At a Secret Wood event,people dressed the part,and were showing how fires were lit and food cooked with all sorts of other things going on,it was fantastic.We are lucky here for various dog walks,but I love the ideas of Hardwick Park and Coatham woods agility course.
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Post by orpheous87 on Apr 13, 2013 21:21:06 GMT
Oh so they're well used to having to do that? I don't know what possesses people to do stuff like that. I would never have dreamed of doing things like that when I was younger (or now)! Oh that does sound like fun! Yeah, we're pretty lucky with having those two walks fairly close. Both take about 20 minutes to get to. We also have a riverside walk quite close by, which Pepper likes. The only problem with that one is that there are fields full of wild garlic there, so the whole place stinks!
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Post by Jessie99 on Apr 14, 2013 16:38:38 GMT
I think I will have to join you Orpheous, I will try and see if doglovinggal wants to come too with Millie! She doesn't come on much now because she has a lot of internet problems but mainly because she is busy almost every night of the week and then has homework, etc and walks Millie of course! But I will see if I can come, sounds good and I can finally meet your girls and you can meet either just Charlie Boy or Charlie and Roman depending on whether Roman is over our house or not, etc!
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Post by BorderTerrier on Apr 14, 2013 16:42:59 GMT
AL; is doglovinggal on the new forum? I haven't seen her in ages.
Lovely photos Orpheous, really picturesk.
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Post by orpheous87 on Apr 14, 2013 16:49:59 GMT
Sounds good AL! And the whole event is in aid of a good cause too, which is even better
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Post by migsy on Apr 14, 2013 20:23:10 GMT
What a pity it's too late for the Stray Aid to be added into the Your Dog magazine,they could have made a lovely feature with lots of pics showing what a great park it is,while doing a lot of good for the charity.
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Post by orpheous87 on Apr 14, 2013 21:54:20 GMT
Oh that is a shame, yes
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Post by charlottte on Apr 16, 2013 7:22:51 GMT
Ooh a fun show that's on a Sunday! I usually can't make many because I'm always at work but I'll try and get down to this one It'd be nice to meet up and have a walk with people that know where they're going (I'd probably get lost lol)
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