Peeping Through the Gateway

Back to Bradgate Park this morning but at noon, not dawn. I wanted to scout the slopes for sight of red deer. Lots of fallow deer, as usual, this year, but I think I've seen only one red deer stag. So Basil and I went up the south side of the park to search.

It doesn't matter which way you go to try and find them, the deer are always furthest from the path along which you have to haul your camera gear. The bracken has also been cut back much earlier this year which gives the deer less cover.

Mind you, the colours in the trees, grasses and bracken are simply stunning. See the extra.

A young fallow stag posed conveniently in the line of this gateway in the wall. North of the wall, dogs can roam free, south of the wall they must be on leads between April 1st and the end of October.

We met a man with a Labrador who had come into the park in search of sweet chestnuts. He pointed out the trees and gave me a generous helping, which I carried home in a doggy bag. He told me they must be eaten within three weeks or else they would go off. The cases are very spiny. He'd brought gardening gloves to protect his hands while he was picking them up. This year, apparently, they're larger than normal. I know where to find them now.

From the trees, I spotted a red deer stag on the opposite slope that looked as if it were confronting another. When I got the photo up on the computer screen, I could see that there two more deer alongside, and that the deer being confronted was actually a doe. A red deer stag with a harem of three. At least the expedition narrowed down the territory.

Swimming this afternoon, and dinner at Livios this evening.