Birley Spa is an old community bath hall and spa near my home. It was built in 1842 as a hotel and spa baths, then was converted into a private home before it fell into disuse. It's now open for tours of the bathhouse and grounds. But forget all that, there are some good walks around the area with lovely scenery. My son and I particularly enjoy walking there in the early evenings.
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Entering from the Dyke Vale Road gate, you see the weathered stone marker announcing the Spa area. As you can see from the picture, the grass in this area is mown regularly, although I'm not sure by whom. We regularly see patches of dug-up earth, although I've never seen a sign of anyone there when passing during the day. It's a bit of a mystery. |
| We really enjoy this walk at tea-time, when the combination of sunlight and shadows brings out the shades, colours and scents of the plants in the area. |
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Around the trees in the grassy meadow, we come to the pond. This is a manmade pond with a small nature reserve area on one bank (to the right in this picture.) I'm not sure how many animals are living there, but I've seen ducks and other water birds, although none will come close enough to be photographed. We like to sit at the pond for a few minutes, while my son either "fishes" with a stick and some twine, or "improves" the pond by rearranging the stones at the edge where it forms a natural pool. |
| I like to watch him and puzzle out the teenage graffiti emblazoned on the rocks. Apparently, Claire and Ethan are 2getha 4eva, and someone named Kel likes Liver, although whether this is the food, or a person, is unclear. When I give up on the messages, I look up and realise how bloody tall the trees on the far bank are. |  Click to enlarge |
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As you can see, if we're lucky enough to come at a quiet time when nobody has been disturbing the water, it's very clear. It's also very shallow! Within a few minutes, however, the temptation is too much and we end up plopping stones into the water just to hear the splash and see the ripples. |
| Along the side of the pond is a well-kept path with some thoughtfully-provided benches, along with more messages from Planet Adolescence. Between August and September, the blackberries are ripe for picking on the slope above the benches, but watch out for the brambles. |  Click to enlarge |
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Here it is at last, the Bath House itself. Not really much to see here as you can't get past the locked gates, unless you're going on the tour, which I confess I haven't yet done. Looks like a fairly bog-standard Victorian building to me, so I don't think we're missing much here. |
| And now my favourite sight of the walk, the little tiny water-course below the house, which empties into the pond. My son like to wash his hands in here (which are usually covered in mud by this stage) and maybe stand in the stream for a little while to see if he can catch a fish :o) |  Click to enlarge |
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And finally, we like to finish off with a final burst of energetic tree-root-climbing and tree-stump-sliding before heading home. |