Autumn Walks (The Ordinary Moments)

Welcome back to The Ordinary Moments, a photo adventure which celebrates those very special moments – or the very ordinary.

Last weekend, the kids and I decided to go for a walk. It was a lovely sunny day and even though the week had knocked us for six, I didn’t want to waste such glorious sunshine by sitting indoors.Autumn is my second favourite season (after summer). I love the colour of the leaves, the slight chill in the air, cuddling up on the sofa with a hot chocolate and of course layering up. I didn’t think we would get many more sunny days like this so I rallied the troops and we set off for a park in our local area.Leasowes is actually more than just a park. It’s a nature reserve near Birmingham – and a large one at that, covering over 140 acres. We have been for strolls here several times over the years but I must admit not as many as we should, with such beauty on our doorstep.There are so many lovely parts to explore with woodland, streams, waterfalls and large ponds. There is so much wildlife too, including dragonflies, toads and badgers. We haven’t even discovered a tiny portion of it yet.It’s right next to a golf course so there are always plenty of people about. Of course there are also lots of dog walkers too.

I read an interesting fact about the park as we were on our walk, as I like to educate the kids where I can about the places we’re visiting. Leasowes was designed by the poet William Shenstone in the 18th century. The kids were impressed when I read out that ‘The Leasowes is considered to be one of the first natural landscape gardens in England…and one of the most significant parks in the country’.We had gone equipped with water but forgot to take bread, as we rushed out of the house. There are plenty of ducks and we probably would have been out longer had we stopped to feed them. I was so impressed with Shivam’s photography and we took it in turns to capture pictures. Here’s one he was responsible for and I think he did a pretty good job at framing it to get the swans in there!Shalini had taken her big winter coat but she held it the entire time because the sun was beaming down on us and it was such a warm afternoon. Once we hit the woodland, we stumbled across some conkers on the ground. We collected as many as we could for the next fifteen minutes (until I got stung by nettles!).

The coat actually came in handy at that point because of its huge pockets. Shivam wanted to hold on to the conkers he collected. And both of them competed against each other in how many they could find.Along one of the paths, Shivam shouted out ‘Maple Treeway’. It’s a level in the Mario Kart game and it’s one of our favourite levels. Shalini and I laughed and we agreed. Suddenly the walk became more interesting for Shivam, who pretended he was a character racing in the game.When Shalini was younger, she was a huge fan of Dora The Explorer and we used to take her for walks in The Leasowes. She excitedly named a lot of the features we spotted from the cartoon. One of the bridges was renamed the ‘Troll Bridge’.There was another water feature with slightly middy waters which she named the ‘Gooey Geyser’. Those names have stuck and years later we still call them the same thing even though she’s nearly a teen! Shivam was never a fan of Dora but he joins in with us anyway.In one part of the park, slightly hidden away are some steps. I suggested we walk up to the top because I’d never been up there before so didn’t know where it led. However, at first glance it looks like a few steps but there was definitely more than fifty or sixty steps.Admittedly I was out of breath but the kids loved it. Once up there, you get a beautiful view of the big pond and with the sun shining, it was a big photo moment.There are some picnic benches up there too so it’s definitely something to come back for and maybe bring a few sandwiches just to enjoy the gorgeous view.We walked for over an hour, stopping every now and then to admire the views. With all the water we’d been drinking, we all needed a toilet break so we decided to call it a day but definitely come back again soon.We came to a clearing over a big hill and the kids charged down it, screaming at the tops of their voices. It was such a lovely afternoon out and we all agreed we need to start getting out more even when the winter draws in because there’s nothing like a bit of fresh air and exercise.

Here are some more photos of our adventure in the park:

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