The sun was shining so we decided to visit Elmley today. On arrival, we stopped to watch a young Egret stalking some fish. The Egret slowly walked upstream making hardly a ripple as he patiently waited, but today he was not in luck and we did not see the Egret catch anything
A slight movement in the grass caught our eye. It was a rabbit creeping along quietly so as not to attract any attention. There are several birds of prey living at Elmley so these rabbits have to be very careful to stay hidden otherwise they will become a raptors dinner.
A bit further into the reserve and we came across a small herd of cows. This Mother was giving her young calf a nice good morning kiss, and the calf was just loving all the fuss and attention she was getting
Watching enviously from the grass was another young calf, but she seemed far too content to enjoy a good laze rather than get up and join in the fun.
There are still plenty of Lapwings at Elmley and they are so tame. They will let you drive right up to them to take their pictures before flying off with a loud peee weeep to perform their famous aerial acrobatics
We stopped up by the farmhouses and in the small enclosure watched a female blackbird digging in the grass for some nice grubs. Slowly she walked back and forth digging away until with a whistle of delight she pulled up a good beak full.
We were not the only ones watching the blackbird. As I finished taking her shot I noticed that a young sparrow looking as well. Maybe he was learning some new tricks from an old hand
There is a public walkway that runs alongside the houses that we have not been across before, so today we walked down to see what we could find. As we passed the houses, it was nice to see that the occupants also like to look after our feathered friends
As we made our way along the walkway, we noticed a pretty little blue butterfly flitting amongst the tall grass. It took many attempts but we managed to get a picture of it to show you
After a few minutes walking we came across an old derelict schoolhouse. A subsequent conversation with the Farm manager of Elmley reveals that this school dates from the late 1800’s and was the school for the 200 plus villagers that lived on the Marshes. The School was shut down around the beginning of the 19th century
In this shot you can see the shape of the school windows. At the apex of the roof you an also see the remains of the school bell enclosure. Apparently it was a very handsome school when in use and is built on the grounds where an old church once stood
Unfortunately there is no evidence of the church anymore except for a single battered gravestone propped against a tree, the wording long weathered away.
As Mick is a carpenter, he took lots of pictures of the building and gave me a running commentary on the workmanship involved.
I also took lots of pictures of the building as it was a fascinating place to visit. We hope to find out more information on the School and church and would be grateful for any you may have.
To finish of today’s tale, we would like to leave you a few more shots of this old schoolhouse.
More pictures can be found in our galleries at www.voinapics.co.uk
Steve & Mick
