The other day I went with my pal Nichola to take Poppy to Thornley Woodlands Centre. Or Thornley Woods as I like to call it. It is in the Rowlands Gill area and took us about half an hour to get there from where I live. It's next to the Derwent Walk trails and things too which is a plus. I’ve been a good few times and I like seeing how the leaves change depending on the seasons. (Sometimes it’s the little things.) This was the first time I’ve drove there myself though. (Sometimes I’m weird with driving so I’m chuffed that I did it.)

They have a place there where I’m guessing it tells you about the wildlife and other nature type things that you can find when you are walking through the forest. I only remember going inside once when we went on a school trip about twenty years ago (Crap I sound old) Now I just go to walk the dog about and get a bit of fresh air in my lungs. They have a little café too, but I haven’t been to that either. (Not really much of a good tourist haha.)

When you get there, immediately you are met with different trails. I love when everything goes off in any direction and you can just choose your own path. We went along a little wooden bridge and just took it from there. It was a nice sunny day so we didn’t really have to worry about the mud or anything. One thing I will say though is watch for the stairs. Boy are they steep, I had to side step down most of them and despite everywhere else being relatively dry they were covered in squelchy mud. I forgot my walking boots too, and was nearly crying when I got mud on my converse.

We just let the dog off the lead and took a nice stroll around. They have animals carved out of trees all throughout the woods. It’s great for little kids, even for adults. Its amazing how realistic they look. I don’t know it just adds something extra to a normal walk through the country you know. I spotted an owl, rabbit, beaver and a little mushroom amongst others.

We walked past a little water patch and let Poppy paddle for a while. We aren’t the fittest so every bench that we came to we pretty much stopped at. We climbed some steps and were able to see over to the column that is at Gibside.  It was nice just chatting, soaking in the sun for a bit and taking the odd nature picture. 

I didn't realise how many photos I took of the various stairs. I'm weird like that. I love getting doorways and paths that lead to nowhere in particular. I don't know sometimes I just think i'm some kind of amazing photographer or something. (sarcasm at its finest.)

We had a nice day out, we spent a good couple of hours just walking around. sometimes when you're feeling down all you really need is a mate to listen to you and a dog to take for walks. Next time I'll remember my boots though, and who knows, I may even venture into the cafe. 

Have any of you been to Thornley Woods?