Not Denmark
Wednesday 6th June
So today I was supposed to be in Denmark, but I was a little knackered - ok, not a little knackered - completely “fall asleep on the floor on the way to bed” knackered, so I thought I’d better take it easy lest I keel over and die. So at 7:45 I woke up, thought “glad I’m not on a plane right now” and went to sleep again for a few hours. By midday I was ready to face the world, and since I’d been tipped off about some local pygmy goats I thought I’d investigate.
Sure enough… in Abbey Park in Leicester is a pets corner with… SpareMads!
(I was going to say PygmyMads, but looking at Plume’s videos, it seems that Mads is, too, a Pygmy)
And also… BabySpareMads, the cutest goat in the world. It’s only about 12 inches from the floor to the top of his little pointy horns:
They also had some other things, like Peacocks:
A strangely disproportionate duck:
And a lazy bunny:
After that, I went to add something to a new collection I’m making… it was the highest point in Leicestershire, Bardon Hill. After doing Snowdon, and discovering that Kinder Scout (coming up on Sunday) is the highest point in Derbyshire, I thought it might be nice to do a bit of peak-bagging. So yeah… Leicestershire… Bardon Hill:
It was hardly a taxing walk… 3.8 miles (with my wrong turnings due to using a Streetmap printout instead of the 1:25,000 OS map which I bought on the way home). The sanitised profile appears below… 3.1 miles, with less than 100 metres between highest and lowest points.
There was a geocache up there too, which helped. (And no HAM radio enthusiast with his aerial strapped to the trig point which would make the cache impossible to search for, as it did for UKCodeMonkey when he tried it).
Then it was just half an hour watching the men playing with their little Tonka toys in the bottom of the quarry before setting off back home for a bath and badminton.
If I’d gone to Denmark, it’d still be another two hours before I could get on the return plane, then a two hour flight and three hour drive home. As it is, I’m going to bed right now. So that’s nice.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1890188.ece
Is what happens to peacocks here, apparently
Abbey Park is great
Bardon Hill is a big hill. I dont think I have ever been there, or nearby Coalville
lordhutton
6 Jun 07 at 8:54 pm
Why does looking at peacocks make me start singing “The Knight has a thousand eyes”? Oh yes, I remember.
JG
6 Jun 07 at 9:23 pm
News Headline: “Separated at Birth” - Mads and his twin brother Mods will one day be reunited together. Mads had grown up in a Danish playground with his good friend, Plume. Unknown to Mads, his twin brother Mods was living in Abbey Park in Leicester, England. The brothers have not yet announced the date of their upcoming reunion. Film at 7:00.
Have you ever seen an albino peacock? Quite impressive in a different sort of way. Your picture is magnificent.
PS: So that’s where my Dad has been! (He’s a Ham Radio operator!)
Debster
6 Jun 07 at 9:47 pm
I did that cache on the way to J + C’s wedding! No ham radio enthusiasts there that day.
Well, apart from me, obviously
Gottle
6 Jun 07 at 10:55 pm
i wake up tired every morning. those animals looked like they were having a shit. except for the bunny. he looked delicious.
boo
7 Jun 07 at 12:54 am
Hooray! A strangely disproportionate duck!
More pictures of strangely disproportionate ducks please Stu.
Rich
7 Jun 07 at 5:12 am
Bugger, it seams like everyone who’s been to Bardon’s hill found the cache except me! I’ll have to try again soon.
UKCodeMonkey
7 Jun 07 at 7:22 am
I know how you feel, it’s a miracle I get out of bed ANY day. Hehe. I’m glad you got some replacement goat joy. Maybe if I tell Mads he’s got relatives in the UK I can convince him to go on a road trip with me. He is indeed a pygmy, yes.
I was thinking of doing something like geo-caching, only goat-caching instead. Hiding goats around the countryside and then go find them. Sounds like fun to me!
I love the lazy bunny too, it makes me want to go back to bed and streeetch and get comfy and drift off into sleep. Maybe we will meet in our dreams, since we didn’t make it in the real world this time!
plume
7 Jun 07 at 7:37 am
My nieces wabbit lies like that when feeling lazy or is hot. Makes me chuckle
DoGGa
7 Jun 07 at 8:40 am
uh oh. I saw the first pic and thought “that is one cool goat!” it’s started happening to me now!
sweavo
7 Jun 07 at 9:11 am
Yesssssss!
Maybe I need to start going door to door…
“Hello, have you ever thought about how your life could be improved by goats?”
stu
7 Jun 07 at 9:16 am
Point of order : The highest point in Leicescescescestershire is Beacon Hill, not Bardon Hill. (Disclaimer: No warranty is extended or implied with regard to veracity of facts, but I think I’m right).
Also, Croft Quarry is bonkers big and deep. And fecking loud when they blast, too.
Jay
7 Jun 07 at 10:44 am
Arse.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardon_Hill
Jay
7 Jun 07 at 10:45 am
Hehe… well, I’ve been up both. In fact, I’ve walked up Beacon Hill from my house several times.
Don’t worry… I’ve done my research on county tops - it’s just trying to pin down the counties which is the hard part
stu
7 Jun 07 at 10:49 am
Oh… and Beacon Hill is undoubtedly more pleasant and has better views, too. Less industrial mess around it.
stu
7 Jun 07 at 10:50 am
Great piccys Mr Stu. Especially like the peacock
rollasoc
7 Jun 07 at 3:30 pm
For a moment, _just_ a moment, I thought the label ‘A strangely disproportionate duck’ was indicative of the Peacock.
Omally
7 Jun 07 at 6:04 pm
I wholly support your peak-bagging movement.
I’m thinking of spotting corby trouser presses at various hotels & b&bs.
Wow, I need a better imagination.
rob p
7 Jun 07 at 7:50 pm
Looking forward to the strangly disproprotionate goat picture
Max
9 Jun 07 at 5:00 pm