8th March 2019 Walking in Watermead Country Park Leicester. App 5 mls.

Watermead Park - Country park
Alderton Cl
Leicester
LE4 7RN

Leaving Cosby Village Hall we headed off to Watermead Country Park. Bit of a grey day but hey ho. Looking at the map there are two walking routes, we would be walking both the red and the purple routes a total of approximately five miles with a break at the White Horse which is located, surprising enough, on White Horse Lane leading on to the park.

Parking up at the bottom of Alderton Close, costs from £2 depending how long you want to stay.

The Mammoth an indication of the history of the area. During the extraction of sand and gravel there was a very important archaeological discovery. Two human skulls, probably dating from the Bronze Age, and the bones of an Aurochs, a primitive wild ox, were found on the other side of the river from King Lear’s Lake.

Over 200 bird species have been recorded on the park, including notable winter visitors such as wigeon, goosander, fieldfare, redwing and bittern.  In the warmer months 12 species of warbler have been recorded along with swallows, swifts, sand martins, common terns and hobbys. Resident species including kingfisher, great crested grebe, green woodpecker, tree creeper and water rail.

The wetland areas and wildflower meadows are an attractive habitat for many species of insects.  Visitors can see a variety of butterflies and moths in the meadows during the summer months, alongside dragonflies and damselflies which can be spotted flying amongst the reedbeds and over the ponds.  The insects provide a valuable food source for birds in the day, while during the evening it is the turn of the bats. Flying low over the water or above the tree line, these nocturnal mammals seek out insects such as moths and gnats.

Watermead Country Park provides a home for a variety of mammals such as mice, voles, shrews, weasels and stoats, foxes, deer and otter.

Visitors to the country park can witness much of this wildlife in the Reedbed Nature Reserve which can be found at the north end of the park. The reserve includes four bird hides and a bird feeding station, all of which provide a great place to observe wildlife and enjoy the tranquillity of the countryside
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Walking towards the northern part of the park.

King Lear's Lake - the statues need a bit of a clean. Evidently a great resting place for the bird life.

Spot the difference between the upper and lower photos.

A lonely swan - we always try to give them a wide berth, you never know if there are youngsters about.

After reaching the northernmost part of the walk we turned back on the other side of John Merrick's Lake and headed back towards the picnic areas and Finger Lake.

Some new additions to the park, some wonderful wooden sculptures depicting the resident wild life.

King Lear sculptures from another angle.

Resting place for seagulls waiting for a snack swimming past.

Passing the reed beds.

Leaving the White Horse after our break.

The White Horse is circled in case anyone wishes to visit.

Couple of bird feeders.

At the end of the walk still smiling.

Looking forward to next week and the daffodil walk at Belton House.