Today, we walked the five miles around Clumber Lake. The lake was created by damming the River Poulter in 1772 and took fifteen years to complete.
The overflow runs over the dam and back into the river course. Despite the torrent of water, the ducks seemed to like the dam, too!
On the other side of the bridge over the dam sits Clumber Lake.
Out on the water, we saw a mute swan with two cygnets.
Nearby, a coot was sitting on its nest. In this photo, the island of twigs raised well above the water can just be seen in the distance.
A little further round the lake, we saw a couple of pairs of coots with their chicks. The chicks had not yet developed their distinctive white beaks.
Our exciting find of the day was a mallard wing feather with its striking iridescent patch.
Having found Grandma and Grandpa sitting on one of their favourite benches, we completed our visit with a well-earned picnic and hot chocolate.