Quite a day today - starting with a good walk, followed by a duckling rescue and ending with an evening walk along the canal at Wheelton for a well earned pint in the Top Lock

Starting off at White Coppice I crossed the Goit and took the path towards Waterman's Coppice below Stronstrey Bank. Arriving at Moor Road I turned left and went up the hill as far as Siddow Fold sometimes called Gamekeepers Cottage. Here I climbed over the stile on the left and, keeping the fence on my left followed it all the way to Black Coppice quarries. There I took the steep descent down. Passing the new(ish) gate just before the bridge I could hear a duck making a hell of a commotion. Taking a look I found 6 duckling stuck behind a metal grill. Joined by another passerby we found a strong piece of wood and managed to bend the bars and put in a ramp down to the ducklings. Slowly and one by one they waddled their way up into the pool where their Mum was. Still they couldn't get out of that so we gently moved each one into the Goit. When all had been transferred a happy Mum took them downstream

Later that evening I went downstream to the Top Lock