Cuerden Park: A great place for dog walking!

I walk my dog at this park often enough that I thought it warrants its own blog post. It is a great park near me called Cuerden Park, which is located in the North West of England. Technically it says it is located in Chorley, but I live in Lostock Hall in Preston and it takes me 10 minutes to drive to. The Park has approximately 650 acres of parkland, woodland, meadows, a lake, ponds and gardens maintained to a high standard by dedicated staff and volunteers.

The park also hosts a variety of different events which you can look at if you go to their website, I havent personally attended any of the events but the other month they did a mini camping festival which seemed pretty good and I wished I had gone to it, they also do lots of running events. There is also a Farmers marker on the last sunday of each month, which I still need to check out. 

The park is perfect to walk round either with or without a dog, and the walk can either be done quickly or can be done in a longer time, its up to you which kind of walk you want. There is also plenty of water for your dog to access incase it is a hot day, and there is also a large lake at one end of the park for people to either go fishing, have a picnic next to, or simply to just feed the ducks. There are several picnic benches all over the park to sit and enjoy some time in the park. The park is also great for runners, there is always someone running around the park whenever I go, and I myself have gone for a few runs round the park. 

I usually walk my dog round this park in the evenings when the park is quieter, mainly because there is also less children about at night as my dog is not a fan of children really. The park has a large wooded area too, which my dog loves running around and hunting rabbits in. 

If you live in the Chorley or Preston area I definitely recommend that you check out this park, I can guarantee your dog will love it! 

 

 

 

Wander in the Woods.

Lovely day out in the sun!

Trying to make the most of the lovely hot weather we have been having lately, my boyfriend and I took my cocker spaniel to one of our favourite walking spots yesterday. Which I thought I would share with you. It’s at a water reservoir not too far from us called Roddlesworth Reservoir.

We park up next to a country pub and walk our way round the three reservoirs. If anyone has a dog or simply loves to go nice walks then I definitely recommend this beautiful spot. What is also great about this walk is that you can make it into a long 3 hour walk all the way round, or a quicker 1 hour walk; around one reservoir or simply the first part of the woods. It is mainly flat land too for anyone who doesn’t want to walk up big hills. I really need to show this lovely walk to my friend Abi, so we can take our pooches on a walk round the reservoirs soon, which when we do I'm sure I'll post again. 

As you’ll see from the photos I’ve posted below; the walk is mainly woodland and forest, which I just adore as does my cocker spaniel Pennie, but there is also the big reservoirs, which provide a gorgeous water view, and also a great spot for the dogs to go for a swim, and from the reservoirs you can see Darwin tower in the distance. Also the walk doesn't get too busy during the week, but it does get a bit busier at the weekends, which is great because my cocker spaniel likes to be left alone when she's on a walk, so she much prefers going here for her long walks. 

I packed us a picnic, so when we got half way round the reservoirs we sat by the water and ate. I stupidly forgot to put on sun lotion so of course being the pasty girl I am got all burnt on my shoulders. Next time we walk here we are going to walk up Darwin tower too, as where we park there is a little pathway up to the tower.

We do this walk with my cocker spaniel in all kinds of weather, whether it’s sunny and hot, or raining or even in winter with the snow and ice. This walk is definitely a must for all dog walkers!

 :) 

Summer Recipe: Apple, Rhubarb and Strawberry Crumble.

 
I thought I would do my own little recipe for a delicious crumble I made the other day! I’m sorry I don’t have pictures to accompany the recipe as I didn’t think to take any whilst I was making the crumble, so I only got one photo at the end when I’d dished the dessert up. It’s a really simple recipe so if you’re not a confident baker or cook then this recipe will be really easy for anyone to do. Another great point with this dessert is that it doesn’t require a lot of ingredients, so it is fairly cheap to make too!
 It’s a really fruity (so feels healthy) pudding and is great to have in summer time! Or simply adding a few ingredients (e.g. cinnamon) or removing the strawberries (as these are a summer fruit really) will make the pudding delicious to have in autumn or winter too! When I first had it I had it with ice cream, but the following morning I had it cold and on its own and it was just as yummy! In fact, I preferred it on its own, as you could really taste the three different fruits, and it was juicy enough that it did not need cream or anything.
  What you will need:
 The fruit bottom;
3 sticks of rhubarb
2 Pink Lady apples
Two handfuls of strawberries
Caster Sugar
Water
 Crumble topping;
50g Butter
80g Plain Flour
50g Caster Sugar
(Add chopped almonds or oats if desired)



Heat oven to 220 degrees. Wash all the fruit.

First of all I cut the apple into fairly thin slices/segments, to allow it to roast quicker. Also make sure the core is removed and that there are no pips. I kept the skin of the apple on, simply because I’ve heard that most the nutrients are in the skin of the fruit, but if you’re not a fan of apple skin then simply peel the apple before cutting.

Then I cut the rhubarb into small chunks, again to roast faster.

Put the apple and the rhubarb into a large ceramic cooking dish, one that can withstand the high temperature of the oven. Lay the fruit out to cover the bottom of the dish and to make sure the fruit is evenly distributed across the dish.

Then sprinkle the fruit with some cold water (tap water will do fine); this is just to prevent the fruit from completely drying out.

Then sprinkle caster sugar over the top of the fruit in the dish. I put a lot of sugar over the fruit, because I like my crumble to be sweeter. But if you prefer your crumble (especially the rhubarb) then only sprinkle a little over the top of the fruit.

Put this dish into the oven for the fruit to roast. You want the fruit to go soft, but not mushy, this can take approximately 30 minutes, but I would keep my eye on the fruit and keep checking it every 15 minutes.

Whilst that fruit is in you can prepare the strawberries. These only need to be added to the fruit later because these go softer a lot quicker than the apple and rhubarb. Remove the tops of the strawberries. Then simply cut the strawberries into small cuts; small strawberries can be halved and larger strawberries into quarters.

Once the rhubarb and apple has begun to soften; remove the dish from the oven and then add the strawberries to the top of the other two fruits. Put back in the oven for another 15 minutes.

Whilst the fruit is finishing roasting, prepare the crumble topping.

Mix the flour and caster sugar together in a mixing bowl. Then add the butter and mix the butter into the flour and sugar. This is best done using your hands and fingers. Make sure all the butter is mixed in, the crumble should end up looking like breadcrumbs.

Wait for the fruit to be completely roasted then take it out the oven.

Add the crumble to the top of the fruit. Make sure the crumble topping is evenly distributed across the top of the fruit.

Put the dish back into the oven and bake the crumble for 25 minutes. Crumble topping should turn a golden brown.

Serve the crumble with either custard, cream or ice cream; and enjoy!
  

If anyone has any questions about the recipe feel free to ask!