Weekend Fun

Sage and I went to the park on Saturday afternoon while River went to a netball birthday party for one of her friends. The Mundy Play Centre at Markeaton Park offers a variety of activities for kids. We played 18 holes of Crazy Golf, climbed on the spider web thing, and did some sliding before it was time to retrieve River.

This morning River and I set out to find a swimming hole along the River Trent between Swarkestone and Barrow-on-Trent. One of Molly’s co-workers had described how to find the footpath. We managed to make our way through the massive field of six foot tall nettles of which we’d been warned. Along the way, we found these Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) plants, which are in the same genus as Jewelweed. Jewelweed is quite common in Massachusetts and is especially popular with the kids because its seed pods explode when you touch them. Himalayan Balsam behaves in a similar fashion, though unfortunately as you might guess from the name, it is an invasive species in Britain.

We popped quite a few nonetheless.

We did eventually find the swimming hole. There is a channel between the bank and an island where the water is about five feet deep. Just downstream, there is a shallow pebble beach suitable for splashing. A rope swing is attached from an overhanging willow branch and I thoroughly enjoyed splashing into the chilly water.

It was great to find a nearby place to swim, though the weather isn’t often hot enough to require immersing oneself. I’m sure that we’ll visit there again sometime soon.