RSPB Leighton Moss

Over the weekend, I went to RSPB Leighton Moss with a friend. It was their birthday get-away.
Besides the weather, we had great fun and saw quite alot considering it was late October and the hype of summer was long gone.

We went up on Friday evening and stayed in a cute little b&b called Plantation Cottage. There are only 2 rooms in the b&b which surprisingly wasn't awkward. We almost had our own personal service!

Bright and early on Saturday morning, we had a full English breakfast, cereal, toast, coffee and the trimmings and went straight out to the reserve.
It was incredibly misty!

But that didn't stop the wildlife from getting on with their day!
I never realised how large swans were until I saw them flying across the lake...

The picture isn't great but they were moving and there was alot of mist!

After a few hours moving from hide to hide, we started to feel a bit peckish. We headed back to the visitor centre and browsed their menu in the cafe. We weren't particularly hungery after such a large breakfast, so we settled for a fruit scone each!

The were delicious!
Near the visitor centre was a Huge viewing platform.

It was massive!
And the views were quite spectacular considering the mist was still lingering.

Down the path from the platform was a rather large spacious hide. This was the best spot to see the very elusive water rail, which is a small wading bird who's call sounds just like a squealing pig.

Soon it was too dark for us to do see much, so we headed back to the b&b.
Down the road from the b&b was a pub called The Ship Inn. We jokingly called them The Ship Out as they were out of most things on their menu!
Besides that, the food was very tasty!

Before leaving the Plantation Cottage Sunday morning, we waved goodbye to comfy room...

and the handsome looking horse!

On Sunday, we thought we would investigate the other hides RSPB Leighton Moss managed. These hides were overlooking morecambe bay a mile or so down the road from the main reserve.

We were hoping to watch the tide come in but it turns out, we were completely in the wrong place!

It looks bare of wildlife but trust me, it was full of it!
I must admit, they do have some very nice hides!

Discovering there were no free parking spaces in the reserve car park, we went up to Eaves Wood for a bit of a wander. It was an incredibly peaceful wood, the air filled with birdsong.

Heading back to the reserve, hoping to find a parking space, our patience was rewarded; there was only 1 available space!

Failing to see the Beaded tits on Saturday, we tried again...

However, it was a bit late in the day so we never did see them.
Sunday was the same as Saturday; same hides, same birds but a completely different adventure!