The mystery of elephant rock…

The way to elephant rock?

I put a photo of Moorcroft Wood on Facebook and someone asked where it was. They also mentioned ‘Elephant Rock’. My memory isn’t what it used to be, I was going to mention it to the doctor; but I keep forgetting. I have no central heating this weekend. I was lying in bed last night, cold and bored sheetless, when I remembered that the chemical lane ran past elephant rock and then under the railway bridge. The chemical lane is long gone, but the railway is still there,  the Midland Metro runs on that now. There is a bridge over the canal, but I think I saw one that I could walk under, so that could be where elephant rock used to be. It was a huge rock bigger than an elephant, some thought it was a meteorite; but who knows. Could it still be there?

If you’re a regular reader you’ll know that I often ramble on when I write my Sunday blog and cook Sunday lunch at the same time. That reminds me, better check the broccoli… 

I had a look on Google maps and I think I might have found another entrance to Moorcroft Wood, right by the railway bridge. I think I might go exploring with my camera this afternoon. You can find allsorts around the canals. If you see a mound of earth next to the canal for example that is likely to be where the boatmen dumped their rubbish and you can find all sorts if you ferret around in that. You can find stoneware, clay pipes and relics of a bygone age in the narrow boats. They would have stopped near the locks too and so that would be a good place to look around. It’s interesting wandering through woodland too. I didn’t go through Moorcroft Wood much as a kid, because that is where the Sanna is. The Sanna is a pool that I’ve photographed a few times, so called because it was by the sanatorium; that was used for infectious diseases like smallpox and I was told to stay away from there. I wandered around the canals though, we picked chemicals up by the handful near the chemical lane. I didn’t get smallpox, but my genes are still recovering from the chemicals…

I’m quite nostalgic today, I even made gravy to go on my Sunday lunch; we always had gravy when I was a kid. My screensaver joined in with the mood and started showing black and white photographs. The sunshine has disappeared and we’re back to black clouds. It might not be a good day for exploring the canals and looking for elephant rock after all.

I’ve also discovered some woodland that I haven’t been to before. I think there are a lot of bluebells there and so I won’t tell you where it is or you’ll all go picking them before I get chance to take the photos. There are lots of hidden places around here and you can find them using Google maps and Streetview; then go exploring…

Anyway, enjoy the long Bank Holiday weekend if you’re in the UK. I wonder whether my Satellite Navigation has heard of elephant rock? You never know these days…

There are more amazing blogs on the Home Page and over on A Zillion Ideas. I’ll be doing psychology, Neodigital Art and how to write fiction in the next few days; do comment and have your say…

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