Having agreed the rendezvous time for coffee everyone headed off.
There are a number of points of interest in the park and some people headed towards the abandoned and derelict castle while a few went for the old church and the rest headed towards the lake and forest.
Aside from the castle, which was home to the Aylmer family until 1935, the grounds are home to a 9/11 memorial, erected in memory of the firefighters, and a small but very pretty lake. Unfortunately the water lilies hadn’t bloomed yet but in another week or two it should look like a scene from a Monet painting.
While there weren’t too many birds around, a common chaffinch was spotted and there were several ducks on the lake. A number of blue and red dragonflies were spotted at one section of the bank and some time was spent in the frustrating pursuit of photographing the lovely but extremely fast insects.
We rounded off the morning with the obligatory cup of coffee and a chat.
Most of the members hadn’t been to Donadea Castle & Forest Park before and all said that they would like to return.
