More walks and adventures!

I've lived in Bolton for 31 years and it still amazes me that there are walks and beautiful areas near me that I didn't know about. Every time I drive to my mums I pass a road sign that says 'Smithill's country park' when I was young we went to the restaurant there called Smithill's coaching house, there is also a very old building there called Smithills hall that is meant to be haunted but I didn't remember there being a country park there.
Last Sunday we decided to go and check it out and take max for a walk there.
It was lovely if a little bit muddy, Max loved it chasing sticks and jumping over ditches, unfortunately he fell in one and got very muddy!

This Saturday we took Max on a walk to Moses Gate Country park I have been there many times but mostly just around the lodges, there are loads of geese and swans there, but this time we went on a walk away from the lodges along the river croal and irwell we carried on walking not really knowing we're we were going but letting max lead us he took us up this steep path which levelled off and there was a canal which looked quite old we walked along it for a bit, with the view of old mills in the distance, you could imagine the horses on the paths pulling the boats down the canal in the olden days. When we got home Matthew researched it and apparently it is a section of the old Bolton to Bury canal which was built to link Bury and Bolton to Manchester. Just before we turned on to the canal and just after we turned off it ended, apparently there are conservation groups trying to restore the canal once more.

This weekend, we were going to go away overnight somewhere but instead we decided on going on a day trip, the weather forecast wasn't great but we decided to go anyway.
We chose to go to Ingleton waterfalls after I found out about it from an app I have got called dog friendly Britain it has days out were dogs are welcome as well as other things like dog friendly pubs and hotels.
It is on the edge of the Yorkshire dales about 1hr 30 away from us, we arrived there at 12 and it was £5 each to get in. It is a 4 and a half mile circular walk which takes you past 8 waterfalls, the terrain is very rough at times and there are also lots of steps. The waterfalls are magnificent and the route takes you through glens, valleys and farmland, at the beginning of the route there is a money tree which people have pushed 2 pence pieces in for good luck. The forecast for Ingleton had been dry and starting to snow later in the day, this was completely wrong, it was either light rain or snow for near enough the whole time but it didn't dampen our spirits we even found a sheltered spot beside the stream which had an overhanging tree were we had our picnic whilst it was snowing. It was great.
The trail takes you through the village of Ingleton to which looked pretty and quaint. We will definitely go back sometime soon but we would like it to be sunny next time!

My dog, Max.

This is Max, he is a 7 year old cross breed I think part Jack Russell but not sure with what else and now he's all ours!
 He used to belong to my sister she had him from being a puppy but her circumstances have changed which meant she could no longer keep him and we are more than happy to have him with us. Don't get me wrong he isn't perfect he hates travelling in cars and isn't the most sociable dog but whats good about him far outways the bad. He has a real personality and he's very affectionate, he loves nothing more than a snuggle on the couch with us.
One of the best things about having him is that it makes us get out in the open air (although going out at 7 to take him for a walk doesn't always fill me with joy but at least it wakes me up). We normally take him down to the country park called 'Seven Acres' at the bottom of our road, its wonderful there you can walk along Bradshaw brook or there are a few fields for a big run. Its been really good to watch the seasons changing from Summer to Autumn and see the different wildlife, we regularly see herons there.