Post by Dave on Dec 3, 2017 15:15:15 GMT
Clennon Lake 3rd December 2017
I came to the decision that I had too many cameras and one of them had never even been taken out of the box. So last week I sold that one to a young lady who is very keen to get into photography. As a result I decided to use the money to buy another lens for my main camera and could not believe the price I got it for direct from Canon in the Black Friday Sale.
It is the latest 70-300 zoom from Canon that is a new design and packed with new technology and I was dying to go out and try it out. It is not the lens I will keep on my camera as that one is an 18-135 lens that is more suitable as a walk around lens. The new lens will be used more for sport and anywhere where I need that extra reach.
I could not make up my mind where to go today and ended up at a place very close to home. I have been to Clennon Valley many times to watch local football matches but had never been for a walk around Cannon Lake. It is hidden behind the hedgerow that runs the length of the park.
Created by Torbay Council in the early 1980’s Clennon Valley Lakes providing a nature reserve for wildlife but equally a place for the local community to use and enjoy. The nature reserve areas were fenced, planted with saplings. Paths and benches around the lakes provided a place for people to stroll and enjoy the area and its wildlife.
Some management was carried out initially by the council and a few local volunteers. With the exception of emergency work and clearing of watercourses little or no environmental management had taken place since between 1990-2014.
The lakes and immediate surrounding area are a designated County Wildlife Site a survey as recently as 2011 confirmed this status. Sadly the lack of proper management has seen the lakes dramatically silting up and gradually turning back to scrub and woodland with its footpaths being almost unusable during the winter. There was a real risk the lakes would disappear, a very important part of this pocket nature reserve lost.
A group of regular walkers and wildlife enthusiasts recognised that something needed to be done so in 2014 Friends of Clennon Lakes was formed. The work carried out by the Friends of Clennon Lakes will be determined by the number of people volunteering to help.
This will include scrub clearance both on land and in water, path improvements and maintenance, enhancing wildlife opportunities, some tree felling and eventually even major silt dredging. The lakes could once again be a thriving wildlife haven, great place to walk and even provide a valuable educational resource.
On a dull winters Sunday afternoon the lake does not really show off its true glory, but it is a nice place to walk around still and today I was the only person there. As my aim was only to test out the new lens it was job done as far as I was concerned.
I will return on a nice summers afternoon next year and do another photo shoot, but for today I enjoyed my time out and was more than pleased with the new lens.
