Barton: Wetlands and winter sun

Took a trip up to the Humber bank again this weekend. There's a whole string of old clay pits there that have been flooded to create a wetland reserve, which means it's great for birdwatching. Caught a glimpse of a Great Crested Grebe and a pair of Teal, but the main reason for my visit was, admittedly, even more geeky than birdwatching.

See, Barton used to have a whole load of tileworks, hence all the clay pits and last time I went up there I found some old bits of building in the shrubbery just off the bank path. I assumed it was just another tileworks, but it turns out it's an old cement works and me being the nosy sod that I am wanted to have a closer look.

Yes, it's ridiculous. I am well aware.

Anyhoo, so I dragged my dad up there with the excuse that we could go for a nice walk at the same time. Found some pretty substantial ruins from the cement works though. Like this, which I presume was a jetty/wharf/pier in its heyday.

And then these, which look like chimneys, maybe? There were quite a few of them dotted through the trees, but the undergrowth was too thick to get close.

My dad was more interested in the fact that there used to be a light railway running to the site from the quarries further up the bank. Between us we rather failed to find any trace of it. Just shows how quickly nature reclaims places.

Gorgeous walking up there, though. Considering it's the end of February, it was remarkably mild, to the point that I didn't even need my coat.

This place is all of about 30 minutes drive from Grimsby, my hometown. I'll admit, Grimsby isn't a brilliant town, but it's not better or worse than a lot of other places around the country. And seriously, when a half hour drive can get you to beautiful wetlands, woodlands, open country or beach, who cares? We have so many amazing places right on our doorstep.

So, on that note, is there a secret beauty spot near you? Do you live in a supposedly awful area but have amazing places nearby? Let me know in the comments!