Permitted walk 4

Tags

BBC Lockdown Orchestra, Bluebell, Dandelion, Germander Speedwell, Glastonbury Tor, Herb Robert, Horse chestnut, Mendip Ramblers, Millfield Prep, Prickly cowthistle, sonchus asper, white dead-nettle

Shamefully, I hadn’t been out for a walk for 18 days. Well, there’s just so much to do at home. Not ‘got-to-do’, that is, though there’s some of that, but ‘want-to-do’, with so much on offer, sadly nearly always via a screen of some sort. Bridge lessons. Chances to sing. Keeping up with the news on a rolling basis, (news junkie that I am) – it’s all so fascinating, especially the science of it all. Cooking, something I don’t usually do! In order to use stuff up at the end of my fortnightly cycle of shopping, finding what I might make with given ingredients – there’s always a recipe online to cover any combination. And knitting – I’ve nearly finished my second garment since lockdown started. Given that I only knit – and that in 4-ply, for those who understand these things – when I’m watching television or listening to something (podcasts, radio), I must be doing more of that these days. So much to divert oneself, without going out. (Just this morning, I’ve been recording myself for the BBC! Singing with the BBC Lockdown Orchestra, no doubt with hundreds, maybe thousands, of others, for a video to go out on TV and radio on 14th. A steep learning curve as to the pop song, which I didn’t know, and the technical side of it – great fun.)

With no reason to go out beyond my garden, I realised that I was becoming almost afeared to go out, so just forced myself to make the effort the other day. Only that little walk up to the prep school and back. I hadn’t seen the lane for a month to the day. And what a change that month had made. So lush!

But firstly, I was pleased to see that the local park had been reopened.

My route was lined with cow parsley for most of the way. And with bird song! I was nearly deafened – it was wonderful.

Just enjoy the walk with me.

I’ll ask Mendip Ramblers to see if they’ll clear this when they’re allowed. A month ago I was thinking that this would give me a possible alternative part-walk, but field maple (I think) has taken over.

That white sheen – what is it?

Zoom. I thought so – dandelions. Pity, I missed the major blooming in the month gone by.

Herb Robert

Germander speedwell

They appear to have lost their two little friends for now, just a third full-sized pony at the end of the field – and a magpie.

Horse chestnut

Most bluebells are going over now

Now these would make a lot of rainbows!

This sign has been there since pre-lockdown…

The Tor (which is the hill, not the tower on top as many seem to think) just stolidly surveys all, as it has done for tens, hundreds, of thousands of years.

Buttercups

There are more caravans now alongside the River Brue, since the Government has obliged local authorities to provide sanitation for travellers during lockdown.

Hawthorn

When these thistly dandeliony things appear in my garden, wildlife-friendly or not, they are (carefully) yanked out. But in setting they are rather splendid. I think it’s sonchus asper, Prickly cowthistle.

One of my favourite views on the walk. So peaceful.

I meant to take the White dead-nettle but, while I was framing the picture, I noticed the shadow of something else, which pleased me.

On my return, I couldn’t help noticing that there were six council employees on the road next to the park, nor could I help asking what was going on. They were felling a dead tree at the side of the park.

And – nothing to do with my walk – I had to take a photo of this diddy, apparently one-person, recycling van which ‘did’ my house shortly afterwards. Most of our waste services have been kept going these last weeks, and those that haven’t are shortly being restored. Well done and thank you Somerset Waste Partnership.

The next walk was something completely different …

A Spring walk …

Tags

Alexander Hood, Brown-banded carder bee, Butleigh, Buzzard, comfrey, Compton Dundon, Cow parsley, cowslip, Dandelion, Dundon Hill, English bluebell, Glastonbury, Glastonbury Tor, Greater Hawks-beard, Herb Robert, Hood Monument, Pendulous sedge, Polden Way, primrose, ransom, Samuel Hood, speckled wood, vetch, wild garlic, Wych elm

… in the Compton Dundon, Somerset, area.

A friendly dog – which didn’t bark! The Hood Monument right.

I was going Butleigh-wards. And when I turned round from taking this photo…

… I was concerned I might have delightful but unwanted company, but he returned home.

Well, I like dandelions.

Cow parsley

A dandeliony thing, Greater hawks-beard I think.

Comfrey

Hart’s tongue fern (TH)

Pendulous sedge. It’s very pretty, but it’s wicked in my garden, seeding itself everywhere. And it seemed, sadly, to have done so on this walk. There was far too much of it, everywhere, in my view.

Nearing the (physical) high point of the afternoon.

I was tempted to go off at a tangent but didn’t.

The Hood Monument

The top of the monument reflects the activity of Samuel Hood, 1724-1816, local boy made good. His younger brother, Alexander, was also an Admiral, but I know of no monument to him.

In memory of
Sir Samuel Hood
Knight of the most Honourable Order of the Bath
and nominated Grand Cross thereof
Knight of St Ferdinand and of Merit
Knight Grand Cross of the Sword
Vice Admiral of the White
and Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty’s Fleet
in the East Indies

View from the plinth, looking north. If it weren’t for the trees on the left, I could have seen my house. (It would be possible to see my house if one were allowed to climb to the top of the Monument, as I can see the latter from my front window.)

Wych elm, I think

Continuing downwards, I came to my kind of stile

Glastonbury and its Tor.

I had a choice at this point, to walk along a very busy road, or to enter a wood, where three years ago I had found carpets of bluebells.

There were no bluebells where I expected to find them. Either my memory was faulty or they had been stripped out. Or they had been suppressed by the acres of sedge that seemed to be everywhere. After a long while I did find some, but not in the swathes that I expected.

But happily they were English bluebells, with not a Spanish bluebell in sight, then or for the rest of my walk.

The wood felt magical and I found myself envious of the owner.

Impossible not to be aware of a great low-flying bird across my path. It settled in a tree to my left.

A buzzard!

Just look at that beak and those talons!

Then it flew off, to a much higher and much further tree, not yet covered in foliage.

Only on examining and enlarging my photos was I able to see that the tree, a cherry of some sort presumably, had blossom, a nice contrast with the fierceness of the bird.

My Ordnance Survey map indicated that this was, (in Gothic lettering so it was ancient), the ‘New Ditch’.

This inadvertent sculpture pleased me.

There are still many primroses around.

The steps are part of the Polden Way, quite recently established, but mine was the bridleway to the right

It looked easy and smooth

From the path I could just see an inaccessible mass of white flowers in green. As I suspected, they did turn out, thanks to the zoom on the camera, to be wild garlic, aka ransoms.

What promised to be a smooth and easy path was not always. Those ruts are 18 ins (45 cm) deep!

I was not tempted to swing from this beautiful tree, but zoomed in on a yellow sheen on the field.

It was a sheen of cowslips.

Herb Robert

The trouble with butterflies is that they flit about so. This was the best I could do to catch the Speckled wood.

All afternoon there had just been the odd sample of vetch, but towards the end I came across a bankful of the plant, with a co-operative bee.

And, as I only noticed once home, an ant as well. (Brown-banded Carder bee)

Nearly back to my car, this is the back of the local hostelry, with Dundon Hill behind. It has a Gothic lettering fort on it.

A very pleasant afternoon. And other than on the first road, I didn’t meet a soul.