A walk under lightening clouds

Tags

Glastonbury, Glastonbury Tor, Millfield Prep, Ponters Ball, River Brue, sheep, Somerset Levels, Somerset Moors and Levels, swan

Yesterday was the second of my resumed monthly walks with my friend Zoe, though sadly the pub lunch at the end will not resume until next month – hopefully. We started from my house, and followed a route I had done once before, many years ago, but which I had not felt able to do more recently as I didn’t want to venture alone along that part of the route which lines the River Brue. It is now populated with somewhat scruffy residential caravans, past which I would not wish to go alone. There were many more caravans than shown here.

The walk was a little longer than planned, as what we did for a time clearly did not fit with what was on the OS map. I had had no problem with this when I had previously done the walk. Perhaps we were just chatting too much. I think I know now what went wrong, and am tempted to go and check it out sometime, but…

The walk was on a very local patch of the Somerset Moors, a.k.a. the Somerset Levels, though technically those are off to the west, bounded roughly by the M5 motorway. Over the centuries from Roman times they have been progressively drained, turning from marshes into pastureland. (The Draining of the Somerset Levels, by Michael Williams is fascinating on the subject.) They abound in ditches and rhynes (pronounced ‘reens’) and if you can help it you don’t set off across a field unless you know for sure that you will not be cut off at the other side by a water course too wide to leap across. (Moors, levels, rhynes explained here.)

The River Brue, canalised in mediaeval times. Note the patched road. We saw many fresh patches like this along the way.

A much enlarged clip from the above picture will show how the local authority is meeting the obligation placed on it by the government to provide sanitation for the caravan dwellers during the pandemic, as part of its campaign to get the homeless off the streets. This is to end after 17th May.

Glastonbury Tor accompanied us throughout.

Having passed this caravan I turned round to take a photo of the mattress lying among the branches of the tree, and the solar panel.

No wonder the road patches had seemed fresh!

Difficult not to stop and watch little lambkins. West Pennard Hill in the background.

When we caught sight of this swan it was way off, but when it caught sight of us it swam purposefully in our direction.

And swam purposefully away from us once it saw we had nothing to give it.

It was around here that we started to suspect we weren’t quite sure that we were where we thought we were. Still, it’s a nice bridge, of sorts.

We stood looking at this flock for quite a long time. After all, we had to make sure that each of the four lambs dispersing from playing together managed to find its right mother.

It this point I thought we were on Ponters Ball, a local earthwork of unknown age and purpose. Glastonbury is, in effect a peninsula, surround by Moors, formerly marshes. This earthwork marks the fourth, non watery, side of the peninsula. The earthwork did not particularly impress Zoe, who had not heard of it before I drew it to her attention as we made our arrangements.

In any case, I was wrong. This was Ponters Ball, reached ten minutes later. Looking southwards,

and here northwards. Zoe was a little more impressed. And from here on we knew exactly where we were.

Some furry creature has come to a sad end, at the hands – or more probably claws of a feathery creature

We were well and truly on the homeward stretch now, here entering the grounds of Millfield Preparatory School.

Tennis practice. And we also saw equestrian practice, but were too close for comfortable photography … and the battery of my phone – I had not bothered with my camera as I didn’t expect to take any photos – was running out.

Just enough juice to take one last picture of the Tor.

An autumn distraction

Tags

bindweed, bryony, Candide app, CNN, convolvulus, Covid, Covid-19, cow parsnip, crabapple, Dog rose, field maple, Glastonbury Tor, hedge woudwort, Hogweed, hornbeam, jackdaw, longtailed tit, magpie, Millfield Prep, Priority postbox, sheep, Somerset Wildlife Trust, Teasel, US presidential election

It was Stressful Wednesday, and I had been obsessing with the rolling news half the night (less than four hours’ sleep) and all day until lunchtime. It was gorgeous outside, and I hadn’t done my little there-and-back walk from my house for a very long time. I wondered if it was possible to distract myself for an hour or so.

It was. I can honestly say that I did not give the US presidential election a single thought all the time I was out.

Down to the end of my road,

through a small passageway to my left, up the lane to the main road where the prep school is situated, and back again. Views and details.

There were children, parents and a dog in the playground, to the left of this view.

Dog rose hips in among the ?privet.

Hogweed aka cow parsnip

I spent a few minutes trying to capture hedge reflections in the puddles at the side of the road. This is the only vaguely successful image.

So I raised my eyes to the lane ahead, and thought that they’d soon be flailing the hedges.

In theory there is a right of way up to Glastonbury Tor from this stile, but I’ve never seen anyone take it.

I’m always intrigued by this old tree. Has someone just put an old crate in its hollow trunk for stability, or has it some more interesting purpose? Sadly two other, much younger, trees have succumbed to the recent winds. And there is an apple trapped in the wire netting round the nearest tree!

Mixed feelings about convolvulus/bindweed, but here it’s pretty

Jackdaw in crabapple

Hooray. When last I passed by here, this right of way was completely overgrown and impassable. To be taken another time.

To my untutored eye none of the ash trees on this walk has yet been affected by ash die-back, but it’s a very serious threat in Somerset. The Somerset Wildlife Trust has asked people not even to visit four of its reserves in the east of the county, and at its online AGM this morning the CEO said that she thought that 90% of its woodland would be affected within 10 years.

Field maple supporting bryony fruit

Yup, ‘they’ have started trimming the hedges.

Still, it does mean that views like this are revealed.

An unprepossessing gate, softened by teasel.

Magpie in ash tree

I zoomed in to look at the top of the Tor. Quite a lot of people (and there were more on its sides).

Will the ponies be in the field?

No.

I tried to catch a long-tailed tit on these twigs, but it flew off. But I thought I would include the picture as a sort of abstract – and found that, top left, I had indeed captured the long tail and a wing.

Good to see cars in the staff car park of the school,

and even better to hear the cries of small children playing, not, as they were in the spring and early summer, absent during this lockdown.

Will the Open Event happen?

Victorian postbox in the wall of the school at the junction with the main road. I wondered what a Priority postbox was, and found once I was home that it’s related to Covid testing – more info here.

Time to turn round.

The signs are presumably channelling parents as part of Covid-safe measures.

From now on, I was facing the low autumn sun.

Glastonbury Tor not zoomed. There are little human dots up there.

The sun highlights a flooded field – I am surprised there are not more, given the rainfall we have had recently – and some telephone wires.

I was intrigued by this very new fencing on either side of this track, which on first glance appeared to be creating two paths. A closer look made me realise that in fact it was protecting new hedging. I waited for the sheep to be ushered into the right-hand field, and for the ‘shepherd’ to come back to his van, to my left. From him I learned that in fact this was his project. Living in town, he owned nine acres, and was putting native hedging around the three fields, for the benefit of wildlife. 600 metres so far. Brilliant!

I stood and listened to these sheep tearing at the grass – quite soporific.

According to my Candide app, this is Hedge woundwort.

Common dogwood

It’s only 3pm, but shadows are long at this time of year.

For some reason, a toffee apple came to my mind as I looked at this tree.

I’m back at the bottom of my road again.

And the hornbeam in my own garden’s not bad!

I started this post early on Saturday afternoon. I broke off about three pictures ago to watch CNN, and caught the moment the result was announced. Stressful Wednesday was worth it!

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 …

Permitted walk 2

Tags

ash, Balckthorn, Carrion crow, chaffinch, ivy, Lamium, Millfield Prep, Somerset

The next time I did my permitted walk, using the same route as previously, I was challenged by Susanpoozan’s comment on my last post to look for other views. Not difficult in fact – I just had to look to my left on the homeward walk, rather than to the right! Nothing spectacular like Glastonbury Tor to see, but some very agreeable sights, nevertheless.

First, a look along the busy road marking the turn-round point, in the other direction.

The footbridge is a private one between the main grounds (right) and some of the residential accommodation (left) of:

That is one open day that will not be happening.

On my way back, the first thing of note that I saw on my left were these splendid gates, the main vehicle entrance to the school.

They were firmly shut, as sadly were these:

As I passed, I turned my camera right, to see what those ‘lonely’ horses were up to. I could only see three of them.

Opposite, to my left was the way in to the equestrian centre. I must see if I can explore it one of these days…

This time though, I went straight on:

Chaffinch. I can be sure that’s what it is as I saw its back as it flew to this point.

In the distance, the Polden Hills, the lowest of the five elevations in Somerset

A tangle of ivy and ash

I could claim to have worked hard to include a fly in this picture of the identifying ash twigs, but it wouldn’t be true.

Lamium (maculatum?)

A hedge hacked in the winter starts to sprout and become handsome again.

Carrion crow

This is Somerset, so we have rather a lot of apple orchards.

Lesser celandine – of which I have thousands in my garden as well.

This stile, leading to a path between a private property and a field, could offer a variant on my walk, but it’s complicated – see two pictures on.

I turned my eyes and camera rightwards again, to see how the sheep were doing.

This lane, to my left as I walk home, goes down to a small river (in fact a canal, cut in the 13th century). It would make variant on the walk, and I have done it in the past, but the caravans, both near and over to the far left (directly beside the river), are lived in by ‘travellers’, and I am a little nervous of going along there on my own.

Not everyone likes dandelions, but I do.

White dead-nettle – lamium album

And five minutes from home, a splendid blackthorn tree

Detail, as the painting people say.