Perhaps being able to use the treadmill I bought earlier this year might be a contributory factor - but, for whatever reason, I have to admit that I'm not getting out-and-about as much as I used to - and, certainly, not as much as I ought. So, having being reminded of the fact (after reading the previous blog in this section), in a conscious effort to address the matter, I went out for a walk this afternoon and, anxious not to 'overtax' myself, I decided to stay away from the 'off-road' stuff and kept to the tarmacadamed surfaces and, in so doing, I came across this interesting sight....
Evidently, a high-sided vehicle had come in contact with what may possibly have been a overhanging branch. Whether the branch was overhanging, or not, it had been damaged to such an extent that it was now hanging down towards the road surface. Nearby, leaning against a telegraph pole, was a section of a commercial vehicle and it would seem that that the driver was unaware of the damage he had caused. Why else would he leave such a large piece of his vehicle behind?
Anyway, based on the behaviour of the average white van driver, I suspect he may have been travelling too quickly to have noticed. In any event, I hope his neglect didn't go without being recognised and punished.
Incredibly, it's the best part of two months since I've gone for a walk. In fact, apart from some golf with my elder son in New England towards the end of May, the only exercise I've taken of any significance was a lengthy walk during that visit - when the conditions at that time meant that I spent over a day recovering from what probably amounted to a minor case of heat exhaustion.
Since returning to the UK, both my better-half and I - although not 'technically' ill - have been suffering from what we have supposed are the effects of insect bites we received before we came home. Even now, we have to apply antiseptic cream to the affected areas from time to time. Anyway, for whatever reason, we have felt quite lethargic - in her case, unusually so; for my part, I'm pretty good at doing nothing if there's nothing to do.
Fortunately, the treadmill I bought a few months ago has helped prevent the joints from seizing up altogether. So, this afternoon, I ventured out for a gentle stroll along some of the local footpaths and bridleways which require the least amount of effort to negotiate.
The first thing I noticed is how quickly the bracken has grown.....
The second thing I noticed was less attractive - and that was the rubbish which had been discarded (almost certainly by bikers).
The third thing which caught my eye was an interesting avenue of trees which had been planted by a comparatively recent arrival to the area. Somewhat cruelly referred to as typically nouveau riche by some of the indigenous population - and in a manner often associated with Premier League footballers - the newcomer bought a rather nice property with a fair bit of land only to raze the house to the ground and replace it with a building some have compared to a supermarket.
In time, although there was already a perfectly adequate entrance, it seemed that the new owner relished the prospect of constructing a rather grand new avenue of trees leading down to what could become an alternative entrance at the other end of the property........
The newly-planted avenue is shown above leading down from the house (part of which can just be seen near the centre of the photo and behind the new trees)........
Viewed from the opposite direction, this photo shows the end of the new row of trees as it headed towards a gate (left of photo) leading into a field which separates the newcomer's property from the road into which he had hoped his avenue would emerge.
Somewhat inconveniently however, the fact that the current owner of the offending field had no intention of selling hadn't been taken into account. So the half-completed avenue of trees now acts as a monument to what some might perceive to be the arrogance of 'new money' to imagine that 'old money' could be bought at any cost.
In a few days time, my wife and I are heading across the pond to visit our family in the U.S of A. To some extent, the timing of the journey was influenced by birthdays and anniversaries. However, another factor was that Lloyd has a gig in New York, next week; so, we're going to spend three or four days there before heading up to New England.
I like New York. The last time I was there was when Lloyd and his son, William, appeared at a Mark Bolan tribute concert in Central Park and I stayed with friends of theirs in Brooklyn. One of the highlights, from my point of view, was walking across the bridge into Manhattan.
Speaking of walking (and that's what this particular blog is supposed to be about) in anticipating the trip, I probably haven't been doing as much as I ought to, recently. So, since this morning was nice and sunny, I dug out my walking boots, waist belt, jacket, scarf and favourite walking stick before heading off........
..............into the Surrey Hills.
Since retiring, I've categorised the walks I undertake - and today's was a Grade 2. That means it was fairly evenly divided between tarmacadam lanes and off-road paths and bridleways. It took a little over an hour and, as is usually the case, the more I perspired, the more items of clothing I removed - wrapping them around my waist as I did so........
Our neighbours keep sheep; so, I didn't have to ramble too far to photograph this new arrival....
They say every family has a black sheep and here he/she is again with mother....
Partly because my walks have become more amble than walk - and partly because the content is somewhat rambling, I've decided to change the name of the Walkies blog to Rambling.
Today's walk showed that the long winter may be over.
Flowers are beginning to show themselves........
......and the lambing season may have started.
Having dug out my waterproof boots for a stroll up the hill, a couple of days ago, I put them on again this morning for a stroll through the lower reaches of the region. Even there, however, there was still evidence of the husbandry that is required in the countryside from time to time.
Here, for example, is a rather nice picture of the early stages of re-cycling dead wood I saw as I approached the foot of the valley.
A little further on, as I turned off a stretch of 'proper' road, I had to negotiate a rather well-built wooden stile...
Closer examination of the photo (above) reveals another stile a few yards further along the footpath. In fact, in addition to a couple of pretty tricky wooden footbridges to cross, there were two or three more stiles to negotiate before reaching the end of this particular footpath.
One might have thought, therefore, that these obstacles would discourage most responsible bikers from cycling along a clearly marked footpath. After all, in addition to the usual 'footpath' signpost, there was also another sign (see below) to indicate its status......
Unfortunately, however, as I have discovered of the past year or so, it seems that there are some within the biking community who consider themselves to be 'above the law'. Why on earth anyone in their right mind would decide to ignore the requests to use the bridleway is beyond reasonable understanding.
Furthermore, lifting the bikes over the stiles couldn't have been that easy and having to pedal through what was little more than a wet and muddy field (see below) just doesn't make sense.
For whatever reason, however, I saw clear evidence that cyclists had been using this footpath. Even at the top end of it, in addition to more requests to use the bridleway, there was an equally formidable stile to negotiate....
I can't imagine why bikers could be so stupid (or perverse) to ignore requests to keep to properly constructed footpaths and bridleways. The fact remains, however, that far too many do. Perhaps, they should consider becoming involved with those who purport to represent the more responsible mountain-bikers within the region. It has been said that their behaviour is beyond reproach - mind you, it was one of their own who made the claim.
Yesterday was the first day of spring and, although I've taken an occasional stroll along the local lanes, I haven't ventured 'off-road' for quite a while. So, today's morning sunshine persuaded me to dig out my waterproof boots from the garage and venture out onto the hill.
Almost immediately, I saw evidence to confirm that that spring had, indeed, sprung. These catkins, for example.......
The next thing that I noticed was that those responsible for the upkeep of the hill seem to have done a lot work to clear away some of the damage caused by the quite severe winter we've experienced. Several trees and branches which had been brought down by the sheer volume of the snow which had rested on them had been dragged to the edge of the forest - presumably to wait for some form of motor transport to take them away.......
Other maintainace work which I saw being carried out involved efforts to prevent trees and branches from damaging telephone or electricity cables. I was intrigued by the perceived requirement for warning signs; however - as evidenced by the positioning of the 'traffic' cones (and the erosion caused by tyres) - these woods are constantly being used by mountain-bikers......
In the lower photo, one of the workers can be seen with a long pole which he used to pull the branches away from the cables before the second man climbed up to remove the offending foliage with a chain-saw.
Elsewhere, something else I encountered during my walk which was new to me was a rather fine, inscribed, wooden bench which has been placed in a convenient alcove in the local church-yard. I may be cynical - but I'm sorry to have to say that, in this day and age, I feel that charity may be being stretched beyond a reasonable limit to suppose that it will remain there for very much longer - because it had no means of securing it to the ground.
In my previous Blog, I remarked about how the severe winter conditions had caused some deterioration to the surface of the bridleway adjacent to our house - in particular how old house bricks used for the original foundations had become exposed. At the time, I hadn't thought to take a photo; so, before today's walk, I wandered down to the spot and took this photo....
During the walk, I saw further evidence of the aforementioned weather conditions and, in particular, something which - at first sight - seemed quite scary.......
At the angle from which I was approaching, I could be excused for imagining that a body was hanging from a tree. However, it turned out to be a branch which, because of the weight of snow on it, had fallen away from a tree. The fact that there was a slight mist in the air added to the 'spooky' sensation and it didn't take too much imagination to envisage conditions when it might have been even more frightening - dusk, for example.
Later, on my way home, I noticed that it wasn't only bridleways and trees which had been affected by the snow and ice. Here is evidence of some serious erosion of tarmacadam on the lane which leads up to where we live......
The weather and the conditions which prevailed as a result of it have meant that the few walks I have taken since Christmas have been mainly confined to tarmacadam surfaces.
Today, however, I risked venturing down the bridleway which runs alongside our house and the first thing which caught my eye was the extent to which the path had eroded since my last visit. There were places (and I can't imagine why I didn't think to take a photo) where old house bricks - which had been used as foundations when the path was renovated recently - were completely exposed because a significant amount of the top-surface had been washed away.
Another thing which hadn't been evident before winter set in was how many rabbit burrows were situated quite close to the path but hidden by foliage during the summer and autumn.
Here's one of them........
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