Following yesterday's bright sunshine, I was prompted to dig out my walking boots and although today wasn't quite as sunny, it was ideal for my first walk for several months - and, since my younger son was driving to a neighbouring town, I asked him to drop me off at a section of 'my' hill which I hadn't visited before.
Later, as I walked through the car-park at the entrance which leads up to the bridle-path I caught sight of a couple of notices for the attention of mountain bikers.
n.b. 'Clicking' on any photo will enlarged it.
It's no secret that I've little time for mountain bikers - but I have to say that even I was surprised that, within a hundred yards of the notice asking them to refrain from "creating new trails or modify existing ones", there was evidence of them doing just that. Although neither is as revealing as I had hoped, these photos (below) are of an unauthorised trail created by mountain bikers. The enlarged section on the right reveals clear evidence of tyre tracks in the mud.
A little further on, I saw a couple of bikers who seemed to be preparing to lift their bikes over a wooden barrier (see previous blogs) which separated the bridle-path from a clearly defined footpath - i.e. not a cycle track. However, when they saw me looking - glaring, actually - at them, they seemed momentarily flustered and started to examine what looked like an Ordinance Survey map. Moments later, looking back, somewhat furtively, towards me, they cycled off along the bridle-path.
On a more positive note, is the extensive tree-clearing operation which is being undertaken (below). There was also significant evidence of new trees being planted; however, for some reason or another, that photo didn't come out very well.
Perhaps because it was my first walk for a long time, I decided to keep away from the more remote tracks and - especially during a brief spell of bright sunshine - I was struck by how similar (apart from the palm trees) bridle-paths (below left) are to the primitive roads I encountered on Christmas Island (below right) a little more than half-a-century ago......
Moving forward - and to today's walk, in particular - I was presented with two nice 'photo-opportunities'. On the left (below) a nice pond - access to which has been enhanced by the recent tree-clearance - and, on the right, a pleasant place to rest a while. The bench had been erected in memory of a lady who had been especially fond of the area. What a nice way to be remembered.
