Well, what did you do with your precious Bank Holiday Monday? This morning, we got our boots on and went for a proper walk. It’s the first time we’ve done a walk together like that for a very long time.
We picked Walk Number 13 out of a book – 20 walks around Heathfield. It was 6.5 km / 4 miles long, which is about right for me these days. The book was written by the local Ramblers group many years ago. I copied the right part of an OS map, and the map and instructions from the book and off we set. The start point was about a mile from our house, but we drove there rather than walked as I didn’t want to add the extra 2 miles on by walking to the start and then back again at the end.
We actually completed the walk without getting lost, which is unusual for us. Usually when we attempt a walk on our own using a map, we get back tired and grumpy having not gone where we wanted to go. This success however is probably down to the fact that the Ramblers provided a very good description of where to go, and much of it was on bridle paths and extremely well marked foot paths.
It was absolutely gorgeous. We walked through lovely woods, my favourite, past large ponds full of plants and wildlife, waded through meadows and meandered through fields.
At one place we were supposed to go through a field with a great many cows in it, but having now been chased twice by cows, I don’t like walking through fields of them any more. But we easily found a way around them and could see the bridge we needed to get to.
The meadows were stuffed full of things to look at. Hardly any butterflies, lots of bees busy on all the blooms. The clover was blooming, there were lots of buttercups, not sure how the farmer feels about them. The ox-eye daisies were out, and miniaturised versions of the blowsy cow parsley doing its thing in the hedges. There were slender heads of flowering grasses, lush foliage everywhere, warm sun – a perfect late spring day.
The only bit I didn’t like very much was when the footpath went practically through someone’s garden. The owners were out in the garden, entertaining, and two sweaty walkers went by, through their children playing ball, right by their open garage, and practically past the table with the drinks on. I found that uncomfortable and intrusive and would hate it if that was my garden.
I would like us to build up 5 or 6 walks that we know really well and don’t have to use a map for, that we can just go out and walk. We had that where we used to live and it makes things really easy to get some worthwhile exercise.
When we got back I was paging through my Silver Spoon cook book and realised that a lot of Cucina Povera (cooking of the poor) may well translate for Thrifty Lesley, even tho ingredients that are cheap in Italy aren’t going to be the same ones that are cheap here in the UK. So tomorrow, I’m trying a walnut sauce for pasta that costs up well. I just need to try it before I pass on the recipe, I may need to tweak it a bit.
After that, I got out in the garden and did a bit in the greenhouse, then put the runner beans out in the garden. The Pink Fir Apple potatoes are growing well, as are lots of the potatoes that I missed in the garden from last year. The lettuce plants will be ready to pick very soon, the broad beans are shooting up and the peas are doing well. Lovely!
The walk sounds lovely and I’m glad the weather held for you.
I’ll be very interested in the walnut sauce – it sounds intriguing.
J x