My Week: Local Walks

We've had some cold, but dry days so I've been able to take some exercise by walking around our neighbourhood on two days this week. 

The Rivelin Mill apartment conversion, the Rivelin Bridge and the River Loxley with more apartments in a wooded area.

The new park is taking shape next to the sports centre, café and charity shop at the top of the local hill where I walk.

 I took a short cut along an alleyway onto an uphill road that then  leads down to the Loxley Valley.

Loxley House, drive and grounds, now converted into apartments.

I passed by interesting stone built dwellings....

....then turned to the left into a huge green space with many undulating hilly areas.

There were views across the Loxley Valley to more houses on the hills.

I walked up the grassy mounds and enjoyed seeing the birds that were out-and-about in the sunshine, heard their birdsong and also saw buds appearing on branches of trees.

Red dogwood branches, yellow willow fronds and the white trunks of the birch trees glowed in the sunlight.

Some of the grassy areas were boggy underfoot.  I went over the stream by way of a little wooden bridge and there were quite a few firm, winding paths.

Underneath a small tree the residents had planted primulas and there were some painted stones dotted here-and-there.

                 

      The local store, post office with a King George post box outside. 

            

I'd gone full circle on my walk and was soon back in the neighbourhood where we live.

Thank you once more for your visit.  Have a good weekend whatever you're doing.

The Walled Garden and Other News

Regular readers of my blog will know that I go to the library in the park quite often and I visited the walled garden next to it several times before Christmas.  

You might remember that the high wall that extends along one side of the garden had an entrance door into the gardeners' quarters where the gardeners could rest, have refreshments and do some office work.  The wall has now been worked on, then re-rendered and painted the orange/red colour as before. 

On the other side of the wall some new doors and windows have been installed in the gardeners' quarters buildings.

Inside the walled part of the garden there's still plenty to see.

I like the original brickwork of the surrounding walls.

There's a bric-a-brac and plant stall for visitors. 

During the mild weather flowers were already appearing

including blossom usually seen in early Springtime.

I've started reading the latest crime case for DCS Simon Serrailler "who finds himself in new territory as a sophisticated drugs network sets its sights on Lafferton and the surrounding villages". 

The Last Library - Freya Sampson  "Library assistant June knows so much about the regulars at Chalcot Library, yet they know very little about her.  When her mum - the beloved local librarian - passed away June stepped into her shoes.   But despite their shared love of books shy June has never felt she can live up to the village's memory of her mum.   Instead she retreated into herself surviving on Chinese takeaway-for-one and rereading their favourite books at home.   When the library is threatened with closure a ragtag band of eccentric locals establish the Friends of Chalcot Library campaign.  If June wants to save the library she'll have to make some changes to her life; opening up her heart to friendship, opportunities and maybe even more..."

Will She Do? Act One of a Life on Stage - Eileen Atkins - "the story of a girl from a council estate in Tottenham, London - born in 1934 to an electric-meter reader and a seamstress Eileen Atkins was determined to be an actress.  Candid and witty it takes her from awkward performances at six years of age as dancing 'Baby Eileen' through the war years in London to her breakthrough at thirty-two on Broadway in The Killing of Sister George for which she received four Tony Award nominations.  She co-created Upstairs, Downstairs and wrote the screenplay for Mrs. Dalloway for which she won an Evening Standard Award.  Now in her late eighties she has written her memoir". (She's also remembered by me as one of Doc Martin's Aunts and for other fine television performances.

At the moment we're having another dull day.  It's still dark and gloomy even by 10 am in a morning.  It's a time for us to stay indoors although I feel like going out for a walk.  We had a car battery issue (dead battery).The car is now parked in our garage.  We have breakdown cover so the AA came out to us and replaced the battery. We'll drive out once a week to keep the engine ticking over.  Our local daughter is doing our shopping again for the time being as she worries about us getting the Covid virus which is spreading rapidly and has affected family members who have had to self isolate, get tests and cannot go to work.  

This is all my news for now.   Thank you for your visit. Stay safe and well.