Bus ride to a nice walk

Hello. I decided to turn my three miles into five yesterday, and look at some nice scenery. The bus passes the end of my road just after 12.30, it's a twenty minute ride to another village, and a five mile walk back along paths and tracks. I wasn't at all impressed by the state of the bus, it was filthy. Not just a bit grubby, but months of dust along the window ledges. As I alighted at the turn around point I asked the driver if they employed cleaners. Straight away he said, 'I'm glad you asked that. because we have been telling the boss for ages about this dirty bus, and nothing ever gets done about it.' He asked me to ring the office and complain. I will do tomorrow.

The Village Hall at Whitton was buzzing with people, I forgot that it was St Georges Day until I saw the flag. There he is, sat propped up against the flag pole.  

I know this route off by heart, so no map required. Most of the posts around here have this heart man sign on them. They are designated routes for the community group walks. The Council encourages people to walk for exercise. I need no encouragement.

Wonderful views across the Trent. Usually cows in the field, but none today. The sun was out and I was feeling good.

Well  marked, the path comes up the bank away from the river and continues between a wood and fields.

Looking down into the wood on my right, how disgusting can some people be to dispose of their rubbish in this way. I don't know how they managed to get three large pieces of  bathroom fittings down there. There is no vehicular access, I can only imagine that a farmer has brought these across the field on his tractor. 

I was so bloomin annoyed, I went down into the wood and dragged the pieces up to the footpath and left them in full view of everyone who might pass. Maybe someone will have a twinge of conscience and take them away and dispose of them properly.

It's a nice walk back with good views to enjoy.

The foliage is greening up nicely, and there was the scent of garlic wafting past my nostrils.

Into Alkborough Village, the church is flying the flag of St George.

And the club has the Union Jack flag along the railings.

Oooh look, the cafe is open. I got myself a drink. Good job I remembered to put a few coins in my pocket. 

Someone is watching me, I wonder if it is real, ha ha. Nope, it's wooden. Very realistic though.

Onward towards home. Good views across the river.

This is looking inland, as the river winds it's way towards the docks further upstream. Boats negotiating this stretch of water have to be very careful as there are hidden sandbanks lurking below the surface. It's only passable at certain times when the tide is in. A little bit of cloud coming over now and it's getting a bit chilly, glad it's not much further to go. 

The beacon was lit on Thursday night for the Queen's birthday. Remnants of charred remains lie at the bottom of it. looks like they burnt a pallet and some old furniture.

This used to be a wooden bridge crossing the gully, but they had to change it to metal, because the youths kept breaking it up to put on their bonfire on the picnic area. there is a dog poo bin there, as it's popular with dog walkers around here. I would imagine most dogs would go off into the woods to do their business.

So there you are, just under three hours from start to finish including the bus journey. Made a nice change from tramping the streets. Must do it again soon.

Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.