Sunday 24 April 2016

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.

44 comments:

  1. I'm feeling incredibly guilty now as my mileage has all but disappeared. What a great walk you had and such beautiful scenery. What a shame some people choose to spoil it by disposing of their rubbish in such a way. It all looks so flat compared to where I live. X

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    1. Come on Jules, don't let us down. You can't stop now after doing so well.

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  2. What a lovley way to change up your walking routine.

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  3. Dear lord what is the matter with people dumping stuff like that in the countryside it makes me so cross. When we were away in Mexico people would take food like burgers and chips to the beach and get accosted by gulls one woman dropped her food all of it and just walked off and left it there. I was so incensed lovejoy had to hold me back from bounding after her telling her she had forgotten her lunch.

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  4. Fly tipping is a menace. However, I hope no one saw you dragging those things to the footpath, so that everyone would see them because you could've been accused of dumping them their yourself. Recently, a landowner in these parts was on local TV showing the extent of fly tipping on his land which he then had to shell out good money to have it cleared. Why do people to this? It must take forever getting to these sites when they could go to their local amenity dump (or whatever it's called.) Of course, what they have to pay for dumping large loads might be the problem but surely not for the usual household waste, and our Council will collect items for a reasonable fee, perhaps less than the petrol involved in finding a patch of countryside which is secluded enough to tip rubbish unseen. I expect they are the same people who don't rinse plastic carton or tins before putting them in the recycling ... well, if they do put them in recycling. No doubt they dump these as well in the countryside!
    Margaret P

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    1. Hi, These could have easily been taken to the council dump. They will also collect large items, we are allowed three items a year for no charge.

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    2. Lots of horrible fly-tipping near me too. I think it's exacerbated by our council who charge £30 to take large items away.

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    3. did not know you should rinse plastic & cans I never have

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    4. Hi Anon. Have you read the literature that your council sent you about recycling household waste? Ours tells us to rinse tins, jars and plastics to get rid of the food residue inside. I give them a quick scrub out with a small brush and put them on the drainer to dry. My box is as clean now as when the council issued it years ago. No stinky rotting food in there.

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    5. says nothing about it except to peel paper off you are lucky to get free removal of large items only if you are over 70 you get 1 free here strange how councils all differ

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  5. This is a wonderful post Ilona. You did two good works as well ( the bus report plan and the moving of the trash), had a fabulous walk with a change of scene and showed us a beautiful place. That little church is a charmer! JanF

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  6. Ilona, I must say I find these footpaths you use fascinating. Are they quite old? How are they maintained - by the local government or citizen efforts? And some of these cross into private land? I cannot imagine that happening in this part of the U.S. Our township created a small walking path (about a half mile) 4 or 5 years ago and it cost about a half million dollars. You are so fortunate to be able to enjoy the countryside in such a gentle way Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Hi. Yes a lot of the footpaths and tracks are very old. They are all on the Ordnance Survey maps. Some of them do cross private land. A landowner can apply to get them diverted if they are causing problems, but it takes a while to get them moved. The local council will come and clean up fly tipping if there is a lot of rubbish. Landowners have a duty to reinstate a path if it goes through the middle of their field and they have ploughed over it. They have to leave the paths clear when they are sowing their crops. Anyone can volunteer to trim brambles which block the paths, some walking groups do this. The local council should repair broken stiles and fences, sometimes the landowner does this if there is livestock in a field.

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  7. Looks like a lovely walk, do you take your dog with you?

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  8. What lovely scenery you passed through on your walk. Funnily enough I have just taken up the post of 'Walking For Health' project officer. I get paid to go for walks .... :-) I am averaging seven miles each day through incredibly beautiful scenery. Some days I walk ten miles and am absolutely pooped when I get home but I do feel so much fitter and trimmer.

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    1. Hi. That must be a nice job to have. I have done a few group walks but they are too short for me, and I prefer walking alone.

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  9. I grew up in Alkborough, I remember going on walks along the hill overlooking the rivers through the woods and the wild violets and garlic, but no such thing as a cafe in my day just a couple of little shops. Moved south at 18, many eons ago...must go back one day....

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    1. Hi. The cafe also has a camp site attached to it. I remember the last shop in the village, it closed a few years ago. It was a small general store and post office.

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    2. When I lived there in the 60's/70's there was a post office cum general store in Front Street (the other main street was Back Street which they tried to rename Vicarage Lane but it never really caught on) where we bought sweets with our pocket money once a week on the way home from primary school (we weren't allowed to buy Lucky Bags as they were "a waste of money") and opposite was another small general store. For some reason my mum preferred the latter and did all her shopping in there and wouldn't go into the post office one unless it was to use the post office counter. I can still remember the lady who ran the shop, her name was Kath, but she was quite old then so perhaps the shop closed when she passed.

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  10. Lovely refreshing pictures. Natalie

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  11. wow...beautiful idea to have a walk this way..

    I wonder, did you ever consider writing mystery stories, sort of like Agatha Christies?

    seems to me, the village you're in/around you, scenery looks like it came straight out of an Agatha Christie novel...You'd have the "setting" right at hand..

    it is Bizzarre the bathroom fixtures you found. Cant understand it, as it seems to me, it would be MORE work than it was worth, to drag them where you found them. Weird. Maybe, as you say, some farmer with tractor, etc..

    I wonder, is there a council office or such, you could ring up and mention this to? Maybe you could even play it up a bit, suggest the tourists on the route would be snapping pics to send home/twitter/facebook to show the world what the English do with their rubbish. (no, truly I am not suggesting this just happens there, I have seen this kind of thing all over)...

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    1. Hi. I've never tried writing fictional stories. I think I would get muddled up with the characters.

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    2. maybe so...
      but you have a lovely way of writing on this blog, engaging and interesting...

      as to getting muddled, it always seemed to me (not that I have any books...)...that those mystery writers have a fair bit of going back and forth, and just sort it out eventually.

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  12. The buses in our area are nice and clean and a joy to ride on. You were so right to complain. Lovely walk but a shame about the litter louts who spoil it for others.
    xx

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  13. Hello, Ilona. Thanks for today's dose of sunshine. If I felt up to it, I almost feel like selling up and coming/going back to England for the years I have left (hope the number is at least 20). There are no walking paths here like yours. I am SO TIRED of the current state of American politics. I feel the world must be laughing at us. Oh well, TTFN. Elaine near Philadelphia

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    1. Hello Elaine, nice to hear from you. I find it hard to take any politics seriously. Glad we haven't got Mr Trump here.

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  14. Lovely walk, I enjoy your photos.
    It's a pity people dump things off like that, it happens here too.
    Locals had a clean up here yesterday, fresh trash was tossed out again before all the clean up bags were collected, right where the pickers had just been, plain meaness, it spoils the scenery for everyone.

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  15. I have to tell this story. In the 1930s, my grandmother had an old sink to dispose of. The trash collector would not take it. Grammie put it in the back yard and once a week, the night before her trash was collected, she sent "the boys" (my uncles, both would be well over 100 now if still living) out to break it into pieces. It took a few weeks, but the trash collector took the sink...piece by piece by piece.

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    1. Our dust men are very good they will take anything in a black bag providing it is not to heavy. I would have made a sink garden with your sink, I have 3 dotted around my garden.

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    2. I got rid of an old cast iron bath in my bin, over several weeks. Took a bit of smashing up with a big hammer, in the garage. Our bin men don't look in the bins.

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  16. Lovely scenery. I wish we had that here where I live. I have a question. Are you at all affected by the refugee/muslim situation or are you too far out in the country to be impacted? I would love to hear the opinion from someone living in England instead of reading about it in the mistrustful media.

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    1. Hi Lana. Thanks for the question. I will answer in a post later. Too complex a subject to answer here.

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  17. I'm with Elaine and wish I could leave here...It is beautiful where you were on that walk, really lovely except for the plumbing.

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  18. Oh! I wish I'd been with you on that walk. Just beautiful! You might have had to carry me half way but it would have been fun. haha. Love the pic's. Thanks for letting us tag along.

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  19. Thank you Ilona, for taking us on your walk. This morning I went to the ANZAC Day march here in Albany. Lots of school children marching, so at least the Diggers will not be forgotten. Quite big crowds to watch the old Diggers who could march, and those who couldn't were carried along in jeeps. 3 lovely marching bands provided the music. I stayed away from the crowds at Peace Park and watched the proceedings on the outdoor big screen, live streamed to the town centre near the library. Bimbled on home and having a cup of coffee, most enjoyable morning.

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    1. Hello. Not sure what a Digger is? We call JCB's diggers.

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    2. Aus and NZ service men (and women nowdays)

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  20. Great views of your familiar villages and countryside. A happy reminder of childhood visits up to North Lincolnshire to see my grandparents.

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  21. What a lovely walk.

    A few years ago I thought I saw an owl on the roof of a shopping center. How exciting, I thought. But when I next visited the shopping center and saw the owl in the same place it was quite a letdown. Like the one on your route it looked real but was not.

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  22. Dear Ilona, I love your walks and pets and hobbies and all. I realize you enjoy your life not because of what you are given but because of what you create. Warm congratulations! If I had the energy and courage I'd sell up all my stuff here in Philadelphia and come back to Lincolnshire from which my family moved to Canada 1n 1957 and then the USA in 1963. Elaine near Philadelphia

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  23. You're very brave doing all those walks on your own in the countryside, just wish I had your courage. Nothing would be more pleasing than just me, the silence and beauty of our English countryside all to myself.

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  24. lovely views Ilona. using the OAP bus pass is a great idea to get you further afield.

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  25. I really enjoyed your walk Ilona. I would have been equally upset had I seen the fly tipping and encountered the dirty bus. Well done you for acting upon both. I encounter plastic bottles poked into hedges, half full beer cans, sweet wrappers, dog poo in bags hung from trees and countless more items which I clear when I walk my dog in "my" park. There are plenty of bins provided so I can't get my head round why people do it. It spoils the scenery and endangers wildlife. I do collect it and safely dispose of it but couldn't have handled the sink. Off now to deal with what is there today.

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