On Sunday we walked over the old bridge, then along the river to Castle Vale Park
the start of the walk is dominated by the railway bridge
this photo shows the scale of the bridge, with the tiny figure of a rower who had just come through the arch
the air was full of the small of wild garlic - but look out for the nettles if you pick it!
as always we paused to admire the ruins of the castle
this plaque shows what the castle might have looked like
someone has had fun with the trees and branches washed down the river in the floods, building a wonderful boat!
the boat even has a deck
but my favourite bit is the branch at the front which looks like a strange four-legged beastie is trying to climb aboard
further along the path Malcolm spotted this owl peeking out of the undergrowth
and who can resist a rotten old fence post (but again, look out for those nasty stinging nettles)
it looks as if this tree is coming into leaf
but it is fluffy catkins, not leaves
we encountered several gates on our walk. The first one is in need of some tlc
the second one is at the entrance to the park which was to have commemorated the coronation of Edward VIII, but after his abdication, it was dedicated to George VI
but this is my favourite - if you look to the left of the gate, there is nothing to stop you simply walking past it!
this beautifully restored cottage is a holiday rental
it has a stylish weather vane
and a quirky garden seat
as always on our way back, I paused to take a photo of the view through the railway bridge to the "new" road bridge, and the old bridge
the railway bridge is so long, that even this photo doesn't show the full length of it
as we walked back into town, we crossed over the railway just as a train pulled into the station
somehow the beautiful old buildings have survived - so may old stations have been knocked down and replaced with ugly modern buildings
we were going to have scones for lunch, but we made the mistake of looking at the menu, and instead had rather delicious sandwiches. It may look as if I used a special effect for these photos, but it was just that the lens had steamed up! Malcolm had egg mayo
and I had coronation chicken
we walked along the quayside after lunch - and there was another lovely rusty pile
late in the afternoon, these two swans came into the dock
I'll be back tomorrow with some sewing - and some knitting. But to finish - I was delighted to read the other day that a recent survey showed that the population of long tailed tits has increased because of the mild winter. And to prove it, we have had more in the garden