McGresty
as it happens
Spring 2026
Spring is approaching and as usual I headed for various places as the colors burst forth during the annual rebirth. No doubt it will see more rain, but then that's the norm for England. The ground is waterlogged, so hopefully I can find a pair of waterproof boots to try and keep my feet dry without spending too much. Suffering the unreliable public transport no doubt will take place as usual. Here goes.
To achieve anything on a Spring post involves getting out and about. Daytime temperatures are not all that warm yet, but one day brought 75F degrees. How could I resist, so set out in the sunny weather, grabbed a branchline train to the final destination and casually plodded along.
The walk to a wooded area was about 5 minutes. I needed to head south-east and began the journey. A map section from England's Ordinance Survey Map (OSM) showed 5 trails in the wood, no, there must be 20 because the OSM is about 200 years out of date (which is why I never trust the things). Instead of taking the direct route, I meandered around for about an hour or so, just enjoying the absence of other people and finally found the trail for the next part of the trek.
At this point I saw some Bluebells, normally they come out in May and here I was before the middle of April. Three years ago it was the month of May and they had emerged from the ground during a trek I was on. It turns out the Bluebells are quite early in many places due to the mild winter and extra rain earlier this year. Now we have a lot of sunshine and a number of flowers which come out in May are all over the place, especially the Bluebells, trouble is I have to travel far away to find a wood with thousands of the things so will just settle for these.
It is Spring holiday for the schools and along the way I ran across a couple of families with their kids. My destination was a village where there are a couple of lakes. Signage was nowhere so I asked a couple people who sent me in the wrong direction. This happens in England, especially amongst the middle class English who rather than admit they do not know will tell you a lie (not all of them, but most). There were a lot of trails in the wood and I went in a circle twice on different paths. Eventually a guy, who was running, showed me the correct route and I finally arrived at the edge of the small village.
Near the village are two lakes, a higher one which drains into a smaller one lower down next to it. I walked down the street toward them and it must have been about 3/4's of a mile to a trail to the first one. Finally arriving, there were all kinds of people with their dogs and children. On the way was a playground, off to the side, but it was empty.
The lower lake had hardly anyone around and I found a place to just sit down and relax. I had begun the trek at 1230 pm and now it was 4pm. My legs were very tired as I had covered nearly 7 miles, normally I only do 2-3 miles. I needed the exercise, but not quite this much. Another half mile or so I found a stop where I could grab a bus to the nearest train station in order to go home.
While Spring may not be ended yet, there is one thing I want to do and that is grab some fotos of something celebrating it's Springtime. Around where I live about the only wildlife has feathers and the occassional fox at nighttime. Something with fur was needed during daylight, so I set out for a park which has a lot of squirrels. Grey squirrels sometimes have a bit of redness in them, as can be seen in this one.
Early sun.
To achieve anything on a Spring post involves getting out and about. Daytime temperatures are not all that warm yet, but one day brought 75F degrees. How could I resist, so set out in the sunny weather, grabbed a branchline train to the final destination and casually plodded along.
The first flowers, on a Blackthorn tree.
Releaf
The walk to a wooded area was about 5 minutes. I needed to head south-east and began the journey. A map section from England's Ordinance Survey Map (OSM) showed 5 trails in the wood, no, there must be 20 because the OSM is about 200 years out of date (which is why I never trust the things). Instead of taking the direct route, I meandered around for about an hour or so, just enjoying the absence of other people and finally found the trail for the next part of the trek.
At this point I saw some Bluebells, normally they come out in May and here I was before the middle of April. Three years ago it was the month of May and they had emerged from the ground during a trek I was on. It turns out the Bluebells are quite early in many places due to the mild winter and extra rain earlier this year. Now we have a lot of sunshine and a number of flowers which come out in May are all over the place, especially the Bluebells, trouble is I have to travel far away to find a wood with thousands of the things so will just settle for these.
It is Spring holiday for the schools and along the way I ran across a couple of families with their kids. My destination was a village where there are a couple of lakes. Signage was nowhere so I asked a couple people who sent me in the wrong direction. This happens in England, especially amongst the middle class English who rather than admit they do not know will tell you a lie (not all of them, but most). There were a lot of trails in the wood and I went in a circle twice on different paths. Eventually a guy, who was running, showed me the correct route and I finally arrived at the edge of the small village.
Near the village are two lakes, a higher one which drains into a smaller one lower down next to it. I walked down the street toward them and it must have been about 3/4's of a mile to a trail to the first one. Finally arriving, there were all kinds of people with their dogs and children. On the way was a playground, off to the side, but it was empty.
The lower lake had hardly anyone around and I found a place to just sit down and relax. I had begun the trek at 1230 pm and now it was 4pm. My legs were very tired as I had covered nearly 7 miles, normally I only do 2-3 miles. I needed the exercise, but not quite this much. Another half mile or so I found a stop where I could grab a bus to the nearest train station in order to go home.
Thought this would be a different than the whole animal.
While Spring may not be ended yet, there is one thing I want to do and that is grab some fotos of something celebrating it's Springtime. Around where I live about the only wildlife has feathers and the occassional fox at nighttime. Something with fur was needed during daylight, so I set out for a park which has a lot of squirrels. Grey squirrels sometimes have a bit of redness in them, as can be seen in this one.
Worth the time.
May 01, 2026
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