Autumn is well and truly making it’s presence known, the temperature has dropped, the mornings are darker and the colour of the leaves has changed to those beautiful autumnal reds and browns.
After a very wet week we have been very lucky with a dry and bright weekend, making the most of the Saturday to get some work done down at the allotment we decided to have a family day on Sunday and go for a decent walk. At ours son’s request we headed out to Virginia Waters, a loop around the lake is about four miles, enough to blow away the cobwebs without leaving you pooped for the rest of the day.
To begin with the paths are busy with couples, families, people on bikes, others with dogs. There were dogs of all sizes, from the beautiful, shaggy Irish wolfhound who made a small girl screech by merely loping past her, to tiny little chihuahuas and a Dachshund being carried in a specially designed bag, with just his head poking out.
As we reached the totem pole, the path branches off to the left, in the hope of avoiding the majority of the other enjoying the weather we hope we are taking the path less travelled.
When you do escape the madding crowd you can start seeing beyond the wood to the trees and more.
There are trees growing as much horizontally as they are vertically…
Trees growing out of trees…
Fungi growing out of trees….
Evidence of romances past – I do hope these two are still together…….
Flocks of parakeets….
Then you look down and there is an amazing array of fungi growing all the way around the five mile walk…..
There are also the picturesque waterfalls, once people were allowed to walk all around them, but now they have been cordoned off, health and safety no doubt. Annoying for a teenager wanting to rock hop, but it makes it a lot easier to take a photo without people popping up in the background.
All in all, if you are after a good walk, to blow away the cobwebs and enjoy the fresh air, then this is definitely a place worth visiting – there is even a nice place to stop for a coffee and a bite to eat.
Just be aware of the swans…
