Urban walking

My Sunday walk was a bit different this week as I decided to do a more urban walk. Since returning home I have not been for a local walk so it was time to venture to some familiar haunts.

I decided to walk to Greenwich Park via a new housing estate. and Blackheath. The weather was perfect for walking and as it was early morning there were few people around so social distancing was easy.

The housing estate has been thoughfully landscaped with wild meeadows and water features. At least the people on lockdown living in the flats would have pleasant views from their balconies.

I walked on through a much older estate with lots of greenery.

Finally I reached Blackheath. It hasn't rained since March and the heath was looking parched.

At the other side of  Blackheath is Greenwich Park. At the moment, no cars are allowed into the park and the empty road was an unusual sight.

From the top of the park you have a panaramic view over London and can see the River Thames snaking its way around Greenwich and the Docklands.

I continued my walk through the park and on into Greenwich. More people were walking around the town so I decided to make my way home. By the time I got home I had waled over 10 miles,much further than I had intended but it was good to be in familiar surroundings once again.

Garden joy

With the easing of restrictions I decided to move back home yesterday to spend the evenings and nights there but returning to my daughter's house during the day to continue with the home schooling etc
I have been back a couple of times to do some gardening but it was only ever for a short time. I was delighted to see the poppy in full flower. A lot of weeding to be done but I will have to tackle that when my energy levels are sufficiently high enough.

A day in my world during lockdown.

Our day starts with lessons. As you can see I have a large class. My granddaughter takes the register for me because she can remember all  18 names.

We also had to put up the bunting we had made earlier this week to celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE  (Victory in Europe) day.

After lessons I took both grandchildren for a walk to see the four little ducklings.

Piece of art using leaves and petals gathered on the walk.

Playtime in their favourite box. The most played with toy during lockdown.

After lunch I went for a walk on my own. I have now done 43 miles on the virtual walk I'm doing (see previous post).

Once the children are in bed tonight, I will be taking part in the weekly family quiz, courtesy of the zoom app. Other than the Friday quiz the days don't change very much in this strange world we find ourselves in at the moment. I try to find time for daily phone calls to friends and then if I have any energy left I try and read, comment or write a post!

The Virtual walk

This week I should have been in Norfolk on the annual long distance walk with five other walkers. This is our annual get together and is planned months in advance.  Paul had once again done an excellent job sourcing transport, accommodation and places to eat. Who could possibly have guessed that it would have to be cancelled because of a pandemic. It wasn't going to be a difficult walk as Norfolk is mainly flat.  It was a 90 mile walk taking us through the countryside and then along the coast. Of course, once lockdown was in sight we knew we wouldn't be able to do the walk this year. However, Jim suggested covering the mileage during our daily walks. He volunteered to collate the distance we covered each day and then he would let us know where we would be on the walk. We started last Thursday doing however many miles we could. A couple of the group are remaining within the home, either using a treadmill or counting steps. The rest of us are doing our usual daily walk of 2 or 3 miles.  But we are all a little competitive and the mileage seems to be creeping up.

Living at my daughter's I am fortunate to have easy access to woodland making extended walks away from others much easier. So on Sunday I walked 8 miles bringing my total to 19.5 miles

I haven't walked that far for a couple of months so I was tired by the time I got home. Not quite the same as walking with the group but I count myself fortunate that I can escape the lockdown with country walks.
Sharing with Our World Tuesday

Thanking the keyworkers.

Each day I go out for an hour's walk.   I try to vary my route and often go down roads I have never visited before. Today I walked down this road with its brightly decorated trees and messages from children thanking our key workers.

Each Thursday evening at 8pm you will find the majority of people outside their front doors clapping and cheering to show their appreciation of our National Health Service.

Out for a walk

On my return from Leeds I did a quick turnaround and packed up the car with all the things I might need over the next couple of months.  My daughter, sil and children live just half an hour's drive from me. As she has a chronic illness it was thought the best solution would be for me to move in to help with the kids. That was 6 weeks ago and it has worked out ok. Everyone is well and we are still speaking to one another! There are times I have found it difficult not having time to myself but I try to go for a short walk most days.
Recently, lockdown rules have been relaxed slightly to allow you to drive somewhere for a walk on the condition that the walk is longer than the drive. So today I took a short drive into Kent. This would be the first decent walk I have done since lockdown. Not living at home meant I didn't have access to any maps or guides with me. However, I have lead walks in this area many times and I was sure my memory wouldn't fail me.

My walking is usually accompanied by the distant sounds of traffic from one of the major motorways which go through Kent, taking traffic either to the coast or into central London. Today's walk was a completely different experience. The only sounds I could hear were from birds. I recognised the wood pidgeons, the robins, blue tits and even a woodpecker tap tapping away. Many more birds were joining the chorus but my knowledge of different bird songs is very poor.

I was just a little late to see the bluebells at their best but it was still a welcome sight.

The wild garlic was thriving.

There were no sounds of aircraft from the skies nor the criss-crossing of contrails, just a few wispy white clouds floating across the sky.

It was an absolute joy walking today and it definitely revived my spirits. I'm not sure how long I will have to be away from home but as long as I can occasionally go out for a walk like this I will be able to manage this crisis.