Sunday, 3rd May 2020
After not being out for a “big walk” for a couple of weeks now, and the walks I have done have been shorter variations of previous walks I've written about, I decided it was time to reacquaint my legs with some walking action.
I couldn’t decide between the remaining two “big walks” I have left to do – the foreshore or the secret lake - so I asked if someone else would make a decision for me.
Mark kindly chose for me the secret lake. So there you have it. Walk for the day chosen, I set about making some packup and a flask. After all, you can’t go to a secret lake and not enjoy the moment can you now.
And off I set. I got past the houses and out into the countryside. The air was heavy with pollen. It smelt wonderful – a mixture of sweet and earthy, no doubt brought on by the recent torrential thundery rainfall, not that you can tell it’s rained if the cracks in the ground are anything to go by.
Past the little apple orchard and onto the access road to Magdalen Farm. The sun was shining, the birds were singing their beaks off. What’s not to like?
Looking across to my right I spotted The Biggest Oilseed Rape Field Ever in the distance, bathed in sunshine and highlighting Winter Hill / Daisy Hill wonderfully:
I decided to walk a RoW I’ve never walked before. Only I didn’t really manage to do that right. You see, on the map the path cuts diagonally across the field – a field full of crops. The path on the ground goes round the edge. Now some purists would say I should have followed the RoW across the crops. I say “why?” when the path round the edge of the field isn’t much of a detour and avoids trampling somebody’s income. After all, I’m out for “a walk”.
Almost at Weghill Road now and here’s a pic of a fingerpost buried in the hedgerow pointing in a direction I did not come from:
And a pic of the field I should have crossed:
I’m pleased I’ve explored this little not quite the RoW though as it means I can avoid walking along Weghill Road (fast traffic) completely and the exit from the field is directly opposite the onward route.
And so the yellow-fest begins:
This is the humongous yellow field in the first pic by the way.
Arty-farty pic:
Now, for the most part, the path was wide and clear along the edge of the first field but it, umm, deteriorated somewhat:
And soon, my clothing became speckled with yellow dust. Speckled? Who am I kidding? I was covered in the stuff
Eventually I escaped “the yellow” and reached the little bridge. “Aha!” I thought. “This is the bridge I cross before I get to the secret lake.” I thought:
Nope. Apparently it wasn’t.
I meandered on, feeling more and more puzzled that the lake hadn’t appeared before realising that I don’t normally come at it from this angle and that I’ve never walked over that bridge before.
A look back at the yellow field/s I’d just walked. Nah, that’s a lie. I just can’t get enough of Saltend’s cooling towers and Hedon Church really
:
I joined a farm track and spotted another bridge in the distance:
This must surely be the bridge I thought I was crossing earlier.
Turns out I was right this time and just a short hop, skip and a jump beyond that, you crest a hill and there it is:
The secret lake.
There were a couple of people sat on the log when I first arrived so I carried on a little way to the next view point:
…where I found a strategically placed upturned bucket to sit on to eat my packup. Unfortunately, it wasn’t far enough away and I could hear the couple gabbing. I know all about Margaret’s restless leg and how big “our Gary” has got since he started his new job and, I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to know, that the baby’s due in June.
Eventually they moved on and I snaffled the log for my Brew With A View:
It was nice sitting here (comfier than the bucket too) and I took a short vid, more for the sound of the birdsong than anything but I'm struggling to upload it.
I couldn’t decide between the remaining two “big walks” I have left to do – the foreshore or the secret lake - so I asked if someone else would make a decision for me.
Mark kindly chose for me the secret lake. So there you have it. Walk for the day chosen, I set about making some packup and a flask. After all, you can’t go to a secret lake and not enjoy the moment can you now.
And off I set. I got past the houses and out into the countryside. The air was heavy with pollen. It smelt wonderful – a mixture of sweet and earthy, no doubt brought on by the recent torrential thundery rainfall, not that you can tell it’s rained if the cracks in the ground are anything to go by.
Past the little apple orchard and onto the access road to Magdalen Farm. The sun was shining, the birds were singing their beaks off. What’s not to like?
Looking across to my right I spotted The Biggest Oilseed Rape Field Ever in the distance, bathed in sunshine and highlighting Winter Hill / Daisy Hill wonderfully:
I decided to walk a RoW I’ve never walked before. Only I didn’t really manage to do that right. You see, on the map the path cuts diagonally across the field – a field full of crops. The path on the ground goes round the edge. Now some purists would say I should have followed the RoW across the crops. I say “why?” when the path round the edge of the field isn’t much of a detour and avoids trampling somebody’s income. After all, I’m out for “a walk”.
Almost at Weghill Road now and here’s a pic of a fingerpost buried in the hedgerow pointing in a direction I did not come from:
And a pic of the field I should have crossed:
I’m pleased I’ve explored this little not quite the RoW though as it means I can avoid walking along Weghill Road (fast traffic) completely and the exit from the field is directly opposite the onward route.
And so the yellow-fest begins:
This is the humongous yellow field in the first pic by the way.
Arty-farty pic:
Now, for the most part, the path was wide and clear along the edge of the first field but it, umm, deteriorated somewhat:
And soon, my clothing became speckled with yellow dust. Speckled? Who am I kidding? I was covered in the stuff
Eventually I escaped “the yellow” and reached the little bridge. “Aha!” I thought. “This is the bridge I cross before I get to the secret lake.” I thought:
Nope. Apparently it wasn’t.
I meandered on, feeling more and more puzzled that the lake hadn’t appeared before realising that I don’t normally come at it from this angle and that I’ve never walked over that bridge before.
A look back at the yellow field/s I’d just walked. Nah, that’s a lie. I just can’t get enough of Saltend’s cooling towers and Hedon Church really
:I joined a farm track and spotted another bridge in the distance:
This must surely be the bridge I thought I was crossing earlier.
Turns out I was right this time and just a short hop, skip and a jump beyond that, you crest a hill and there it is:
The secret lake.
There were a couple of people sat on the log when I first arrived so I carried on a little way to the next view point:
…where I found a strategically placed upturned bucket to sit on to eat my packup. Unfortunately, it wasn’t far enough away and I could hear the couple gabbing. I know all about Margaret’s restless leg and how big “our Gary” has got since he started his new job and, I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to know, that the baby’s due in June.
Eventually they moved on and I snaffled the log for my Brew With A View:
It was nice sitting here (comfier than the bucket too) and I took a short vid, more for the sound of the birdsong than anything but I'm struggling to upload it.
At some point a bird-scarer fired off pretty close by. That’s my cardio workout sorted then
Suitably fed and watered I continued on. My views being something like this, until they weren't:
I skirted round the edge of a little boggy pond area. Does anyone know what these little purple flowers are?:
And then! Oh joy! Look what I have to walk through :
If I wasn’t resembling a canary before, I sure will be soon
I burst out of the other side and onto a quiet lane which leads into Preston.
A conker tree absolutely festooned in bloom:
A little patch of bloobies on someone’s front verge:
Preston Church coming into view:
Upon reaching the village I had a decision to make. Do I carry on and return home via Nun’s Walk? Or do I just head down the road? By the time I reached the Church it had started to spit-spot with rain so I decided on the quicker route home along the road. The cherry tree outside the fire station now in full leaf rather than a previous trip report's pic in full bloom:
Naturally, the rain stopped as I was half way down the road so I decided to finish my walk along the old railtrack:
And I’m so glad I did:
This grainy snap is taken from a short vid I took. It was probably 20ft away from me. We just looked at each other then carried on our separate ways. No spooking, nothing. Lovely. What a fantastic end to a lovely walk
Suitably fed and watered I continued on. My views being something like this, until they weren't:
I skirted round the edge of a little boggy pond area. Does anyone know what these little purple flowers are?:
And then! Oh joy! Look what I have to walk through :
If I wasn’t resembling a canary before, I sure will be soon
I burst out of the other side and onto a quiet lane which leads into Preston.
A conker tree absolutely festooned in bloom:
A little patch of bloobies on someone’s front verge:
Preston Church coming into view:
Upon reaching the village I had a decision to make. Do I carry on and return home via Nun’s Walk? Or do I just head down the road? By the time I reached the Church it had started to spit-spot with rain so I decided on the quicker route home along the road. The cherry tree outside the fire station now in full leaf rather than a previous trip report's pic in full bloom:
Naturally, the rain stopped as I was half way down the road so I decided to finish my walk along the old railtrack:
And I’m so glad I did:
This grainy snap is taken from a short vid I took. It was probably 20ft away from me. We just looked at each other then carried on our separate ways. No spooking, nothing. Lovely. What a fantastic end to a lovely walk
Of course, now I’m back home, the sun has come out again
I think I’ve earned my semi-homemade takeaway style lemon chicken and chips tonight as this is the longest walk I’ve done since lockdown at a smidgelet under 7 miles, and no tendon issues too.
Thanks for reading