Bugs in the Daffodil

A Walk up the Downs

I did have an ulterior motive for this walk, it was a bit of research for another blog I am writing in my Exploration Blog but going to get the photos brought back some childhood memories.

I wanted to get to the hill you see in the distance which is on the Cholsey Downs

To get to it you had to walk up the path you see ahead, this area is a car park for people visiting the downs

The gate here stop you getting to the downs by car. It is only a recent thing as we could once drive right up to a place called the Fair Mile

   The gully you see in the track is caused by rainwater flowing down the hill

Looking back to the carpark

This part of the walk is quite boring now but on the left are some woods
where we used to play & roam around

It used to be a lot more open but now has become very overgrown with vegetation

But in some places it you look out you get a fine view like Starveall farm you see below 

In places I can see where people have been poking around in the woods as there are paths leading in

 We used to go into the woods to play and climb the trees till one day the local farmer who owned it caught us coming along the track on our bikes and accused us of poaching. He wanted out names. But Iwas dammed if I was giving him mine so a few just legged it. I'm told he chased us but he never caught us though I admit my dad was not impressed when I told him. The miserable old famer could have done nothing anyway as the truth is he never caught us in the woods

The track here  gets a bit rougher though it's in better condition that when it was when I was a kid

   This is a view of the woods we used to play in 

This is about as far as I went

 Because this is the view I wanted to get looking down into the village of Cholsey. I felt it was worth the effort. As for the miserable old farmer well he died many years ago and lays in Cholsey Churchyard.

Sky on Thursday

 My wife met me on Thursday lunchtime & we went up to Bury Down for a small picnic, the sky's were glorious and as I happened to have camera it was rude not go get a couple of photos

   Looking over Oxfordshire past Didcot Powerstation

This way we look towards the Harwell Campus

And finally along the ridgeway towards West Hendred

 

If you wondered what the black object was in the field in the first photo, well it was this crow cooling itself down 

Ring of Daisy's

Newbury Food Market

We were in Newbury on Sunday and after coming out of Marks & Spencers we found Northbrook Street was full of market stalls, on a closer look I noticed it was a food market

 The large stall opposite was selling all kinds of fresh made Bread

 Looking up the street towards the cenrter of town

 The other way towards The Broadway

 Think the shed on wheels was selling smooties of something

 Shot on the fly you could get a curry here

The Gluten Free Company selling Fudge and all things Gluten Free . Me well I went to my favorite bakers for a pasty to take home for lunch.

Clematis Macros

Took a few macro photos of some of the clematis in our garden the other day

Sharing with Macro Monday2

Dark Skys on the Way

The view from the terrace at Fforest Fields on Tuesday evening, the weather changing and announcing rain is on the way

 Looking left the blue sky was being pushed away by cloud

Friendly Face

Traffic Jam Sky

Beginning of May I was updating my project photos when I noticed the traffic had built up on the A34 causing a long tailback but the sky's looked good

This is the Northbound lane, the slip road off is at the end of the traffic to the right, no doubt people were pulling off in the hope of driving  round to the next junction which I have no doubt was worse

Looking Northbound and the tailback from what I assume is the next junction at Milton where there are some serious roadworks going on

About 10 minuets later on my way back the traffic was easing 

 

Flowers in the River