Nothing defeats the Wednesday walkers

Wednesday dawned fine and bright, with clear blue skies and lots of sun.

The Haltwhistle long walkers, led by Miranda, took a 9 mile circuit from Bellingham. Miranda's husband, Martin, rarely walks with us, but came today to help with navigation. He calls us the "Haltwhistle talkers"! (I don't think we go fast enough for him at all.)

We had a wonderful walk and it was just what I needed after the last few hectic days.

Here you see my friend Maureen, climbing up an awkward bank from a stream. The views from the top were pretty good, so it was worth it.

I have lots of photos from today which you might find on my Facebook page in due course. The extra is a tree casting its shadow on the land with a lone walker for scale.

We saw the first swallows. (I missed the moment of mating!)

There were primroses, celandine, wood anemones and the very first bluebells. The garlic is not in flower yet, but its aroma suffused the woods. Two magnificent horses came to see me and my camera and Alistair petted three pet lambs.

All in all, a perfect day out.