Rapley Lake

I needed a good walk after the last few days of relative inactivity, and fortuitously one of those endless Facebook Ads popped up in my feed from Hampshire Life extolling the virtues of a walk round Rapley Lake in Bagshot, through part of the Crown Estate edging on Swinley Wood and Bagshot Park, now home to the Earl of Wessex, HRH Prince Edward, and his family.

This is only a short drive from me, and it is yet another local spot I hadn't visited before COVID-19 forced me to re-evaluate my local area.  So today I investigated before dropping into the supermarket nearby for the weekly shop.

The 3 mile or so walk is mainly on permissive paths and bridle ways through wood. There were very few people around, so the woods were full of birdsong. The paths kept crossing Windle Brook, which really did babble!  Apparently this is a good spot for bluebells .. I will be back in Spring to check!

At one end of the man-made lake the water flowed out via a small lily pond teeming with goldfish (probably a dumping spot for those pet goldfish no-one wants any more).  I was also delighted to spot Hawker Dargonflies on the wing, and even more so when I managed to get one decent shot (extra)