Escaping to the great outdoors

This afternoon I spent a very pleasant couple of hours recording plants in Stamford Cemetery in glorious late autumn weather. Mostly I was completely alone, but occasionally other people appeared: dog-walkers, people visiting graves, a few families out for a stroll and a couple of men sitting on benches having a quiet smoke - just needing a bit of time out of the house.

On my way home I decided to drop into Burghley Park to photograph the Mistletoe, which grows abundantly in the Common Lime trees. I was staggered to see so many cars - the Estate have roped off additional areas of grass to provide more parking space. The surfaced paths were packed with families and dog-walkers, while other families were picnicking under the trees. Fortunately there was still plenty of space if you were happy to walk over the grass...

It's rather wonderful to see so many families in the countryside and underlines the need for everyone to have easy access to high quality green space. Hopefully this new found enthusiasm for wild places will last after the pandemic is over and provide the impetus  for creation of many new areas that have both recreational and biodiversity value. 

PS There are 33 people (including a baby) and 3 dogs in this picture!