Smithers woz here ...

I was concerned that we might not get out for walk yet again today, because we needed to stay in to take delivery from the NHS of a pack of injections for The Traveller which were arriving by refrigerated courier. However, they were here just before 3.00 pm so we then grabbed our boots and drove off to Roding Valley Meadows for a walk in the sunshine.

And what a walk it was! The air was full of birdsong, there were catkins galore out, and in the sunshine it felt almost balmy. Some mossy wooden steps lead up a steep slope near the car park exit – we’ve never known where they end up, so today we decided to find out. They took us on a lovely circular walk through wooded territory high up overlooking the slip road from the M11 to the Police Traffic Unit. In the days before the M11 was built it must have been such a tranquil spot, but nowadays there is the constant drone of the traffic. Never mind, once we moved away from the motorway the birdsong became the dominant sound and I was ecstatic to be out in the sunshine and fresh air with Smithers, enjoying it all.

There was plenty of wildlife to see as well. Our local Knighton Woods is beautiful, but there are very few birds to be seen and it’s quite dark in places. Here it was a different story. There are plenty of open spaces, a river and wooded areas too. We saw what I think was a flock of redwings fluttering in the tree tops, and a couple of friendly robins and a blue tit in the hedgerows. It really felt like spring is on the way. The photo shows Smithers' shadow on one of the ivy-covered gateposts on our route.