The River Ribble at the Roman town of Ribchester.

I have read that Ribchester is as far as the Romans managed to reach in Lancashire. Apparently Lancashire was covered in thick , thorny bush and bramble and it  was impossible to penetrate any further north on this side of the country.

We needed to walk somewhere peaceful, charming and unchallenging today as we are feeling a bit glum.
We had a pleasant walk and enjoyed the sunshine , the sparkling water, the bright skies and a picnic in a small glade overlooking the river . 
However, we couldn't help but notice that the charming green fields of swaying grass were in fact a monoculture , not a wild flower in sight nor were there any hedgerows. We passed several farms where the cows were inside barns or in a muddy yard next to the barns . They were filthy, covered in mud and muck . I know , from walking in these pretty parts, that some will get to spend some of the year in the fields but that other farms keep their dairy herd inside all year.
I wonder what David Attenborough will have to say in his new series which starts next Sunday , Wild Isles ? A five part programme about nature in The British Isles .  
This afternoon we delivered more than half of the first set of leaflets for the May elections. No rudeness was encountered , that's my first grateful, along with gratitude for a sunny day plus having transport that allows  us to enjoy the countryside .