Welcome oasis

After a couple of days when I’ve done quite a bit of heavy lifting and housework, I was keen to get out into the sunshine for some fresh air and exercise.

We drove to the Roding Valley Meadows nature reserve and set off from the car park. A couple of hundred yards along the path, Smithers had to stop because the pain in his neck and shoulders was too bad. He suggested that he should walk slowly back to the car, leaving me free to walk on for a bit and hopefully get some nature photos.

This I did, managing to get a bit lost on the way while trying to get a photograph of one of the many butterflies flitting around. I strayed off the path, took a detour to get back on to it, and found a footbridge ahead of me, which straddled the M11. By the time I found my way back to our usual path I had been far longer than I intended, and started running to get back to Smithers as soon as I could, to save him from sitting in the car for too long.

I’ve added a photo of the traffic to my collage to emphasise how the meadows still attracts wildlife, despite its proximity to this main London artery.