Catching up - part 1

Have been for a few walks over the last week or so but kept putting off writing this so a bit of a memory exercise!

On Saturday the 18th I took a late stroll out to the bridle-way that leads from the end of Vicarage Lane in Great Baddow out to Brook Lane. This is a lovely old track that leads into the more rural outskirts of Great Baddow and Galleyend, lined with trees and bounded by fields and open meadows. A good place for a quiet walk, this area also features a fair amount of wildlife.

The sun was low in the sky when I approached the bridle-way, a Robin singing in the bushes beside the Lawn Cemetery and Great Tits calling 'tea-cher, tea-cher' in the trees above. The spring growth was beginning to move on apace, fresh green leaves glowed in the afternoon sun and shafts of golden light were angling across the path as I crunched along, listening out for birds as I went. I paused here and there to look through my binoculars at the blue and great tits, a couple passing with their dog followed then by a horse and rider. Skylarks were singing in the distance, off to the right in the field of yellow Oilseed Rape, a sound to unwind the stresses of the week and raise a smile on the lips.

I paused at the pond halfway along the track, a single moorhen skulking at the weedy edges while both Mistle and Song Thrushes sang from somewhere in deep cover. A short scan of the horse meadow and then on towards Brook Lane, past a gathering of Woodpigeons and Magpies in a meadow to the left. At the road I turned right, towards the old pump at the junction with Watchouse Road. Just a hundred yards or so to the north I left the road at Barn Mead, crossing the ditch over a wooden bridge and onto the footpath crossing the field back to the start of the bridleway. At this southern end the path follows the edge of the field beside some tall old trees and hawthorns, a good spot for birdwatching as I've seen Goldcrests, Treecreepers and many others here in the past. Slowly and quietly I followed the path, keeping a close ear and eye on the trees but very aware that with the sun behind me I was very obvious. I was fortunate though as a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew in and landed in a large oak near where I stood and moved around pecking at the bark for some time. Further on I caught a glimpse of a small grey bird, too brief to be positive but almost certainly a Blackcap.

I struck out here across the field of Oilseed Rape, following the clear path made by the farmer, most welcome to find. All around me was the sound of Skylark song, the birds either out of sight of my myopic vision or hiding amongst the stems. Indeed, I did see one scurry along the path and disappear in the crop again, just a quick view but good for all that. With that I reached the bridleway again and turned north towards home, passing the Robin still singing in the bushes and, as I walked through Great Baddow, noticing a Sundog either side of the setting sun - a good finale to the walk and something that probably very few people would notice and so for me all the more special.

The bridle-way in the evening light