Is Spring starting to spring?

The south of UK was bathed in delightful sunshine with a slight breeze during Saturday.  You could not sit indoors for long after all the cold we have had recently.  It was gorgeous!

My husband and I decided to visit our favourite park to see if any real green shoots had emerged after the snow and ice we saw there on our last visit.  Sure enough!  The birds were singing, flitting here and there gathering food and just generally being full of the joys of a sunny day.  Whilst we took a rest on one of the many benches provided,  which can just be seen here, it was wonderful to be able to admire the view.  So peaceful with the afternoon sun casting its warm glow across the tops of the trees.

As I said the bird song was amazing and so cheerful!  Suddenly, I glanced down to my feet as I spotted some movement.  Looking down I found I had a new friend!  Mr Robin!!

I could not believe how tame he was.  He was actually picking up crumbs at my feet.  We  both sat very still and only just moved enough for me to take these pictures!

Here he looked up to see what I was up to with my camera upon which, once he was satisfied that I would not stop him foraging, he then turned his back to me!

I was so excited to be able to have this wild bird moving so freely and closely to me.  Obviously, the birds in this park are well used to people drifting in and out without minding too much.

Whilst we walked around we saw loads of clumps of snowdrops which is a sure sign that Spring is on its way!!!

Before we left we really wanted to stroll along the edges of some of the lakes which had been frozen over a few weeks ago.

What a difference a little sunshine makes!

Spring has sprung.

Before the snow!

We knew the snow was coming and on this particular Saturday the sun was shining and the air was still crystal clear. What better excuse to get out and go for a walk in the countryside. Having looked at a map and various National Trust publications we decided to visit a place called Scotney Castle. Unfortunately, the house and gardens were closed for the winter and not due to open for a few weeks but the general public are still allowed to wander through the estate. This we did. It was wonderful! Walking in the fields you had to be careful where you placed your feet! Apart from that it really was lovely to be well wrapped up and able to enjoy the crisp frosty weather before the impending bad weather which heralded snow!

The sheep did not seem to mind us walking amongst them. They simply raised their heads, checked us out and resumed the serious business of eating!

I am told sheep actually prefer the dry, crisp frosty days rather than wet wintry ones because although their wool is waterproof I guess I wouldn't want to sit around in my wool coat on a wet day feeling soggy!

I must admit it was great to walk around without seeing any snow, just for a change!

Can you imagine choosing to take a walk around your estate if it looked like this? How the other half live!

Another Ramble in Spain!

I shall be continuing for a while so do join me in my rambles about our Spanish holiday.  We spent 2 weeks in a place called Mijas in Andalucia, between the Costa bit and the Pueblo on the Costa del Sol.

Whilst up the mountain in the pretty Pueblo bit we encountered amazing views down the mountain to the coast. This view took in the town of Fuengirola which is about 25 kilometers from Malaga airport.  We were not overly impressed with that town.  Very commercialised for the English tourist, bless them!  There are times I cringe when I think of what our country neighbours must think of us.  Do we really need to stick to our English diet of English breakfasts (cholesterol on a plate), burgers, fish and chips, pies etc?  When I go abroad I want to sample some of the local fare.  Since we were near the coast we ate fish nearly every day.  It was wonderful and ranged from huge prawns cooked in garlic to hake/dover sole lightly fried/whitebait and whatever else was to hand.  The fish was landed every morning so you really were able to enjoy fresh fish wherever you went.

A typical set menu would be comprised of a choice of 3 starters (Gazpacho soup, which was served cold and made from tomatoes and red peppers, avocado served with prawns, pate) followed by a main course which again had a choice of 3 (fish of the day, pork chops or lamb) after which a dessert was offered and you could choose one of the three (creme caramel, ice cream, apple tart).  All that for 8.90 Euros or roughly $9.  Of course you had to have a drink with that!  I usually had a glass of a crisp, cool white wine and then wondered why I always wanted a siesta in the afternoon!!  Of course you could always eat a la carte but even then the dishes where not expensive.  One day, we had a mixed Paella which included rabbit, chicken, mussels, prawns, calamari along with various vegetables such as peas and carrots thrown in.  When ordering this dish it will invariably be for two people and is always cooked fresh so the waiters warn you there will be a wait of around 20 minutes or so.  It is well worth the wait!

Often on our visits to Mijas Pueblo we used to take a stroll in the beautifully kept public gardens which encompassed the remains of fortress walls and allowed the viewer to sample breathtaking views of the surrounding area.   Such a selection of pretty wild flowers were abundant wherever we walked.

In the picture to the right I have tried to show you an area that looked like a series of caves but more importantly, the pigeons that roosted there were amazing!

You could imagine during the very hot summers the birds would need to be able to shelter and stay cool.  After being used to seeing the birds on the ledges of high buildings it did seem strange to see them flying in and out of these caves.

In this picture you can see a couple on the right side nestling up to each other.

As we walked on we saw other sights but I will describe these in my next posts.

Meanwhile I leave you with a couple more views that we so enjoyed.

From these pictures you can see how this village is famous for its white washed houses.  In my next post I will show you some lovely houses in the older part of the village.

A walk down a country lane

With the weather allowing us the chance to explore the countryside we decided to take a walk in the near vicinity to our house along what is known as the Worth Way.

The Worth Way is a 7 mile route between Three Bridges and East Grinstead and is accessible to pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders. For our purposes today we only walked from Worth, just up the road, to Old Rowfant and back although we have walked the full length to East Grinstead and back.

The railway line from Three Bridges to East Grinstead was opened on the 9th July 1855 and extended to Tunbridge Wells in 1866. The line was closed in the 1960s and transformed in the 1970s into Worth Way. It is along here that it is a joy to look at the trees and wild life which lie side by side with open farm land.

Further along I couldn't resist take this photograph of how the path wended its way ahead of us. In fact I have this photo as my screen save to remind me of soft warm autumn days.

Walking further on you come to the site of the old railway crossing, the old station building and an old crossing keeper's house remain as a reminder of the architecture once common along railways.

Rowfant station was originally built for a local landowner. This ornate building provided an alcove for his coachman to shelter from the elements. Now totally disused it still has character and you can easily imagine times long gone. The sun was starting to wain a little and the temperature was dropping so we decided to turn around and go back the way we had come.

It really is very nice to pass like minded people who are out walking with their dogs, the rest of the family, mothers and fathers taking their youngsters out for a breath of fresh air. At one point we had to stand to one side of the path to allow a horse and its rider to pass us.

Before we arrived home I leave you with one more image of the path along which we walked.