A Full Day

We haven't had a Saturday like it for a while, no commitments. We had been indecisive all week about what we should do. We thought about heading to the outdoor store for new wet weather gear, but monies were a little tight following car repairs, so had put that idea to one side. We thought about getting in the car and going somewhere for a nice long walk, but because that had involved driving, had put that idea to one side (we wanted to do something as low impact as possible). What about a DVD fest', we thought? We do after all have a whole list of films we want to watch or watch again, but the weather forecast was good, and we decided not to waste the good weather.

"What about exploring the other side of the creek?" I had suggested. So that was what we did. We packed light, planning to walk via the bakery on the edge of the town centre to provision and then cut back. I checked my camera, and found that the batteries in my SLR were flat, and we had no spares for my small compact digital. I will never be a professional photographer!

We walked through the park, under the railway. Once provisioned with sausage rolls and doughnuts, all freshly baked that morning and still warm from the oven, we headed off.

We had to stop en-route so that I could loosen my left boot, for some reason my foot was hurting, but slackening the laces seemed to help. We headed around the path on the creek edge. As you can see the path trails around the edge of a golf course. At times we felt like we were running "snipers alley", as over-hit drives missed greens and headed through the scrub that protected us and onward towards the creek.

We walked around and found a spot to stop for our lunch, we combed the beach for anything interesting, and watched the boats leaving on the rising tide for an afternoon sail.

We returned slowly, picking some the abundant blackberries that lined either side of the path. Ripe and sweet. As we walked and picked we discussed the rest of the day. We decided to make the most of what we had gathered, and also the sloes that were already picked and in the freezer. Our return journey took us via the town for sugar, and the pub for a quick pint.

When we got back home we started our blackberry and apple sauce. Sloe gin, blackberry vodka, and generally laid waste to the kitchen. These all now require time before they are ready for the next step.

We did catch a DVD in the evening, and then retired to bed to read. Unfortunately my foot is now very sore, I think it must be the boot because I've not had a problem with it before. I did try and anaesthetise it with some of last years Sloe gin, and as a reminder of why a sore foot will be worth it in the long run.