Sun and Catkins

We have been for several walks now that the weather is dryer. The tracks are still very wet underfoot so much of the time we have been on side roads or made up paths.
With a little more warmth in the sun the catkins are coming out and we have seen a few early crocuses.
Our new boots fit well and have been put away again until nearer the time for walking the Camino and we are using our older boots for training. We filled our rucksacks with all our Camino gear as for a hot day (ie we packed fleeces etc) to be sure that we could carry the maximum we expect to take. My pack weighs approx 6kg and Terry's 7kg without water. If we are wearing our T-shirt/vests and/or fleeces the weight will go down. We'll post a full list and weights later.
So far we have only been walking about 9km, but we average about 4km an hour including brief stops for photos. We have found a coffee stop which also serves lunches. Useful when we want to do a longer walk later on.

Sunshine after the rain

After a cold and then very wet week we finally had sunshine today. A walk, starting off uphill for about 2½km, led us along the hilltop. The wind was cold, but between the hedges was warmer especially in the sun. The road then drops into the valley before rising again. Total distance today was nearly 8km.
At the ford there is a raised walkway, not visible in the photo, so the water wasn't a problem. There is usually water running here with the small stream running under the walkway into the nearby brook.

The road across the valley can be seen in the centre of the photo

Track, stream and ford

First walk of 2011

Another short walk today, about 5km, to start the new year. It was too grey and cloudy to take any photos. There is still just a little snow around, like yesterday, but it has nearly gone. The snowmen have all melted away. Now we hope for some winter sunshine and good walking weather for 2011.