Share my walk today

Hubby and I have been out in the car today as it was too nice to stay indoors.
We visited a couple of towns we hadn’t been to before, and got lost in one, even though we had a street map!
Still, we consoled ourselves with a sausage roll and cup of tea followed by an ice cream before making our way home again.

I suggested to Hubby that he drop me off outside of town and I’d walk Maggie back.
It meant that she could have a run and I could get my thoughts in order.
So much is going through my mind at the moment that I’m still restless at night and my dreams are literally taking me round in circles, like some kind of Groundhog Day on a budget!

There are some beautiful gardens here, with several entrances from the main road.
I joined from the bottom right of this picture to come out at the weir entrance in one of the charming side roads (roughly in the centre by that grey roof).
This is my picture, and the weir would have been on my left as I crossed the bridge towards the fields.
I passed an old lady with a chocolate labrador (I heard her call her Bella) and both dogs did the usual sniff of all the ‘interesting places’ without incident.
When I went through the gate, an old gentleman was admiring the view.
He explained that he and his wife had visited the town last week, but couldn’t find a disabled place to park, so had ended up paying £2. I told him that was a shame as with a disabled badge, you don’t have to pay here. He said a traffic warden had told him that after he’d parted with his money, but it was one reason why they decided to come back today so that they could explore a little without having the worry of their ticket expiring.

He asked if I was local to which I replied ‘sort of’, so we chatted for a while about places to walk the dog, he being especially interested in where I intended to walk next.
It is actually a floodplain and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. The site is important for protection as being one of the few remaining ham meadows which are traditionally managed, hence its name The Ham.
When it’s dry like now, you can walk completely round it, though I’ve never done it as it equates to more than a couple of miles. This is really beyond all three of us in one hit as it’s a good mile to get there to start with!

I told him about the gardens where there are plenty of places to sit, and if he fancied a cup of tea, to try the tea rooms in The Abbey grounds as, like in The Abbey itself, dogs are allowed.
He thought a cup of tea to be an excellent idea and joined his wife (and Bella) to tell her.

My route today then followed the path parallel to the river, with the field on my left.
Maggie was doing her doggy thing, plenty of sniffing and wees, but no poo, and when I got to the end of the pathway, I went through the gate and across the bridge, turning left to head up towards the lock.
Again, walking parallel to the river (the above two pictures are also mine), we crossed the little footbridge that goes over the lock entrance (just to the left and out of shot in the picture below)
but clear in this one (these images from google)
Once up the steps and over the arch bridge in the distance here, it’s a walk along the road to the marina.

This shot is taken across the river, with the marina over the grassy bank behind the trees, which sadly aren’t there anymore (again not my photograph).

I’d guess the distance is around a mile and three-quarters in total and took us about forty minutes, but that included chatting time!