Visit to Tadham Nursery on Somerset Levels

Continuing on our 'regime' of regular cycle rides, it is not surprising that since Graham has opened his nursery again, that today's ride took us there.  Around trip of about 18 miles.

I have really missed visiting his stall in Wells on Market Street.  Last year he moved to the weekly market in Street, which I tried to visit, but he was not there that week.  I happened to be searching for some more Hardy Geraniums, when I saw that he stocked at least two and that he was opening a stall at his nursery on Fridays and Saturdays.

As there was room for just this lot in my pannier, I am sure further trips during the summer may be necessary.

Clock wise starting in the top left hand corner: Geranium sanguineum album, Erodium Natasha, Geranium Russell Prichard, Geranium Dusky Crug, and Allium senescens glaucum.

I am always on the look out for stalls outside cottages selling home laid eggs:

More Cycling

Its great to be well enough again to think of going for rides other that to Town to do my shopping.  On Bank Holiday Monday we took advantage of the clear roads and headed towards Wedmore then back through the levels.

We cycled along a ridge with views to the north towards Cheddar, and towards the south down on Shapwick Heath Reserve, and had a stop for a drink at Bagley.  The ride down Mudgly Hill was exhilarating as.  Down on the levels the were many people out walking and cycling on this fine day.

A regular feature now is a get together with WI friends whether it be the book club, netball, or as next week for the first time, a monthly meeting via Zoom.  Yesterday evening Jane came up with ideas of 'outings' of course in ones or family groups, to surrounding farm shops.  It planted the seed for our cycle ride today.  We found Long Drove across Queen's Sedge Moor with some magnificent oak trees, let us straight onto a good cycle track running parallel to the A39.

Up at Middlewick Farm, we happened to bump into the owner, whom we had met previously during a rather nice dinner on our break in Dunster.  Its taken us eighteen months to get round to popping in for a chat again.  The farm shop was well stocked, and had in place excellent procedures with hand washing, and with just one at a time in the shop.  After an icecream, we headed for home and it is sure to be asparagus as a starter tonight!  I wonder how long it will be before we are back for coffee and croissants?

Somerset levels - January cycle

Continuing with cycle rides straight from home, I am finally getting to explore some of those long droves which criss cross the Somerset wetlands.  Whilst the narrow roads leading off the hills can take the form of hollow ways lined with ferns, down on the Moors, where the droves are flaked by rhnes which at this time of the year are full of water, they are higher than the surrounding areas.  I find the term Moor strange, as I had previously thought and experienced moors at high levels, not like these areas which are only a few meters above sea level.

Yesterday's ride of 12km, took me across the A39 Wells to Glastonbury Road, through Upper Coxley and onto Pill Moor.  In effect my cycle ride took me round Harter's Hill.  It is the first in the section of pictures below.  I am a complete novice regarding taking pictures my mobile hence fuzziness, exposure etc....it may be me or maybe I am just expecting too much from it!

There were many birds in the rhynes and fields.  On this ride there were rooks feeding in the grass, and an adult swan and two juveniles in one rhyne near Harter's Hill, which got me thinking of Wynne the widowed Swan at the Bishop's Palace in Wells, who managed to rear her cygnets single handed this year.  She has flown away, and we are all wondering whether the new swans will learn to ring the bell.  Standing out in the dull grey day were two little white egrets, a couple of herons, and what looked like a very big heron type bird, which took off in flight as soon as I came riding down the drove.  Looking up the site for birds on the levels, I see that there has been Cranes on the levels.  I will be sure to pack my binoculars for my next ride out on the levels!  

With all the stopping to admire the views, and enjoying checking on my map on the phone, the ride took longer than I had anticipated.  It was well worth it.

Ash Trees on the Mendips

I'm using this Title on this post because I took a picture of a magnificent ash tree on my ride today.  It was a shorter ride at around 8km, with 144m ascent.

The quiet time after Christmas is traditionally a time to consider new resolutions, Normally I don't make any resolutions, well not at this time of the year, but it dawned on me in the small wee hours that I ought to be less timid.    Friends who know the outer me may laugh at this, but the inner self does lack confidence in just getting on and trying things.

In  my less timid mode, I thought through the things I ought to set my sights on.  An important one is good health and fitness within one's capabilities.After my injury on the walks in Crete and a realisation that my feet would hardly ever be likely to be in shape to attempt even moderate walks let alone walks such as The Tour de Mont Blanc and crossing the Pyrenees as I had done some years ago, my mind has turned to cycling.  We are fortunate to live in a beautiful area, with reasonably quiet roads so this will be my new challenge and offer a variety of 'adventures'.

I have my workhorse of a bicycle, which with its panniers, serves me very well for visits to friends locally and most grocery shopping.  However there is no reason to limit oneself, and this is the third of my rides in my new regime.  I am exploring the area straight around our home.

Another area in which I have been timid, is in the use of the mobile phone!  After years of having first a pager, then a mobile phone for work, and jumping each time wondering what emergency would need to be dealt with, I had decided to use them as little as possible.  I have one and I want it to be a tool.

On my recent two cycle rides on the levels, one of the difficulties was getting out the Ordnance Survey Map from my pannier, opening it, finding where I was, and maybe trying to hold it open in the breeze or in the mizzle, which is the name for very fine rain/mist.

With the new Ordnance Survey Maps there is a facility to download a code, but first you need to upload an app, my first one!, and now I have the map on the phone, with a little help from Mr S.  So today, I have used this for the first time, and I am sure there are many features to explore and will be fun to use.

Another 'must try harder' area is using the mobile phone to take pictures....The picture of my Giant was taken with the phone, and another first for me today was uploading the picture to a 'Facebook' post using the phone.  Another first was sending the picture to my own email from the phone, so that I could upload it to my blog.

The Ash Tree was taken with my camera, and it really doesn't quite look as good.

There are large areas of mixed woodland on the Mendips, with Ash dominating.  Away from the coppiced woodland within the smaller fields 'eye catcher' specimens like this one offer landmarks along the lanes.  After cycling and indeed walking up steep hills pushing the bicycle, there was a steady downhill ride into Wookey, with much breaking. 

When looking up the flora and fauna of the Mendips I read that one of the plants 

"Purple gromwell: A characteristic plant of the Mendip ash-lime woodland frequently found in clearings and beside rides"

which by the way I shall look out for this spring around the edge of the wooded areas,  is growing in the green swath, which stands in for lawn in my front garden.  Was it planted there at some time, or is it a remnant of the original turf?