onionbagblog

An increasingly rare weekend run out towards Alresford Creek, and the surprise wasn’t that there is still life left in my old timbers, but the extent in which the local landscape has changed over the past few weeks.

It was only Royal Wedding weekend when we last went out for a walk past the Sailing Club, along the footpath vandalised by the Environment Agency and then destination Alresford.

The first signs of spring were starting to show back then. A mental note was made as to where to return in September for those secluded raspberry, rosehip and sloe picking points.

But less than a month later and the micro North Essex environment has changed yet again. A canopy of green greets you once you enter the wooded area that carries you all the way to the Creek.

The tunnel of shrubs and hedges closes in as the footpath stretches out towards the estuary. It is still passable all the way down to Alresford, leaving a feeling of splendid isolation and true tranquillity.

So much that I got caught short and disappeared into the overgrowth to spend a penny - and not with the old toll master either. What are the chances of a female acquaintance out for the morning run passing me just as I was splashing the boots?

Whoops, and apologies, Madam.

Elsewhere and I bumped into perhaps the most esteemed artist from around these parts, doing his daily walk and ever keen to keep an eye on all that the estuary sends our way.

Splendid Sir - most splendid.

My memento from my own morning of walking was the audio slideshow below. I’m still not happy with the format - the previous system of embedding images and audio toppled the server over, such was the bandwidth hungry strength of the files. Vimeo comes as a compromise.

Oh - I also returned with insect bites down both legs: true suffering for my *ahem* art as I poked my camera into all the places where it really shouldn’t have been poked.

Once again, apologies, Madam.

Here’s hoping that once the next phase of vandalism from the Environment Agency is over, this wonderful, wonderful Wivenhoe walk out towards the Creek still manages to maintain the natural canopy.

If yer gonna wreck our landscape, at least put some portaloos up, fellas.

Full flickr set over here.