The weather forecast said that it was going to be the last day of summer weather, and what a glorious day it was. The perfect day for walking down to the river.  After crossing the busy main road, the rest of the walk was blissful. First, a quiet little road that ends in a level crossing, so there is no through traffic. It was a bit windy, but the wind was very warm, and the sky was very blue with wispy little clouds, truly a summer’s day.

We crossed the level crossing, and the first photo opportunity presented itself – a swan putting its feet up – well one foot anyway…

We carried on down a grassy track, and we passed another track off to one side that looked very inviting. Unfortunately it is private, so I couldn’t venture down it. There is something about a closed gate that makes me want to get to the other side, but I had to make do with taking a photo…

We carried on enjoying the birdsong, peace, and beautiful countryside until we came to the river. We passed a few dog-walkers, a few boats, several anglers, and then this …

Something unexpected – a radio-controlled speedboat terrorising some canoeists! I think that the boat controllers and the canoeists were the same family. They all seemed to be having fun anyway! I thought how good it was that so many people were out enjoying the weather and the outdoors. Along the river I took some more photos…

At this point, we thought ‘why didn’t we bring a picnic?’ But we hadn’t, and we were so hungry we decided to make our way home. I took a few more photos on the way home. We saw a lot of swans, this next picture includes just some of them, and a tractor…

Naturally, I had to take a photo of some cattle, as I’m particularly fond of cows…

The last picture is a bit sad – a scarecrow that has definitely seen better days, and I don’t know if you can see from this photo, but he is wearing a balaclava!

All in all, it was a lovely way to spend the last day of summer. Oh, there was one thing that wasn’t so good – I got pooped on by a bird – but luckily it was a small bird!