Peace & Quiet . . . .

Today I took a walk to Park Lime Pits nature reserve, an oasis of calm just north of Walsall town centre. I always have mixed emotions when I visit this place - as a teenager this was my playground.
Back in the late 70's it was wild and overgrown, and I spent many happy hours there with my friends - fishing, fossil hunting, and generally having fun. Nowadays the place is run by Walsall council, who have sanitised the place somewhat by laying footpaths and digging steps into the slopes. Fair play to them for looking after the place, but I still long for those summer days when we made our own footpaths in the waist high grass . . . .
Anyway - the place was very quiet today, and I spent a happy hour sat on a bench, watching the resident coots dipping for food . . . .