Breaking the Journey

I am in Birmingham tonight as Ruth's Education and Health Care Plan is being reviewed tomorrow.  Not being in a rush to get here - nice change - I decided to look for interesting places to visit along the route.  I picked two nature reserves, one 5 miles off the route, the other immediately adjacent to the road.  I almost skipped the first to allow more time for the convenient and larger second one.  Glad I didn't!  While Twywell Hills and Dales offered a variety of habitats it was very much a dog walkers paradise :-/   Soham Meadows however having promised Green Winged Orchids (see extra) also offered some (very) Early Marsh Orchids, a happy bonus :-)

Despite this being a very familiar journey, I managed to leave the A14 by the wrong sliproad and ended up heading North on the M1, worse still, I didn't notice until I was passing the first possible escape route!  The next option added 40 miles to my journey ..... and I arrived to find I had left the accommodation keys at home.  The stress and strain of the last few years has caught up with me big time lately ...... life seems to be unravelling :-(

Ruth was in good form when I arrived - hoping for a positive meeting tomorrow.  As funding cuts bite everywhere there are more challenges ahead I fear.