Plenty for Everyone

I stopped on a whim while driving back from Halfords where I picked up a new tire and tube for my bike. I've always wanted to walk up to where Horseheath Hall once stood, and there's a public footpath right up past the formal parkland that you can see on Google satellite view.

Along the way I passed a stand of massive thistles, and those that were in bloom were mobbed by all sorts of insects. I couldn't decide between the two that I've posted: although the bee and beetle is sharper, I haven't had a good butterfly shot yet, so the butterfly and hoverfly sharing is in the extras. 

I've also posted a shot of the astonishing security fence around the old Horseheath Hall gardens. It looks like a military installation! My goodness. 

And, I did get my bike fixed. Haven't worked on a bicycle for eons, but I decided to do it myself rather than wasting more petrol going to a bike shop to have someone else do it.