A new route and scarce chasers in the extra

One of the unexpected advantages of being stuck at home and having to take exercise locally is the delight of re-finding footpaths that I had long ago forgotten about and developing new local walks in the process.  In less constrained times our walks would often have somewhere to stop and have a drink or a bite, as a focal point.  While I certainly miss the delights of a well earned pint after a walk there are some benefits in the liberty to explore routes unconstrained by such a focus.   

Today we went on a 6km walk which for a large part follows the river Avon as it bends around the village.  This is a shot of, yes, that Kelston hill, seen from a different side to our normal view. The walk was, in the main free of other people.  We did see occasional couples with their dogs or children, but they were few and far between.  

There was plenty of wildlife in evidence, including several different species of dragonflies, some of which were new to me.  I only took the 14-30mm lens with me, so my opportunity to showcase any of it was rather limited.  However, I did get quite close to the happy couple of scarce chasers in the extra, doing what comes naturally.  Considering that this is an ultra wide zoom, and that this is a cropped image, you will realise that I was very close indeed :-). The BDS website suggests that these are relatively rare in Britain, although it may be a little out of date now.  Even so its lovely to have seen behaviours that indicate there may be more of them in the years to come.

On the return journey we made the mistake of trying to follow the river all the way, we realised our error as soon as we got to Saltford's Jolly Sailor lock.  The pub car park itself is taped off to prevent people using it for nefarious purposes, but the long stretch of road leading to it was jammed with cars and people all trying to grab a bit of river bank from which to launch their inflatable craft.  Social distancing seemed to be little in evidence.  As soon as we were able to do so, we cut back onto footpaths and skirting the centre of the village made our way back home, much relieved to be back.