Exploring the local Downs

Living here for 30+ years you rather take for granted how beautiful the countryside is and don’t take the time to explore it. We’re always working or dashing off to apparently more exotic locations but having been furloughed for almost three weeks now as the bottom has fallen out of the airplane business me and the other half have pounded the local hills.

They call them Downs round here which I quite like. Dad says what happened to the ups but as any fellow skier will know (well apart from the nutters who prefer the skinning) it is all about the Down.

Down 1 – Charmy Down May 31st 2020

It was an old Airfield back in the day and now it’s just a big old open grassland.

This is the old runway .. an ex army pal was pretty sure you wouldn’t get a lancaster bomber down in one piece on that these days

Our Route was more or less past the bottom of Solsbury hill, up a ridiculously steep road parallel to the A46 up to Charmy Down, across the old airfield past some prettily backlit cows and cow babies,

down the other side through what would have been the most gorgeous garlic flowery drop a couple of weeks ago.

Then along to Monkswood Reservoir, all fenced off so not very picturesque, along the valley occupied by lovely long horn cows, need to go back there with the Nikon or Olympus and a longer lens as seemed a good idea to keep our distance .. they were very pointy horns.

Then up to and over the A46. The farm there has built 2 giant minion statues which had attracted the attention of passing motorists .. how odd ..

This looks flat but it was crazy steep.

Found an innovative garage construction

Then along to Wooly, a bit of a bonus up and past more curious cows

The A7s and the 12 to 24mm had a fine time out and about too.

Finally home to the light of the Petzel Duo S head torch (it is soooooo bright). Not bad given we didn’t start until 7pm ish. I do love these long evenings.