A couple of nice relaxing strolls this weekend - well, that was the plan, anyway! On Saturday I managed to persuade my partner to accompany me on a stroll. He didn't want to do any more than 4 miles, so I chose a short walk from one of my books - Walking Close to the Welland near Stamford, by Clive Brown. This was to be a pleasant stroll around the village of Ketton.
The walk started well enough, but we soon ran into trouble with the signposting, and took the wrong track. I got my compass out and we managed to regain the route as it passed through some old abandoned quarries. This is an SSSI and a geology site, and looks worth another visit. I saw some Common Spotted Orchids (see photo above), but one of the signs said that Bee Orchids can be found on the site.
We left the reserve at the top of the cement works road, and followed this back to the main road - not too pretty! On the other side of the road, the path suddenly narrowed to less than a foot across, with rampant nettles and thistles on one side and a high chain-link fence on the other - yes, we were making our way past a sewage farm. This really is not the way to get company on my walks!
9572 steps. And I've lost 2 pounds this week!

Today it was rather muggy so I waited until the evening before I went out. I did a one hour circuit from home - along the main road, down the hill, across 3 fields and up a track to the nature reserve. Should I speak to people who let their dogs off the lead in the reserve? Perhaps not a good idea when I am alone, but it does seem the right thing to do.
11942 steps.