Tuesday 2 June 2020

First Post Lockdown Walking Club Outing


Our walking club, which is affiliated to the national federation of walkers (so we are licenced walkers with full insurance cover and so forth) has been given permission to start up again with our weekly Thursday afternoon walk. The provisos are that we have to maintain our distance, and there must be no more than ten people in the group. Anyone who is vulnerable is advised not to attend. Our first outing was Thursday 28 May, with the temperature in the mid to high 20s, and a breeze. Here are some pictures from that walk.

 Longère style home in Le Grand Pressigny.
Longere style home.  Indre et Loire, France. Photographed by Susan Walter. Tour the Loire Valley with a classic car and a private guide.

Bladder Campion Silene vulgaris (Fr. Silène enflé).
Bladder Campion Silene vulgaris.  Indre et Loire, France. Photographed by Susan Walter. Tour the Loire Valley with a classic car and a private guide.

Old car being used as a bird scarer.
Old car being used as a bird scarer.  Indre et Loire, France. Photographed by Susan Walter. Tour the Loire Valley with a classic car and a private guide.

Leaving an old banger parked in the middle of a newly seeded field is becoming a bit of a thing. This field had a triple line of defence, with a gas gun that went off and scared the life out of us walkers because it was so close; then there are the flapping bits of plastic on poles; plus the car. Often when you see cars placed like this one or more door will be open, presumably for added scariness. None of these techniques work with anything like the effectiveness that the farmers would like. These young sunflowers will be vulnerable until they get half a dozen leaves and are no longer so tender and juicy.

Small dam (known as an étang). It was sooooooo tempting looking on a hot day.
Small dam (étang).  Indre et Loire, France. Photographed by Susan Walter. Tour the Loire Valley with a classic car and a private guide.

Taking a break in the shade.
Walkers resting in the shade.  Indre et Loire, France. Photographed by Susan Walter. Tour the Loire Valley with a classic car and a private guide.

Slow Worm Anguis fragilis (Fr. Orvet fragile).
Slow worm Anguis fragilis.  Indre et Loire, France. Photographed by Susan Walter. Tour the Loire Valley with a classic car and a private guide.

I nearly stepped on this legless lizard which was not living up to its English name, and traversing the trail with some speed. 

Scrumping sour cherries.
Scrumping sour cherries on a walk in the countryside.  Indre et Loire, France. Photographed by Susan Walter. Tour the Loire Valley with a classic car and a private guide.

Negotiating a fallen log on the trail.
Walkers negotiating a fallen log on the trail.  Indre et Loire, France. Photographed by Susan Walter. Tour the Loire Valley with a classic car and a private guide.

Walking along a very welcome shady track.
Walkers on a shaded trail.  Indre et Loire, France. Photographed by Susan Walter. Tour the Loire Valley with a classic car and a private guide.


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6 comments:

Colin and Elizabeth said...

Love the Slow Worm and the distancing... Great you can get out and about a bit more. Still hoping to get over later in the year, who knows. Take Care...

Susan said...

It's starting to get more hopeful that all our British friends will eventually make it.

Jean said...

With the number of UK deaths not falling very fast and the lockdown in tatters with large numbers breaking the rules, it's looking like France would definitely be a safer place to be at the moment.

Susan said...

Certainly where we are the numbers are getting very low now. As of yesterday, 89 people in hospital with Covid19 in Indre et Loire, of those, 8 in intensive care. Nobody died of it yesterday, but also nobody discharged from hospital.

GaynorB said...

I think it's been made clear to us from the highest levels that rules can be interpreted as, how and when we choose. Sadly another 350+ people have lost their lives yesterday with the liklihood, I believe, of this increasing as we come out of lockdown.
Glad that you are able to do your socially distanced walks.

Susan said...

107 yesterday in France. And no upturn after lockdown eased.

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