Alice Dryden (huskyteer) wrote,
Alice Dryden
huskyteer

Home Safe

This week the guidance around leisure motorcycling, travel for exercise and meeting people from other households relaxed somewhat. I had Friday off (full disclosure: I was doing a speed awareness course, moved online to a virtual classroom, having been flashed in the 20mph zone on Sydenham Hill back in February), so I seized the opportunity to see Howard for the first time in over 2 months.

We've always lived apart, but under normal circumstances 3 weeks would be a long stretch without seeing each other and after 4 I definitely start pining a bit.

We met at the services where the A24 meets the A272 and travelled to Knepp Park, an estate given over to rewilding, for a nice responsible socially distant walk. We saw longhorn cattle, Exmoor ponies, several flavours of deer, a buzzard and a stork, one of the first to breed in the UK for 600 years.

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I was very tired afterwards, partly from the walk but also from seeing so much of The World after 8 weeks in which I'd been no further than ALDI, and on Saturday I only ventured as far as the recycling bins outside the back door.

Sunday saw me on the road again; I'd emailed a biker friend to tell him about Friday's adventures, and he immediately asked if I fancied a ride. We visited our familiar local beauty spots, Ide Hill and Bough Beech Reservoir, before stopping at a village green and sitting one each end of a bench to drink coffee from our Thermos flasks.

In the afternoon, a local friend invited me for a socially distant picnic in the park. Sitting and sunbathing in public spaces is now on; formerly you had to keep moving. I got a watchmark and I regret nothing.

In the evening it was back to watching Bond films with Twitter.
Tags: bikes, james bond
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  • 8 comments

strange_complex

May 18 2020, 08:58:06 UTC 2 weeks ago

Oh wow, you certainly did see some ponies and some longhorn cattle! Great pictures. I'm glad you had such a nice weekend.

huskyteer

May 18 2020, 10:39:00 UTC 2 weeks ago

Thank you! I like the way the ponies look as if they're stampeding, when in fact they were just ambling along eating stuff :)

poliphilo

May 18 2020, 10:51:06 UTC 2 weeks ago

I read the book about Knepp last year. I think it's called Wilding. Very instructive- and encouraging.

huskyteer

May 18 2020, 14:23:46 UTC 2 weeks ago

It is indeed! We didn't see any wild boar but did spot several places where they'd been rootling about. Apparently they've 'ordered some beavers'.

benicek

May 18 2020, 13:32:28 UTC 2 weeks ago

Ah Knepp. Quite close to us. Must take a look one day.

huskyteer

May 18 2020, 14:24:11 UTC 2 weeks ago

Do! There's loads of space and lots to see.

schnee

May 18 2020, 19:06:01 UTC 2 weeks ago

several flavours of deer,

Heh! Did you taste them? :D (Said the canine, to the other canine.)

Sounds like a lovely weekend too. And the ponies are cute!

huskyteer

May 19 2020, 07:21:01 UTC 2 weeks ago

Hehe, they were too far away!