A different trundle……..

One morning I woke and for some bizarre reason, the idea came straight into my head…….I’d been looking for a new walk, or a different walk but couldn’t think of one when the idea popped into my head…..I’d walk into town, then take the bus to the Racecourse and walk back home through Burton Woods……

It was a bit of an iffy day but as I set out the sun was shining. The ducks once more looked at me hopeful, but they’d obviously just been fed as they sauntered up instead of flying 🤣…

The mandarin was preening himself on the island

Out of the village and a lovely rainbow appeared over the houses…

Along the main road with the morning traffic zooming by, I stopped to take a piccie of the black mill from a distance; the autumn colours suddenly standing out

As I reached the Westwood the sky behind the mill was dark and threatening and that was the way the bus would take me soon 🙄

I got to town, with what I thought was, 5 minutes to spare for the bus…..but I waited ……and waited. Lots of other people were there too so I didn’t worry. Eventually though, curiosity got the better of me and I headed towards the electronic timetable…….turns out they’ve changed the times of the York bus 🙈…….but I was happy sat there watching the world go by and in 20 minutes the bus arrived and we were off……

I was only going a mile or so up the road. I could have probably walked it, but it’s uphill and blowing a hooley so am glad to have taken the bus.

As I got off at the racecourse. I stood for a moment to get my bearings

It’s not often I get to take the Black Mill from this side……I’m usually on a bus to York if I do…

Even the minster looks different from this angle, surrounded by trees instead of buildings…

I then crossed the meadow and went through the gate into bluebell wood, which I now know is Burton Wood!

I’d been told there were lots of fungi in here, so I tried to adjust my eyes to become ‘fungi eyes’……it wasn’t long before I was rewarded…

Lots of old fallen branches and trees here…..looks like some children had been collecting the branches to make a shelter

Within minutes others came into view

If Pip, my ‘fungi friend extraordinaire’ was here she’d be telling me the names, but I just know they’re beautiful…..

So delicate and exquisitely shaped, these like sea shells

Some tiny and on their own…

Others like shavings from a pencil sharpener….

Some almost translucent….

And not just the tops to admire but look underneath and there’s a whole new world to spy…

The wood had a carpet of leaves making it so difficult to find them…

But every few steps something different would catch my eye

As I came to the end of the wood a man was coming towards me with his dog and I noticed he’d come in via a gate ….so I headed the same way. I’d never been this far before so didn’t know if I’d have to turn around and go back the way I’d come. But once I was through the gate, the familiar black mill was in the distance….

I could also see the road I needed to get to that runs through the Westwood……so I simply walked in that direction, once more coming across trees broken by a long ago storm

And where fungi take delight in building a new home…

A lovely large one with a deep pink top appeared at my feet

Then the rain started to fall….just a drip drop at first, but wasn’t long before my camera was tucked inside my coat, my hood up and my head down. I sheltered under natures umbrella for a moment while I worked out which direction to head. The tree canopy provided shelter for an old fallen tree where these delicate beauties were happily growing…

A beautiful old tree stump was lying on the ground, even showing how rotting wood can look stunning…

I’d reached the edge of the golf course as the rain fell steadily. Benches empty in the rain, waiting patiently for the next weary golfer…

Golfers joined me under the shelter of a group of trees and we exchanged views of the weather, then making a dash for it to the next hole under the shelter of their giant umbrellas…

As I was deciding whether to venture out as well, I saw a huge mushroom just ahead of me in the grass and several more around…..

As I reached the cattle grid, I crossed over it and found I was protected from the rain by a tunnel of trees

I had to keep my wits about me to avoid any oncoming cars, but it was relatively quiet.

No more fungi hunting but a lone pheasant appeared down a lane opposite 

As I reached the crossroads, I could see blue sky over the fields

This road a tad busier, I kept hopping up onto the verge to avoid the oncoming cars although most were kind enough to give me a wide berth…..

Just about to turn into the road that would take me home when bright yellow in the distance made me get my camera from underneath my coat and take a last snap…..some left over straggles of rapeseed brightened a narrow strip of the field

And the raining started once more…..camera tucked inside my coat, hood up, head down…..but I was nearly home…..love it when I find a new local trundle….