Walk from Bedford, through Cardington, and back again . . .

 Walking a route around my hometown

Bedford Bridge, Bedford town centre, opened in 1813, replacing a medieval bridge which previously stood on the site

I start my walk at the bridge, walking by the river and in front of the sailing club house and bar, following the river. Usually, I take the least populated paths; I prefer my walks to be peaceful and solitary. I walk downstream with the river on my left.

The river has been described as the jewel in Bedford's crown and there is a lot to be admired there. I find myself stopping to admire the heron (Ardea cinerea), Egyptian geese (Alopochen aegyptiaca), and the mute swans (Cygnus olor). Unfortunately, it is also a spot where one can spot plenty of rubbish, either in the plants or floating on the water.

Grey heron, down by the river

After walking for some time, the path splits and I can walk to my left, over a footbridge and onto the opposite side of the river, or I can carry on straight ahead, towards a leisure park (cinema, restaurants, bowling, etc.). Or, I can take a right turn and find myself on a path that follows the route of an old railway line. And that is where I want to go.

It's at this point that I might also make a visit to the Tesco supermarket that is close by - I can make a "meal deal" purchase if I haven't packed any food to bring along with me and, to be honest, it's the last chance I'll get to visit an actual toilet for the next couple of hours. After that it's trees and bushes, I'm afraid!

Now, a walker can follow this path, the tarmac path that follows the route of the old railway line, until they reach the Priory Country Park, and this country park is worth a visit, but I normally avoid it. I prefer a quieter and less crowded route.

So, instead of following that tarmac path to the park, I cut through a gap in the trees that line the route and take a path through a grass meadow. This takes me to a small wooden footbridge and onto a path that skirts around the country park. 

The small wooden footbridge

Once over the bridge, I turn right and follow the dirt path, keeping the river on my right. Now and then I might pass a fellow walker or two, but less frequently than I would if I had walked through the park. And I keep following this path, beside the river, straight ahead, eventually crossing Cardington Sluice Bridge, and then Cardington Lock Bridge. Then, keeping straight on still, I emerge from the park and out into, well, a different kind of park - Cardington Business Park.

The business park is not particularly exciting for a walker that prefers nature, wildlife, and countryside. Still, I am only passing through! Besides, even here, a walker can spot butterflies and dragonflies in the summertime!

Once the country park is truly behind me and the business park is in front of me, I turn right and follow the path towards a set of traffic lights, crossing the road, I follow the signs that point towards Cardington.

There is a pub in Cardington for those that might like to split this walk in two and get some refreshments. But my route doesn't really take in much of Cardington because, once I have gotten in to Cardington proper I almost immediately turn away from it again. Turning down Harrowden Lane.

From here, as I walk, I can see the Cardington hangars, built in 1915, which have a long and varied history. As well as being used by military, the site has been used for the development of airships and even for filming - the site features in the Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, for example.

After about three quarters of a mile, I reach a cross roads. Here, I need to cross and go straight ahead, down a narrow lane which will lead me towards Bunyan Farm. However, I do not visit any farms on this walk, instead, I turn right along an enclosed track just before the gate for Bunyan Farm.

As a side note, it was in this location that I first heard the call of a lapwing (Vanellus vanellus). I was fascinated by this call that, to my ear, sounded like some kind of alarm or the sound effects from some old video game. I remember looking skyward and seeing this bird flying above me and just being entirely captivated by the sight and sound of something I had never seen or heard before. That was only a couple of years ago, to be honest, and I haven't seen or heard one since, despite looking and listening for them. If you have the chance to stop and listen to the call of a lapwing, I entirely recommend you do so.

Lapwing; image sourced from the RSPB website

Following the track described above, I pass under the A421 and emerge on to a path beside a road. I cross the road and turn right, and then left down a footpath that takes me diagonally through a meadow. It is about here that I start to notice discarded rubbish once again.

Through the meadow I follow a path through a small wood towards Elstow. It really is a shame, but I am not particularly surprised by some of the rubbish that I see left in the trees of the wood. It's not an uncommon sight there. I have taken a couple of bags and some litter pickers out in the past. But it is disheartening to realise that, despite having filled two or three bin bags by yourself, you don't have to walk too far to find more rubbish heartlessly left behind.

Into Elstow, you can stop at the sixteenth-century Moot Hall, and I sometimes do if I have a sandwich with me and I am feeling hungry. It isn't that far now until I am back in the town and the green outside the hall is a good place to stop and have a little rest and bite to eat. Bins are available to dispose of rubbish.

Walking through Elstow, it's a pleasure to take in the old timber framed cottages before heading back into town. Still, having said that, Bedford has some nice Victorian buildings and fine medieval churches, if you care to stop and take the time to admire them.

From Elstow and back into Bedford, I usually make my way homeward via a route that gives me one last look at the river. There's a chance that I might spot a plastic bag or beer can floating down there, but I have seen grass snakes (Natrix helvetica) and kingfishers (Alcedo atthis) by the water too. I hope to see the latter pair each time I visit, and I pray that one day the former pair no longer contaminate those waters.

If you enjoyed joining me for this walk, you can buy me a coffee on ko-fi - it fuels the walking and the writing! Thank you for reading!

Want to read a great book about Britain's foxes?

 

The last book I read by a nature writer was Lucy Jones' Foxes Unearthed, and I reviewed the book over on my book blog (here), and you can read a more detailed piece on the book there.

The book's author considers the red fox of Britain, a familiar sight in both our towns and countryside. Considering how this cat like canine is both vilified and celebrated, how it is woven into our culture, and the strength of feeling this animal inspires, Lucy Jones investigates the truth about foxes. In this book, the author does not proselytise or preach, but instead allows truths to be revealed through her investigation.

I very much recommend this book and be prepared to feel inspired! After reading this book, I felt a great desire to go out of an evening and see if I could spot any foxes about their business!

You can buy Foxes Unearthed: A Story of Love and Loathing in Modern Britain by Lucy Jones here.

By the same author

Losing Eden: Why Our Minds Need the Wild by Lucy Jones

The Nature Seed: How to Raise Adventurous and Nurturing Kids by Lucy Jones and Kenneth Greenway

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed the piece, and the recommendation, you can buy me a coffee on Ko-fi - it fuels my adventures in nature and my writing! Thank you again!

Disclaimer: should you make a purchase through links in this blog, I may earn a small commission from the sellers but that has no impact on the cost to you as consumer, nor does it influence the content of this blog.

What's the difference between a clueless gardener and a learned horticulturalist?

 

The strawberry plant I have been nurturing

If you had asked me the above question a year ago, I'd have told you that I am very much in the "clueless gardener" camp. I wouldn't have even described myself as a gardener - I had one potted plant in my bedroom that lasted days before I admitted defeat! My interest and fascination was always captured much more by animal rather than plant life. Even now, as I write this piece, I have to admit that I am much closer to the category of clueless gardener than learned horticulturalist . . .

I am learning as I go, I am fairly certain I am making mistakes, and I have no idea whether or not my efforts will yield the hoped for results.

But I am still going and, a few months since being planted, so is my little garden!

Wildflowers

My interest in the natural world means that I am quite aware of the importance of wildflowers and the sad statistics around how much wildflower space we have lost in the United Kingdom. It is for that reason that I developed an interest in growing a selection where I could. 

I have sown wildflowers before, at a property where I lived a few years ago. There, I sowed the seeds in a prepared bed and, apart from occasionally watering them, left the seeds to do their own thing. And they grew successfully!

This time, I had a packet of various wildflower seeds but, because of my living situation, I didn't have a bed in which to plant them, so I decided to try and raise them in a pot.

I didn't consider such things as filling the bottom of my container with a drainage layer (pebbles, or crocks, for example), and simply filled the thing with all-purpose compost. The pot has a hole though, so it's fine, right? The all-purpose compost is great for novice gardeners like me because it means I don't have to think too much about which compost to use for which area of the garden - I can use it for them all! 

And that's why it's called ALL-purpose compost (and this is probably the point at which more seasoned gardeners than I raise an eyebrow, if not both, and wonder how bad the rest of this piece is going to get).

Still, the plants that are now growing in the pot are all green and vibrant. I haven't seen any bloom but I did sow the seeds quite late and, from the reading I have done, I understand that I may now not see any flowers until next year.

But, if there are any learned gardeners reading this piece, what do you think? Do you have any tips? I am very much learning as I go in my gardening endeavours and would appreciate the input!

Strawberry plants

My interest was next drawn to the idea of cultivating a strawberry plant.

Whereas my interest in growing wildflowers was very much driven by my love for wildlife and doing my bit for pollinators, my desire to grow strawberries came from an idea to grow some of my own food. A tiny tentative step in the direction of self-sustenance.

Unlike the wildflowers, I had no experience in growing my own food to draw upon. But I didn't let that deter me. I did a little research online and, when I had all the information I thought I needed, I set off into town to find a small potted strawberry plant and a larger pot into which I was going to replant the thing.

It was only when I was standing in front of a number of plants outside my local Sainsbury's supermarket that I realised I didn't really know what to look for as I made my selection. Or indeed, whether or not I needed to look out for any warning signs of ill-health at all. As it was, I just picked up the plant that looked greenest and healthiest to my eye.

A few months down the line, and this plant has grown, I have a few fruits that aren't quite ripe yet, and a second plant that I propagated from a runner off the parent plant. I am learning as I go and, as we head towards the colder and darker months ahead, I am beginning to consider how I will need to care for the plants through winter. And that will mean more learning, and hoping that I get it right.

But, like I say, so far, they seem healthy. Some parts of the parent plant I've cut back because they didn't look as healthy as the rest. And it now seems happy, green, and healthy. Immediately after I snipped the second plant from the runner of the parent plant, having potted it in a pot of its very own, it began to look a little wilted and sorry for itself. However, I put a few small pebbles around the base of the plant to keep the leaves from sitting in the dirt, I snipped off a limp runner that had begun to grow from it, and I gave it a little water to drink. Since then it has perked up and looks fine.

Since the parent plant produced fruit, albeit not ripe fruit yet, I have put a net over the plant to deter any birds that might try to eat the fruits once they begin to ripen. And, once a week, I have been feeding the plant with tomato food. I am keeping an eye on these plants with great anticipation and excitement. I watch all my plants grow with interest. But watching the flowers of my strawberry plant turn in to fruit is particularly captivating.

The secondary strawberry plant propagated from the original parent plant

Poppies and oxe-eye daisies

Very late in the summer, only weeks ago really, I bought a medium-sized trough shaped container in which to plant some more wildflowers. Rather than a packet of various seeds this time I opted for two favourites of mine.

After drilling drainage holes in the bottom of the container, filling it up with all-purpose compost, and sowing the seeds in neat-ish rows, I gave the soil a little watering and left them in the sunshine to do what they needed to do.

The next day, I went to walk rescue dogs at a local rescue and when I got home I went to check on my plants, and do you know what I found?

The soil in the trough-shaped container had been quite noticeably disturbed! 

I was quite upset.

I imagine that something or other, doing what was quite natural to it, came along and discovered there were some tasty seeds to be had. I can't feel bad towards anything for that - if I was just trying to survive, I would probably take some tasty seeds too.

However, I did want to see the flowers grow, for the benefit of the pollinators as well as for my own sense of satisfaction. So I gently flattened out the soil and placed the netting I had purchased for the strawberry plants over the top of the container.

Since then, plants have started to appear, though not quite as neatly spaced as I had sown them. But they are there and they look green and happy to me.

I won't see any flowers until next spring, but I think that they should be worth the wait.

Seeds for next year . . .

So far, I have two seed packets intended for sowing next year. The first is a packet of evening primrose seeds. I want to sow these seeds because they are a flower that are well known for being fragrant towards the end of the day and into the evening. This is good for moths and I wouldn't want to forget the night time pollinators!

(Actually, I wrote a piece on gardening for moths here)

The second packet of seed is a mixed packet of chili pepper seeds. My efforts with the strawberry plants have emboldened me in my ideas of growing food for myself and I am going to be branching out into these hot and spicy peppers!

So, what makes a learned horticulturalist? Well, I am hoping that time and experience will move me closer towards that camp than I am at the moment. My efforts are amateur and I am learning all the time. But it brings me closer to nature, and I am discovering a greater joy and appreciation for plant life that had always been very much secondary to that which I had for animals.

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this piece, you can buy me a coffee on ko-fi - it keeps me going in the garden as well as at the keyboard! All support is gratefully received and very much appreciated!

Dreaming dreams, walking footpaths, and engaging with nature!

 

A Bedfordshire field under an open countryside sky

As well as nature and wildlife themselves, I am interested in how we engage with nature. It could be that much of your experiences with nature happen in your very own garden, perhaps you work in conservation, or maybe you take to the hide in your local nature reserve whenever you can. There were plenty of different stories of people finding comfort and joy in nature during the lockdowns of the last year or so, different ways in which people engaged.

Personally, my preferred way of engaging with nature is from the dusty track of a countryside footpath. I have written about this before (here, for example).

In today's post, I would like to explore further my love for walking, the benefits of that form of exercise, and how I engage with nature on those dusty or muddy tracks.

A love for footpaths is born . . .

I grew up in a small village, a fairly introverted sort of kid. My interests were almost exclusively limited to those activities I could explore by myself. Because I am just not a great people person. We could explore that together for a while, but I am not sure that it would really lead us anywhere and, besides, this is not a space for deep psychological introspection.

Anyway, perhaps it was natural that I would develop a love for long solitary walks. The countryside footpaths that wound around and through the village where I lived would often be empty of people for miles. Which suited me fine.

I read that Alfred Wainwright commented he would hide behind boulders from fellow walkers if he encountered them his hikes. Well, I was never quite that bad, but I understand the feeling. I don't have anything against my fellow footpath explorers (except for those that leave their litter behind), it's my own introverted and anxiety ridden problem.

But, yes, the footpaths, for me, became a place of peace and quiet. There, one can contemplate life, put things into perspective, or simply watch the sky change light and colour. I have preferred to do these things alone. But then, perhaps I just haven't found a walking companion that is right for me.

Little adventures

Many a day was spent, during long summer holidays, exploring footpaths that I hadn't walked before. The tracks baked and dusty, the plants emitting fragrant scent in the sunshine. And there was a small sense of adventure in discovering for myself exactly where the countryside paths would take me.

I explored the paths around my home village and beyond until I knew them very well. I would go walking for hours and hours, either by myself or with a brother or sister. But even without company, I would be happy to explore the footpaths. The quiet pierced almost only by the calls of birds. Or the leaves that blew on breezy days and sounded a bit like gentle waves above me.

It wasn't just where the paths could take me, but what I would see from them. As I walked through fields, woods, and villages, I might stop and gasp whenever I saw some animal or another. I still do stop and gasp. Though, as I have gotten older, that might just as equally be down to declining stamina!

Maybe my love of animals comes from growing up in the countryside, and if I had grown up in the town I wouldn't be quite so fascinated with them. But then, there are those who grow up in towns and cities who have their own love and appreciation for wildlife. And there are rural dwellers who care not one iota for the animal life they might find outside their doors.

I don't know where exactly my fascination for wildlife comes from. But, yes, I can tell you that I have caught sight of many animals on those footpaths, and the sight of them has stopped me in my tracks and made me wonder - hedgehogs, deer, foxes, woodpeckers, jays, bees, caterpillars, hare, rabbits, and much more.

And no walk, even on the same path is ever exactly the same. The seasons change, the life you find there goes through it's cycles, and the conditions vary. All of this creates, for me, a little sense of adventure, alongside the beauty of it all.

A small white butterfly (Pieris rapae); I even stop to watch the little lives!

Dreams, joy, and experiences with nature

There is a long-distance walking route that passes through my county and I would love to walk that route. But, I'm afraid, I am a bit of a free spirit without the courage to really spread my wings. Unless a walking companion emerges and/or I get a serious cash injection into my bank account, I fear I might never satisfy my dream of completing a long-distance walk.

It is not only this path that passes through my hometown which has captured my interest. I harbour dreams of walking many long-distance paths. If nothing else, that would really give me something to write about!

My bookshelves house books such as A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson and Wild by Cheryl Strayed, books that fuel the fascination. Maybe, like the writers of some of these books, there is a desire to find something of myself on these paths too. As well as the peace and the adventure, maybe in the test of a long-distance walk I hope to see myself, catching glimpses of obscured truths. That would make some sense.

Or maybe I am, for some reason, just drawn to the idea of the adventure, and the beauty. Maybe it's the more complete immersion into nature that appeals. Honestly, I am not sure where it comes from.

But it's there, and given how long it has been there, how long it has lasted without fading away, I don't think it is going anywhere. 

I hope you enjoyed this piece. In future posts I may detail some of the routes that I walk. What do you think? 

If you enjoyed this piece, you can buy me a coffee on ko-fi - it fuels my writing and my walking!

Thank you for reading, and see you again soon.

In the garden, loving nature!

 

What looks to be a European garden spider (Araneus diadematus) drinking from a water droplet on the underside of the garden table

If you are fortunate enough to have access to a garden, a green space of your own, you are very fortunate indeed. And sometimes all you need to do to immerse yourself in nature is to spend a little time just sitting in the space outside your own home.

Bird feeders

Some of you may have read or heard of a recent piece questioning the benefits of feeding birds in our gardens (the article can be found here). And at first I was sceptical of this piece, but it does raise some valid points. Anyone that has ever sat and watched their feeders will know first hand that there are dominant species which fare better than others. And I agree entirely that proper cleaning of feeders, to lessen the likelihood of spreading disease amongst birds, is vitally important.

However, I am also still feeding birds and taking care of the feeders in the garden. 

I do agree that birdlife in our gardens benefits greatly from making space for them in a more natural way - planting flowers such as sunflowers, creating ponds, putting in hedgerows and bushes, etc. I do think that those suggestions are great ways to support life in our gardens, and I have written pieces before about making space in our gardens for nature (really, go take a look when you're done here!), but there is a reason I think that these suggestions are so very worthwhile. Birds are losing natural spaces because of human activity - intensive farming; how we plan and build infrastructure.

The article makes little mention of this, and I think it's worth taking into consideration when discussing birds that come into competition with each other. I think there are greater things that need to be done to tackle the declining numbers, and so I continue to feed the birds.

But, for all the rationalising, I have to admit that my continued feeding of garden birds is also informed by the joy I get from seeing them out there, just outside the window. But I will keep an eye on any further studies and results that emerge; if it were ever definitively proven that feeding birds does them more harm than good, I think I would cease the practice.

Sitting in the garden with a good book

If you find yourself with some free time and the sun is out, I thoroughly recommend sitting in the garden with a favourite book (check out my last post here, on nature books). I like to sit on a blanket, just so that I can sit on the grass. Down where all the interesting things are.

As I sat with my book today, now and then peeking over the top of the page to see what was happening around me, I felt the air and the sunshine on my arms and legs. I listened to the songs and calls of the house sparrows that often visit the garden. As well as the flap and clap of a wood pigeon's wings. A shy collared dove visited for a moment but took off again when it noticed me, stretched out on my red blanket. I spotted an ichneumon wasp fly over, land for a while, and then take off again. Bumblebees and butterflies too. There was all sorts of life out there!

I recommend the book, and not music, because it doesn't make a noise. Why would you want to drown out all those sounds? But maybe you don't even need a book. Maybe you can just sit, immersed in nature. However, if you want to play some music, how about . . .

Bird song

When I was done reading - kind of, but also quite happy to let nature distract me - I took my phone up and decided to play some birdsong. Just to see if anything emerged from the ivy and the trees.

A day or so before, I had had some success with this YouTube video: Blue tit calls. At twenty-seven seconds, it isn't a long video but it got the attention of a blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) that perched itself at the end of a branch and seemed intrigued by what it heard.

Today, my audience was a robin (Erithacus rubecula), which flitted about and seemed to be in conversation with the robin calls in this video: a robin singing. I replayed this video a few times and the robin it attracted stayed, replying to the song in the video. Every time the bird in the video went silent, the bird in the garden sang a response. 

If I were ruled by my own joy and pleasure, I might still be sitting out there now, watching the bird - it perched quite close by in the foliage - respond to the video, but I couldn't do that to the little red-breasted bird. It didn't know it was singing to a recording and I didn't know what they were talking about. I could have been causing a great amount of confusion!

I am sure it will get over it though. It must have any number of greater challenges to face!

Cultivating and propagating

Did you know, that there is a bacteria in soil that has an antidepressant effect on you?

Well, that's enough to get me wrist deep in the dirt!

I started with some wildflowers and a strawberry plant. The flowers were planted a little late and are still young, but the strawberry plant has come on quite well. I now have a handful of young strawberries growing on my parent plant, and I have potted up a plant that has grown off from the parent plant on a runner.

Unfortunately, when I checked today, I found that my wildflowers and my second strawberry plant were looking a bit limp. I am hoping that all they needed was a bit off water and some time out of the heat that we have had for a couple of days. Apart from being a little limp, they are still green and otherwise look okay.

Of course, my main reason for getting into gardening has been to provide spaces for nature and wildlife. To that end, as well as the wildflowers that I have planted, I have oxe-eye daisies and poppies in the soil, but I don't expect to see any flowers on them until next year now. I also have some evening primrose seeds that I will be sowing next year. The evening primrose gives off scent in the evening and is a flower that night-flying moths will much appreciate in the garden!

Well, that's a little glimpse into how I like to spend some time in the garden. As I say, there's a lot out there. And if you look under a table, get your fingers in the dirt, or listen to the sounds around you, there's a lot of joy to be derived from the beauty of it all too.

How about you? What are your spaces like? If you don't have a garden, do you make use of pots and hangers on a balcony? Or do you visit parks instead?

If you enjoyed reading, you can buy me a coffee over on ko-fi - it fuels my writing and my adventures in nature!

Thank you for reading, I hope to see you again soon.

My alter ego and books on nature!

 

One of my bookshelves. When I am not immersed in nature, I am probably immersed in a good book!

In this post to Monsta Wild, I will be embracing my alter ego, Monsta Reader, which is who I become when I feel a need to discuss all things bookish. So, as these two worlds collide, I thought I would pluck a few books from my shelves for you. These books are either about nature and wildlife, or nature and wildlife are a key theme of the book. So, without further ado . . .

What Nature Does for Britain by Tony Juniper

First published in 2015, this book takes a closer look at the ways in which nature underpins Britain's economy and infrastructure. The author makes a case for exactly why we, as a society, ought to be more appreciative of what nature provides us with for free. Juniper sets out the ways in which we need to ensure the survival of the natural world because, if for no other reason, we rely on the natural world so much, perhaps more than you know.

If you would like to buy a copy of What Nature Does For Britain by Tony Juniper, you can do so here.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

This number one international bestseller tells the story of Chris McCandless who, in April 1992, hitchhiked to Alaska and walked into the wilderness. Four months later, his body was found by a hunter . . . This is the tale of a young idealistic man who went looking for himself in the call of the wild, a call that led to a sad end.

If you would like to buy a copy of Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, you can do so here.

The Old Ways by Robert MacFarlane

One of my most favourite ways to engage with the nature and wildlife is from some of the well-worn footpaths of the countryside. And in this book, the author takes us down the tracks, holloways, drove-roads and sea paths that form some of the vast ancient network of routes criss-crossing the British Isles and beyond. In this book, MacFarlane connects the paths walked with stories of our ancient predecessors; this is a meditation on walking and engaging with nature, and ourselves.

If you would like to buy a copy of The Old Ways by Robert MacFarlane, you can do so here.

The Moth Snowstorm: Nature and Joy by Michael McCarthy

I enjoy learning about nature and wildlife, and I take pride in being able to walk down a path and identify some of the plants or animals that I see. I take pride in being able to remember the Latin name of a thing. I consider myself a student of nature, and I am awed by the science. But it is the joy, however fleeting it might be, that brings me back time after time. And in this beautiful book, the author explores love for the natural world, and uses that love and joy to defend that natural world increasingly under threat.

If you would like to buy a copy of The Moth Snowstorm: Nature and Joy by Michael McCarthy, you can do so here.

Disclaimer: if you make a purchase through any of these links, I may earn a commission from the seller but that does not impact upon the cost to you, and it does not influence the content of this blog.

bookshop.org, with whom this blog is affiliated, supports local bookshops in the UK.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you enjoyed it, you can buy the author a coffee on ko-fi - it fuels the writing and adventures in nature! Thank you!