Walk – Springy Lane

Yesterday I went for a lovely walk around the Alltami / Northop / Sychdyn area, taking in Springy Lane and stopping for lunch at Maes y Grug. I wanted to explore new routes for running, but thought it best to try the unknown footpaths out at a slower pace to begin with, to test their suitability for running, but I also just wanted to go for a long walk to try and build up my leg strength again after not doing longer activities for a while now.

The weather was glorious; it was sunny and warm with a gentle breeze, and the route was really lovely – mainly across fields and tracks, and the lovely Springy Lane.  There were a couple of places that I perhaps would have to be careful running in – some fields had cows or horses, and one had geese with young chicks, but on the whole it was wonderful.  I tried to focus on being present during the walk, hearing the sounds, seeing the sights, feeling the sun and the air, smelling the smells, and noticing my feelings (which was largely great happiness).

I sat down for lunch by the lake at Maes y Grug, where I saw the usual collection of geese and ducks, etc., plus a buzzard, a few different butterflies, lots of small flowers, and in the tiny ponds a couple of… I don’t know what they were!  One creature looked sort of like a dragonfly that had emerged from the water to dry off, but it didn’t have the long body, and it looked more like moth wings folded around its body, and as I walked away it jumped back in to the water.  The other was similar, but crawling around in the mud at the edge of the water, and was difficult to identify because it was covered in mud and very well camouflaged.

Altogether, a really enjoyable walk and one I will take again and perhaps extend or find alternative options for sections.