Sunshine on the river

I've lived here in Lynn just over a year, and I'm still really inspired by the river and the sights here. Today I went for a walk over to East Lynn and back, a gentle walk of about a mile and a half each way. We start from the Quay side, and on this bright sunny afternoon there were quite a few people around just walking, and a couple of people sitting in their cars listening to music or reading. On one of the benches is a guy reading a book, and he is surrounded by 3 beer cans – normally we don;t see much littering around here, so I wonder if they belong to the reader?

As I walk on I notice two of the fishing boats moored at Boal Quay – these are working boats, but they look so smart and fresh that they might well be toys floating on the water. And just as I'm admiring them, I become away of the salt smell of the sea – maybe this is just fancy, but maybe not:)

I then take a short cut across the parking lot – late last year they re-covered the upper part here with new shingle, and most of it is now fully incorporated into a tight surface, but here and there, where the cars haven't been too much, it is still loose and like a beach – hard, but fun, to walk through.

And then I regain the path and follow it to the top of the dyke. The sun is shining from an achingly blue sky, and this is reflected in the river, which is a beep blue, and sparkling in the sun. The river is rarely still, and right now it's slowly flowing, with eddies and currents easily seen in the bright water. All the way along the path I'm captivated by the play of light on the water, except when a sea bird swooped into view and I stop to watch its graceful glide.

As I approach the bridge, the path takes me past some allotment land, and there are 2 bonfires there which draw my attention. The plot holders have been busy, I can see, with most of the plot looking newly dug over, and I think back for a while to another life where I had an allotment.

Soon I'm at the bridge, and I start to cross over, and the noise of traffic reminds me of how peaceful the river path had been. This route takes me past an business estate, still now on a Sunday, but I see that they are developing this, and putting a new road in, complete with new bridge over a small drainage channel. At the end of the road I turn off the path and walk along side the road for a while – I have the choice of walking on the roadway itself, or on the muddy side of the road. This is not somewhere I'd normally choose to walk, but I'm on my way to a cafe, and I stop there for a drink and to use their restrooms, before turning around and re-tracing my steps.

By the time I arrive back home I'm quite warm and very glad that I am blessed by being able to live by this exciting and ever changing river.