A slight altercation with a cycling club.

They say things come in threes, well........It was all going so swimmingly. I thought a walk round Shugborough grounds would be nice today as the sun was out, birds were a twittering, insects and bugs in abundance just perfect for taking photos. We had decided to stay another day and move off in the morning. To get to the grounds, I had to cross Essex Bridge over the river Trent.

I had started to cross when I heard no end of shouting coming from behind. Next came the 'tinkle tinkle' of bike bells. Now as you can see in the photo the bridge is quite narrow. Fair enough, it has the zig zag passing places, and I did step to the side as two of the bikers came past. I probably put their back up when I said in a very load voice that they should get off the bike and walk across. The reply I got went something like this.
Chap on bike..... "yes I suppose we should"
Me....................." well don't you think you should then?"
Chap on bike..... "No, cant be bothered"
Me..................... "This is a bridge for pedestrians not for bikers"
Chap on bike..... "Oh, go play with your camera and leave us alone"
He and his mate then cycled off. Behind me was the rest of the pack. Again, 'tinkle tinkle' from behind.
Chap on bike....." Can you let us past?"
Me....................." Not a chance!"
Chap on bike....." Look we're not doing any harm"
Me....................." Not doing any harm?? What if a young kid came running across?? Could you avoid hitting him? And no, I'm not budging.
So I continued to walk across, smack bang in the middle, with this pack of men in tight Lycra on their racing bikes ringing their bells for all it was worth.
Chap on bike......." Look this is ridicules, I can see you're upset but if you let us go then we won't bother you any more.
Me......................." Upset!!! I'm loving every minute. It's about time you got your comeuppance, riding hell for leather with no care of adults, children or dogs on towpaths, public footpaths and the like.

He continues chuntering away to himself, the bike bells had all but stopped as the pack realised this lady was NOT for turning and only when I stepped off the bridge, did I let them all go. Do you know, I fully expected them to start slagging me off, but most came past with a cheery Good Morning or You alright darling? As they cycled off into the distance, several bystanders came and congratulated me on making a stand against them. Maybe we should all start refusing to budge when these maniacs come careering along the towpaths!

Glad to see the back of them!

Then I continued to Shugborough Hall and was about to step through the gate of the Hall when I saw the notice stating that to view the grounds a payment of £3.50 was to be made at the entrance before you could come in. "Blast" thought I "no money with me". So instead I walked along the road toward the playing fields, took a left alongside the football area, crossed a stile and found myself back at the river. The footpath lead me alongside the river back toward the Hall. My biggest problem was the young bullocks lying and standing right along the route I wanted to take. So not wanting to get into any confrontation with them, I made a very wide a detour as possible before eventually making it back to Essex bridge. Here are some photos of my walk.

Triumphal Arch

Long Horn calf

And mum

Could be a Highland Cow with calf

View of both boats from across the river

Loved the name of this boat. All it needs now is a handle and a spout!

 And now for the third disappointment. Having stepped off the boat to take Jade for a pre-dinner walk, Dennis on Icing looked up and was frantically pointing at the sky. Turned out to be a plane, but not any plane. It had a typical V wing shape and with Dennis being knowledgeable about military aircraft said it was a Vulcan bomber, the only one to be flight worthy after a restoration project. Then half an hour later, the Red Arrows flew past!! Both time I didn't have my camera, so these photos are off the web.