Well it's nearly 3 am and once again I
can't sleep. That is a fairly frequent occurrence, usually brought
about as a result of anxiety, but on this occasion it is because I
appear to have a stinking cold. Now that is a bit of a beggar, given
that the weather has just had a turn for the better, and mind and
body have also been cooperative and given me a good couple of days
with which to enjoy some quality bimbling.
Thursday started off with a ride along
a new to me path, an increasingly rare event these days as I seem to
have poked my considerable nose up every lane and bridleway within range. I hadn't
gone up this one before as it was guarded by a no through road sign,
and I assumed it merely led to a farm or something. Browsing the maps
though showed it to be a path that crosses the main A30 and leads right
into the middle of the village of Zelah. What a delight this path turned out
to be. It was clearly once a country lane with a fully sealed
surface, but for some reason it has been downgraded to a bridleway.
It's always good finding a nice bit of quiet right of way to potter
along, even better when it can provide a practical benefit and in
this case, it'll save me a mile or two compared to my previous
routing to and fro.
Pathway leading into Zelah used to be a country lane.
The object of this ride was to once
again head over to a favourite area around the old West Wheal Chiverton
mine, and mooch about the paths, byways and bridleways that
criss-cross the area, presumably the same thoroughfares once used by the
miners trudging to and from work.
The slow shutter speed might suggest a bit of speed, but the speedo gives the game away - 4 mph...
Bridleway near the West Chiverton mine.
The old engine house is also a
favourite spot for a bit of morning coffee if I've taken the stove,
but on this occasion I brewed up on a pile of granite blocks and
rocks a few hundred yards away. Not as scenic perhaps, but still a
nice place to take some time, and also it provides somewhere to sit,
or just potter about, mug in hand, examining the wild flowers.
Large Flowering Evening Primrose.
This striking looking thing is apparently a Teasel.
Trying to cross the A30 again in a
different location as I headed home proved impossible, it was that
rammed with traffic. So I turned East onto it and took the Zelah
turning, then the road to Shortlanesend which passes beneath the A30.
Not the way I intended going, but I'd still be there now I expect,
waiting a for a gap in the traffic.
Batter's Shaft engine house of the West Wheal Chiverton mine. More than 45,000 tons of lead and over a million ounces of silver were extracted before the mine closed in 1886.
Then yesterday (Friday) I had another
bimble about, a bit closer to home this time, and along a rural
footpath that is a delight to ride, but also appears to go absolutely
nowhere, petering out before it reaches anywhere useful. It is a
footpath, but organised shoots take place in the season in one of the
adjacent fields and motor vehicles of some sort or other clearly use
it, so this is one footpath I'll ride along – it's not like I can
do any damage to it that a 4x4 hasn't already done after all.
Exploring a rural footpath. When I left home the sun was out, hence the less than elegant head wear. Typically though, it disappeared while the camera was out, leaving bright but featureless skies.
I do enjoy pottering along this path
though as it provides a great feeling of peaceful seclusion. The only
trouble with this time of year is I couldn't navigate all of the path
to the end as it is just too overgrown, and I had to get off and push
in a couple of places as it was.
Random bike shot towards the end of the ride.
All in
all, it has been an enjoyable couple of days of ambling about and the
sun hat even got some action. Trust me then to go and get a cold just
as the weather picks up!
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