We Followed a Map

It seems that Friday adventures have become a tradition for George and I over the recent weeks. On a Friday morning I have poetry class and today we were all about the Sonnets. Don't get me wrong, Sonnets are all wonderful if you're madly infatuated or William Shakespeare, but the best part of today's lesson was scuttling together as a group to workshop our 'masterpieces' that we had been set the task of creating the week before. Needless to say, nobody was particularly thrilled with their Sonnet baby. One person even went on to write a Sonnet that openly mocked all Sonnets ever written and that was my favourite. My contribution was hurriedly scrawled at 8 am this morning onto some scrap paper. I had been tearing my hair out all week about what to write about and when I looked out of the attic this morning over the stooping chimney stacks I thought 'Bugger it, a Sonnet about Chimney Pots it is then!'. The ending result was a Sonnet named 'The City of Chimney Pots' and it vaguely follows the musings of an individual who lives on the roof tops of an old city, among the chimneys and has the pigeons and thatchers for friends. They like to watch curiously the lives of the world below but their dream is to escape the city and sleep in a meadow. Yeah. 

When I got back home, George hadn't moved from the spot that I had left him in (supposedly essaying but probably watching Box Trolls) and when he suggested adventure, who was I to turn down an impromptu ramble? There was about two hours of light left in the day, so we looked for a local walk online and found one not too far away in Monkton Combe. Mostly, we just ramble and find ourselves lost until we eventually wander back but this time we had a guide and real directions to follow so that we did a circular walk around the hills and valley ending up back in the village. It was really good fun, following a map. (This is something I may try more often) and George and I even decided along this walk that Geo-caching is something we're going to start doing.

It feels like we're in the thick of winter now. Some days it's -2 outside in the afternoon, but we haven't had a proper snow fall yet other than the occasional dusting that doesn't hang about. The evening skies have been dreamy and the trees make such shapes against the incredible infinite indigo that I feel like I've fallen into a fairy tale. Today, I didn't wish it was spring once. The best part of winter walks, are that the mud is frozen solid so it makes muddy paths that bit easier! (Sadly, they don't stop me from being dead clumsy). 

 I love the views over this valley. It's one of my favourite exits from Bath and a little further back towards Claverton Down is my favourite swimming spot; Warleigh Weir. It's a truly beautiful valley and when I'm in Bath's surrounding hills, I feel like I'm in an old fashioned English adventure story.

 Our friends, the sheep

These guys were so friendly. I used a 50mm prime lens on this walk, so you can see how close we were. 

Nature and creation is such an incredible feat. Architecture is fine and artful, but my soul is always blown away by that which has grown from the earth.

Helicopters

Pathways 

George true talents lie in circus tricks. Unicycling, Gymnastics, Fire eating, Juggling. He will make a very interesting primary school teacher one day! 

This is my new coat that I found through the glorious invention of pinterest. I had pinned it about a year ago but never bothered to order it as it was incredibly expensive and located in Japan despite being incredibly cute. A few months ago (before Christmas) I had another cheeky peek at it only to discover that the company Chicic.com had put it on sale at 75% off AND were doing free deliveries to the UK. I ordered it tentatively hoping it wouldn't be a scenario where it was bad quality and cheaply made and didn't look how it looked on pinterest HOWEVER I was proven utterly wrong when it finally showed up on my doorstep in January. Not only is it incredibly well made, but it's pretty and comfortable. It has a detachable inner layer  that's fleecy and has it's own hood separate to the outer layer meaning that on warmer spring and summer days, I can take it out and the coat becomes a light anorak. Huzzah! Value for money and cuteness. Ding Dong. 

I fell in love with this lake beneath the viaduct. It has a particular type of Algae in it that gives it it's beautiful colour. In some parts it's turquoise and others indigo. It was so still and peaceful by the lake, I could gaze at the colours forever.

This house sat looking cosy and mystical in the middle of the wood. I bet it has a thousand stories of all the things that's happened inside it over the years. I'd love to live in a big old house like this in the middle of a wood. 

Sometimes, we are whales. Eventually, the map led us back to the village and it was just in time as the sun went down. We enjoyed another idyllic winter sky to end the week with, ready for an exciting weekend at our new jobs :) I hope you've all had dreamy Fridays filled with beautiful winter skies and smoky chimney pots.