The walk was spoiled somewhat by two things - one we can't do anything about but one we certainly can.
The first was the horrible infestation of those horrid black flies which I believe are horse flies. As one lady we passed said (at a social distancing space of course) "they seem to have hooks." Indeed they do. Actually they have razor sharp jaws and recovering from bites can be a lengthy process as I can confirm from bites a couple of years ago which led to some very nasty blisters which eventually burst.
I stand to be corrected on whether these are horseflies. Perhaps somebody reading this can confirm.
The other nuisance was a number of nasty examples on the paths of dog mess where the owners had obviously made no attempts to clean up after their pets. Hethersett has long waged a war on dog mess on paths throughout the village and the parish council even set up a PUP (Pick Up Poo) group which proved to be so successful that it has been disbanded. So whilst there appears to be less mess on paths, the same cannot be said for the countryside where it can be more difficult to detect the mess until it's too late and you have stepped in it - a kind of hidden danger.
I always think it is pretty futile pointing this out. Responsible dog owners, who are very much in the majority, will always clean up after their animals. Irresponsible dog owners won't listen to complaints and they certainly won't be reading columns like this. It really is difficult to understand how somebody can show a complete disregard for others and just what goes through their minds when their animals "have done their business" other than a complete disregard for reasonable behaviour.
Took a few photographs today which I hope you enjoy. I see that next week the lockdown restrictions may be relaxed a touch to allow more than one session of outdoor exercise each day. Could this mean a walk AND a bike ride and will my legs survive?
I read somewhere that many moons ago it was used as a refuge for people who had "one too many" in the Queen's Head which is directly opposite and needed somewhere to sleep the drink off. Seems feasible but does anyone have the definitive answer?