"The Sun is God"

[steepholm]

For me, travelling to work usually involves a 15-minute drive through a fairly unprepossessing part of Bristol (via the big Eastville Tesco and up the Fishponds Road, as often as not). Occasionally I walk it, in which case it becomes a hilly 50-minute trek, but one that allows me to take in a few pleasant shortcuts across parks and such. Today, however, the weather being particularly glorious, I decided to see whether it was possible to walk the four miles to work without using any pavements or streets at all. Barring a couple of hundred yards at the very beginning and end, and a fifty-yard stretch in the middle, it was. On the way back I took some photos...



We start in Fishponds. This paddock is next door to the campus. That's the library in the background.



This is in the next door field - but what is that metal contraption next to the tree?



The path leads downward towards the River Frome...



Where we cross the bridge...





And follow the path the other side...



...to Snuff Mills



Where we pause to watch the water-wheel.



Here we hit the road very briefly, but the way is enlivened by the site of an elf-factory, where they are currently working on Legolas's younger brother.



Entering Purdown we pass under the M32. Can you see the shy snout of a Tesco lorry?



Next objective - the BT tower...



Looking back, a landscape out of Claude, but with the addition of a motorway and an asylum. Et in Arcadia ego.



Et voila!



A little bit of road now, but the orphanage is in sight, just on the next hill!



And so, under the railway tunnel - and home to Narnia!



Even the humblest plants are luminous today.

Comments

[booksandtea.livejournal.com]

I relaxed just following along. Thanks for posting.

[dorianegray.livejournal.com]

Looks like a lovely walk.

[gillo]

Beautiful, Charlie - and not at all bad for the suburbs of such a substantial city.

what is that metal contraption next to the tree

I think it may be a Dalek, buried on its back during the Roman episode and only now struggling to the surface. Take care to avoid extermination if you walk back that way on Monday!

[veronica-milvus.livejournal.com]

Bad joke about pergolas! Nice trip.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

I can't help it! I've been doing an LOTR-inspired double-take every time I pass that place for years now.

[intertext.livejournal.com]

What a lovely walk! You are lucky.

[ms-chatelaine.livejournal.com]

That is absolutely beautiful! I hope you have many opportunities to walk it.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

I shall make opportunities! (If only I could make the weather.)

[aryky.livejournal.com]

I am unspeakably jealous that it is possible for you to do this, even if you don't do it most of the time ;-).

[chilperic.livejournal.com]

And I have no choice but to walk along the three-lane highway from Dublin to The South... I loved your pictures!

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Oh! That joke was PAINFUL!!!

Thank you for the tour! I was itching to get on my bike and try it for myself. I particularly liked the snuff mills! And the railway tunnel. Guess it's the industrial archaeologist in me rearing its ugly head again.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

For the industrial archaeologist in you, here's one of the pictures that didn't make the cut, from Snuff Mills (which in the nineteenth century was apparently run by a miller known as Snuffy Jack):

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Aaargh!! You cruel, cruel person! You take a picture of the SIGN!!! and you neglect to take a photo of the boiler! How could you???!!

Incidentally, I ran into a lovely little boiler at work last week. My colleague couldn't quite get what I was excited about. The cordite press was pretty neat, too...

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

You can see a bit of the boiler underneath the sign, but it was quite long and mostly in deep shadow. Suffice it (I hope) to say that each end was indeed shaped like an egg.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

They're great-looking things. I've seen photos before, but having one in situ would be very nice indeed. Our boiler wasn't quite so eggy - it was just a long cylinder with slightly rounded ends. But the rivetting was very nice indeed!!

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Gads, too much repetition in that comment. Blame the sunlight. It's turning my brain into froth!!

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Join the club - I just wrote 'pick' instead of 'pic'. Sigh...

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

I'll try to take a better pick next time I pass that way. ;)