Bears go back to the Salt Line

Following their previous visit to The Salt Line walk, Hanley and Huddlesford kept asking Polar and Grizzly if they could go again, to explore the southern end of the route. 

Hanley wanted to show Huddlesford the last two planet posts and to wander around the country park to the west of the walk, which none of us had seen before.

Polar and Grizzly picked a nice, bright morning and took Hanley, Huddlesford and little Dudley with them, along with Polar's new camera.

They parked at a nice pub where they hoped to get lunch at the end of their walk, and soon after starting along the old railway route, Hanley pointed out the post for the furthest known planet in the Solar System - Neptune.  Huddlesford climbed up it and Polar took his photo.

A little further along, a path led down to the left and everyone made their way along it to a big pond, where there were ducks swimming about.

The land around the pond had been planted with trees and plants to attract wildlife, like hazel trees with their colourful catkins and teasels, full of seeds for goldfinches and other seed-eating birds.

After a good stroll around the country park, with the three bears climbing trees and skipping beside them, Polar and Grizzly made their way back up to the Salt Line walk, very close to the other planet post along this section - the one marking where Uranus would be, which Hanley Bear climbed, watched by an inquisitive little squirrel.

They saw robins too and, using her new camera and zoom lens, Polar got some pictures of them that she was very pleased with.

But the weather was changing and heavy hail showers were moving in on a stiff breeze.  The bears all scrambled back into the Bear Bag and Polar carried them back along the path beside the farm to the car.

When they got back to the nice pub, the car park was very full, so Polar and Grizzly decided not to go in for a meal after all.

Hanley, Huddlesford and Dudley were all very sad, because they had hoped to have fish and chips, but they knew we were trying to keep Grizzly safe from the nasty virus, and Polar promised they could all visit again, with more of us bears, another day.