As it turned out, I failed to reckon with the 34°C+ heatwave that coincided with our planned work, and we soon discovered it wasn't much fun being left without a shower, bath or flushing toilet during two of the hottest weeks this country has ever endured.
To make matters worse, it was way too hot to take a dark and very hairy little collie out any later than 10.30am, so I got into the habit of driving to Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre first thing in the morning, using their facilities, and then wandering around Three Brooks Nature Reserve for an hour or two.
I'd been vaguely aware of a nature reserve not that far from where I live for years, but it was only during the first lockdown that it really impinged on my consciousness, and by then it was a) too far away to travel to, and b) rammed with locals trying to get their permitted exercise session in. But the situation has improved somewhat since then, and a nature reserve - even in Tory Toytown - isn't to be sniffed at, unless you're Cwtch.
Coppiced hazel by Patchway Brook
It took five visits to explore all the parts of the reserve, and I was reminded how August is actually a pretty dull month nature-wise, as most of the flowers are over and the birds are all moulting in bushes. Plus, there was the extreme heat, which was an exacerbating factor in this feeling of lifelessness. But the trees - particularly in Webbs Wood, which is designated ancient woodland - were magnificent and I was fascinated by the prospect of somewhere new to explore in all seasons.
Coppiced hazel by Patchway Brook
It took five visits to explore all the parts of the reserve, and I was reminded how August is actually a pretty dull month nature-wise, as most of the flowers are over and the birds are all moulting in bushes. Plus, there was the extreme heat, which was an exacerbating factor in this feeling of lifelessness. But the trees - particularly in Webbs Wood, which is designated ancient woodland - were magnificent and I was fascinated by the prospect of somewhere new to explore in all seasons.
Three Brooks Lake
Patchway Brook
Webbs Wood
Oaks and an understorey of hazel ...
... and thorn
Coppiced Oak
Pollarded oak
Blowflies in Savages Wood
Bowsland meadow looking very parched in extreme heat
A venerable ash in Savages Wood
Chicken of the Woods
Community Orchard
Old farm machinery
Very tall ash trees
Artist's conk
This path leads uphill to a man-made feature called the Tump, which covers what was once Fiddlers Wood Farm and has a fascinating origin story, namely, that it mainly comprises spill from the construction of the new Severn Bridge.
The soils, which aren't typical of the area, have developed as scrubland, providing a different habitat for wildlife, which, even in mid-August, was looking quite autumnal.
My fifth visit was much more recent, after we'd had some rain, and it was good to see the brooks in a slightly less lethargic state, and a few ducks on the lake.
Bridge over Bradley Brook
This time we walked along Stoke Brook to Sherbourne's Brake and back. The trees in this part of the reserve are mostly crack willow, black poplar, oak and turkey oak.
Stoke Brook
A gnarly old apple tree
Turkey oak
We will return in the by and by, when a different season is doing its thing. And as for the bathroom, well, it turned out rather nicely, thanks for asking.
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