No time to wait

Unusually this morning, the early mist was still hanging over the estuary and the low-lying ground more than an hour after sunrise. When I first arrived at the viaduct, it was completely shrouded. But within a few minutes, the mist began to clear. What I really needed at this point was for a steam train, or indeed any train to appear. But there wasn't time to wait, I had to get home and get ready for the trip down to the Cheshire meres.

Our first visit was to Bar Mere, it took us a while to remember how to mount and start the engine, but we managed it eventually, and spent the afternoon pootling back and forth looking for aquatic plants. There was not a lot to be found, the mere has become too fertile and soupy with all the nutrients leaching into it from the surrounding land. A sadly familiar story in this part of the country. Once upon a time the meres would have been gloriously rich in plants, but today they are sadly diminished.

All the time we were there I never took my camera from my bag. It was good to be out in the fresh air on a lovely day, but just a little depressing from an ecological viewpoint.