A Peaceful Day by the Lakes

This is such an idyllic spot.  These lilies open up as the sun starts to shine and close again when the sun goes in.  Started the day with a cooked breakfast in the BK, the weather a little cool but promising to be warmer and sunnier later.  I pulled out my foldable bike and cycled the round trip of 4 miles to get the paper and spent some time enjoying reading in the warming atmosphere.  Later, we went to the little café on site where some locallly made ice cream was consumed - we had our eyes on it since shortly after arriving - rum and raisin for me and blackcurrant and clotted cream for L.  Oh nearly forgot to mention, the chap next door caught a 16lb Carp - huge thing while we were watching, then later he left his rod fishing and went off with the owner and a fish bit.  His wife didn't know what to do so I ended up trying to reel it in, but the pesky thing swam around some reeds, which apparently they are clever enough to do having been caught so many times and we eventually lost it.

Went for a walk around the lake and along the nearby Blackwater River.  Thanks to an app recommended by Rainette we used it to identify the birdsong that we heard on the walk.  A stunning 13 different birds on a mile walk, including a rare Eurasian Blackcap, though the constant chatter of the Common Chiffchaff was the most prevalent.  Lastly, we had Crispy Duck pancakes with leeks and hoisin sauce.