My next adventure was a post shift walk at Attingham Park. When I set off on my walk I wasn’t sure which way I would go but I heard the call of the walled gardens so I set off in that direction. I sat on a bench enjoying the autumn blooms and the peaceful atmosphere before heading to the suspension bridge still not knowing which direction I would go.

After crossing the bridge I walked along the river bank to the woodland walks. When it came to the choice of left or right through the woods the atmosphere felt quite melancholy so I chose to return to the suspension bridge along different pathway that passes the signpost where one of the directions is ’short cut’, the route that I walked last week after my volunteering. I arrived at the signpost to find that it had been replaced by new one. The new signpost is very smart but the the ’short cut’ has vanished into the mystic ethers and been replaced by a bluebell path (same pathway with a new name).

As I retraced my steps over the suspension bridge back to the mile walk I was surrounded by birdsong which made me realise why the woodland paths felt strange to me. There had been a complete absence of bird song!