I stepped out of my door into brilliant sunshine for an afternoon walk. As I closed the door a few drops of rain started to fall even though the sky was mostly blue, they soon dried up. I chose a familiar route that I have not walked for a while with the potential to explore other pathways along the way.

By the time I reached Leegomery pools the promising blue sky had turned several shades of grey without a hint of blue to be seen. I lingered a while enjoying the view over the pools and made my decision to take the shortest route back home.

It started to gently rain, a few minutes later the wind blew up and the rain got more intense. A few minutes later, rain was dripping of the peak brim of my weatherproof coat. By the time I got home my trousers were soaked but the rest of me was dry. I fumbled for my house key, water dripping from the brim of my hat into my bag. The key (as always) had mysteriously relocated to the bottom of my bag.

Key retrieved, I opened the door, at which point the rain stopped and the sun came out!

As I stepped inside Mr C poked his head out of the room where he was ‘working from home’ and we both burst out laughing at my watery predicament.

My choice of walk today was much more enjoyable.

However later in the day whilst preparing ‘Fine Dining’ (fish pie with herby mash) the cooker quite literally went bang! The electric part of the cooker was now broken, leaving us with only the gas hob.

Luckily we were able to assemble the dish and drop it off for cook and collect. We ate a bit later than we had planned and now have to source a new cooker!

At the beginning of October I ventured into Apley Woods. Over the summer months I found the woods too busy so this was my first visit for some time. This visit was a stark contrast because, with the exception of the fishermen, I saw only a few other people, which meant that I was able to explore pathways I had not travelled before.

Along the way, I remembered that I am supposed to be plotting a walking route around the area to share with other walkers.

Today as part of my #STEPtember300 challenge I re walked a new route that I discovered a week ago. The photos are from last weeks walk.

On this occasion I took an extended route rather than the path shown on the last four photos.

During my walk I lingered to sit and rest a while on one of my favourite benches.