places to walk

It's the most beautiful time of year. Early summer in England. The days are so gorgeous you want to grab them and store them up for later. I guess enjoying something without being able to hold on to it or control it in any way is a useful lesson in life.

We've been exploring some new places to walk the dog. On Saturday I visited Hounslow Heath for the first time and was amazed. Aside from the low flying planes (it's just under the final approach to one of Heathrow's runways; you can wave at the passengers as the wheels on the plane skim the trees) it's a beautiful spot, and big enough to get lost in. Amazing to find this in such an urban setting.

But then there are places that we visit frequently, but which change with the seasons. The closest walking spot, Hanworth Park, is little more than just a huge field - it used to be an airfield (from 1917 until the end of WW2), and in the 1930s the Graf Zeppelin airship visited. In recent weeks it has undergone a transformation, though: the grass is allowed to grow freely, and it has become quite beautiful. Grassland may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the site of such a large expanse of flowering grasses, dotted with wildflowers, and moving wave-like in the breeze is spectacular (pictured).