Bus with folding bike to Tadcaster — Wharfe reasonably full, but not excessively so. Off along the lane to Bolton Percy — peaceful Autumn countryside, very quiet, few birds along this stretch. Fine colours in the hedges, particularly birch. Bolton Percy dank, the beck spread all over the gloomy fields below the village, grey and stagnant. Leaving the village, a huge flock of birds over towards Colton, too far away to recognise, too small for starlings, I thought, but they might have been.
From the bridge at Colton Junction a fine view of traffic on the ECML and from Leeds. A couple of real trains, a 225 and a 125 in full white/grey national express livery, and several of the Cross Country ex Virgin mini trains, even the 5 car version ridiculously short for the distances they cover, taking in commuter traffic for various parts of the journey, as they do. (I’m not suggesting the 12-coach standard of London commuter lines, but surely replacing the HSTs with reduced sets, even if more frequent, showed little faith in the future railway. Thanks, Branson!)
And so to Colton and through to the Roman road to Copmanthorpe, where I had to mend a puncture, caused by the ever-thoughtful farmers’ habit of flail-mowing hawthorn hedges and spreading thorns across the carriageway. But successfully mended en-route, and so home. It was good to be out.
