Alverstone to Haseley Manor

I got home from work last night and Andrew had cooked a roast lamb dinner (isn't he a sweetie). I couldn't believe he would stand in the kitchen and do this for us when it was 34 degrees outside!!! The Telegraph says ... In fact, it has been the warmest April since records began almost 350 years ago, the Met Office announced. Confirming a host of other records, the Met Office said many parts have also had their driest April. Taking the past year as a whole, it has also been the hottest 12-month period since 1659. Look at the time etc. I love this hot weather, long may it continue {grin}. Do you know what, I think Andrew & I are actually feeling fitter and it's rubbing off on the girls too. They ask us if they can come walking with us which is brilliant. Gemma wanted to drive us to Alverstone so we could pick up the Yar River Trail from there to Haseley Manor. I suppose it defeats the object a little by actually using the car but we don't want to get fed up of walking the same routes and then end up giving up. We parked in the middle of the village, it's so pretty, and walked along the trail. We talked and laughed about allsorts of things. The first thing you see as you go through the gates is a weir. The sound of water makes the country side even more peaceful. We saw loads of wild flowers and in some places the side of the path and greenery either side was covered in this white furry stuff. It looked like 1000's of dandilion clocks stuck together to form a thin blanket. We found the culprit a bit further on, a willow tree :O) The birds were singing their heads off, sounding like the dawn chorus at dusk. There were two Robins sat on the branches of these trees, we watched them for ages. A bit further along there were fields and fields of Christmas Trees growing, which not something you see every day. Elena (12) decided to give Gemma (21) a piggy back. We couldn't stop giggling at the sight of them. Then they decided Gemma should give Elena one but she couldn't jump up to save her life *lol*
Saw loads of animals too, horses, cows, pheasants (OK, not an animal) and lots of wild rabbits which we named Wabbits :O) We told Elena that this was a Bison, but we didn't know if it was a wash bison or a hand bison *lol* (I know it's not a Bison.)Reached Haseley Manor just as the sun was setting and turned back and headed for home.Elena was much quieter on the way back, I think she'd had enough although she wouldn't admit it. I reckon, looking at the OS map we walked between 3 and 4 miles.