23rd May photo - Sutton Maddock Church

Today I visited this gorgeous Church in Sutton Maddock - I have never been here before and without geocaching I don't think I ever would have done as it is along a lane that does not go anywhere except to the church (and the most beautiful Vicarage - I would so love to live there!)

I think the entrance to the church is very impressive, so this top photo is my photo of the day but so that you can all see how lovely the whole of the church is , I have posted this one as well.

I actually went out without my camera today!! so these photos are taken with my mobile phone so apologies for the quality.

22nd May photo - my 500th find

Today I reached a small milestone - my 500th geo-cache find.

So today's photo is me holding my 500th find!

If I was a bit better at geocaching, I could have reached this point a while ago, but I have had quite a few 'did not find' caches lately. I needed 9 caches today to reach this target and I found a canal walk at Wolverhampton along the Shropshire Union canal that had 9 along a well marked route, so I headed over there this morning and thankfully found all 9.

It was a lovely walk along the canal with narrow boats to admire as I walked along.

21st May photo - old Shrewsbury sign

I love this old sign for Shrewsbury - It is on the London road as you leave the M54. I think its the only one left as the others seem to have been replaced with modern black & whites ones which are not very exciting - so I thought I would like to be my photo of the day in case this disappears as well.

20th may photo - horsey horsey

I had to go to the NEC today - but when the day finished, I just had to try and find a few Birmingham geocaches - I think I was the first one out of the car park - I was so eager to bag some caches.

(Steven relented and let me have my GPS back as I was coming to the NEC - he had threatened to keep it away from me for a week, but that threat turned me into a weeping & wailing mess - so he thought life would be easier if he just gave it back to me - heck I sound like a spoilt child screaming & stamping feet if I don't get my own way ! I am not like that really.)

Anyway it was quite a rushed walk - the rain was threatening - so not many pics, but on my travels I came across a field of horses and I was quite taken with the colours of this one. I have a full shot of him, but I like this photo with his tail swishing in - so am choosing this one for my photo of the day. I had to walk through their field but they didn't seem in the slightest interested in me - thank goodness - as I get quite nervous around animals.

19th May photo - Shrewsbury Shops again

This is one of my favourite shops in town - Spike Outdoor.

It is independently owned by 2 local chaps who are very willing to give advice and proper service. I like to support local shops especially this one after they were so helpful when we were trying to buy a back pack for Liam's Duke of Edinburgh's award expedition. Since then I tend to get most of my outdoor stuff from them. It is sited on Castle Gates just up from the railway station.

18th May photo - baby geese to cheer me up

What a dreadful day I have had! My Sat Nav took me down a steep, single track muddy bridle way and I got stuck in the mud and was stranded for hours!

It took the RAC 90 minutes to get to me and then he came in a transit van and was unable to tow me out, so between us we had to take it in turns to drive / push the car up the hill, slipping & sliding in the mud - it was a nightmare and how the car is still intact I don't know. Me, the RAC man and the car were completely covered in mud. I am sure pushing a car uphill is not what my Chiropractor meant when she said take it easy - I hope this incident will not put my recovery backwards - though I can't see how it will have helped at all.

Anyway before this horrid event - I had been geocaching in Telford and visited a lovely pool / nature reserve and taken some photos of some geese and goslings - so I am going to look at the cute little things to try and bring my blood pressure down now.

This first one is my photo of the day.

17th May photo - UEA campus

Jessica's time at UEA is coming to an end - she only has 6 weeks left! So today I spent time exploring the lovely campus.



The University was built in the 1960's so a lot of Concrete in the centre, like these World famous Zuggerats (accommodation) which are now Grade 2 listed.



But the later building show great architectural flair especially the curved accommodation blocks, like Jessica's here which overlook the lake.

The lake is a huge expanse of water with lovely walks all around it. This bridge here was a great sneaky place for a cache and I did not get wet luckily, even though the cache was hidden underneath it!

As well as the lake there are lovely woodlands and the bluebells are still in bloom.

It also has a secret garden! Jess has been here for 3 years and I did not know it was here until someone hid a geocache in it and I came to find it. It is a beautiful little oasis of calm and I sat and enjoyed a little quiet time in the sunshine here.

UEA campus is home to the Sainsbury Art gallery - a very modern piece of architecture but it was not open today so that is on my list of things to do on my final visit here in June.

Jessica's school of study is the Queens Building - another beautifully designed light and airy building - it was this building and the sports park (with its 50m swimming pool)that made up our minds that UEA would be the perfect place for Jess to study at.