What a pretty place to park

.... half across the cycle lane and half on the Stray verge. What could be nicer on a sunny autumn evening - just leave the car there where there's lot of space, and take the dogs for a little walk.

And what a nice place to cycle ...

.... on the no-cycling path, so not too many other cyclists to get in the way, and only a few pedestrians who can always. move.

Apologies for the terrible blurry photograph. I was too busy jumping out of the way to be able to get my camera out in time.

And further apologies for the heavy sarcasm. It just gets a bit wearing sometimes - these two photographs were taken within about ten minutes of each other, and it's absolutely commonplace for some Stray users - not the majority by any means, but enough to be a nuisance - to ignore the rules, even when they're totally clear.

Empress for sale!

No, I mean the pub, not the senior member of some royal family. I hope it stays as a pub, though the real world might dictate that pubs like this are no longer viable businesses. It's a stunning building and a great situation.

And for no reason at all except that I like it, a picture of Christchurch showing off Harrogate's beautiful skies.

Posters on the Stray

Is this the Stray? These posters are on the hospital railings, so maybe it's not? But I think they look at mess. Other views?

But this is cheering - a really lovely sunset. Harrogate does skies very, very well.

Call this a flood?

I think it probably is a flood. It certainly looks too big, and too pretty, to be a puddle. Yorkshire Water ought to be interested, because this is the area next to St. Aidan's School which is always the first to flood and the last to clear. I would guess a blocked drain or culvert, but who knows ... ?

You call that a flood ...?

That was a comment from Geoff Blakesley in response to my post yesterday (Yorkshire Water take note). Well, fair point, Geoff, except that I didn't call it a flood. I'd probably call it a big puddle. I was using "flood" as a verb, to describe the movement of water from where it should be, in this case in an underground drain, to where it shouldn't, i.e. the surface of the road. But "big-puddling" is pretty rubbish as a verb. And I was using "rubbish" as an adjective, which is incorrect but enjoyable.

I'll see if I can get some pictures of real floods later today.

Yorkshire Water take note!

This area ALWAYS floods when there's a little bit of rain.

A really boring photograph ...

Sorry. I tried to capture something interesting but couldn't get my camera out in time. The something interesting was a father (I assume) and two children, probably aged about eight and ten, all on bikes.

When they got to the No Cycling sign, the little girl, who was between her father and her brother, hopped off her bike and ran to keep up with her father. The other two stayed on their bikes.

She's a star. Her father ought to think about the example he's setting.

Well, this is new!

These people seem to have taken it into their head to pitch camp on the Oatlands Stray - basically, a canvas bungalow that they could live in for a week. I really wonder what, if anything, the local authority plans to do about this. I took these pictures at 6 p.m. this evening, 6th September. I'll check tomorrow to see if it's still there.

Apart from this, everything's fine. It feels like the start of term, with plenty of activity, and the Stray looking busy and sunny, and brilliant. What a pity people can't just have fun instead of doing things that any fule no are not likely to be allowed (and if you don't know where that quote comes from, you're just too young).

Just an ordinary Saturday

... and here's an answer to the question in my previous blog, is the Stray a car park?

It certainly is on Saturday mornings.

But the 5K parkrunners are, as usual, having a great time (and maybe I should put in a word for the marshals, who are amazing - being encouraging and enthusiastic and clapping for an hour can't be easy).

On a different subject, does anyone know what on earth is going on here? It looks like a special enclosure put up to protect mud, with a few blue pipes in case anyone needs them, and it's been here for MONTHS).

Is the Stray a car park?

Somebody clearly thinks it is. This is new - this afternoon, a car parked on the grass to the west side of Oatlands Drive, well clear of the double yellow lines and unarguably on the grass. The driver parked it there and took his two dogs for a stroll along Slingsby Walk. And of course, the problem is that there's nothing (except common sense, a degree of consideration for others and a very clear statement on the Harrogate Borough Council website) to indicate that he shouldn't do that.

But to look on the bright side - there was an absolutely amazing sunset over the Stray a couple of nights ago.