Today we set out to test our maps, and to explore the trails that start off down the road near the glass works. Many of the trails follow ex-railway lines and others just head off between the fields, and it was a surprise to find that many are surfaced with bitumen. Now and then we curved over towards settlements, connecting to pathways and lanes through the villages.
The wild flowers here form a natural cottage garden, with heavily laden blackberry canes arching over the top, providing us with a delicious walking snack. We walked for a long way, maybe six kilometres, enjoying the lovely afternoon in the countryside. We took the path to the left at some forks, the path to the right at others, in a meandering stroll to nowhere in particular. A lane through farm land looked interesting and proved to be a link between the farms and the village of Cudworth, where Rohan and Kerry live with Kerry’s grandparents. 
The police mounted section, called Ring Farm, marked the division of the village and the countryside. Two lasses in their very early teens sat on a small bridge while some similarly aged boys circled on their bikes. The girls were chatting between themselves and with others on their mobile phones, at the same time keeping the boys interested with some chiacking and funny comments. Eventually the taller girl threw back the comment that Emily didn’t want to go out with one of the boys anymore. This boy, who actually looked about ten, was fairly philosophical about being dumped and made a non-committal sound, but was reassured when Emily paused in her phone conversation to say ‘I do, its just that you are so annoying all the time.’ With that the group broke up with the boys taking the same road as us, playing a form of soccer cum polo with the ball and their bikes.
Soon we were on the main road at Cudworth and I was disappointed to find that all our trecking had landed us only two miles from home. Still, we bought some phone credit and checked out the shops, and then phoned Rohan to see where he was. He and Kerry were home so they met us at a corner a bit further on with Meg, one of the dogs belonging to Kerry’s grandparents, Madge and Graeme, excited to be out and about and keen to get going. She absolutely flew around the first field we crossed but was very obedient when called back. She is a beautiful border collie with a gentle nature – the ideal dog really. The nearest route to the nature reserve was along a road with no footpaths, so since that would be dangerous at this hour, we took a little tour of the district and went another way. Soon we were walking through cow paddocks and beside a crop we didn’t recognise, which was being harvested.
The area, Carlton Marsh, was declared a nature reserve in 1976. Its original name was Carlton Ings, with ings being the Norse word for marsh. Much work was done clearing reeds, establishing an open area of water and planting woodlands, with the species mainly being silver birch, oak, rowan and holly. There are also some wet grazing meadows, a habitat which used to be common in England but is a rarity now. The school has a pond for investigations of water life and signs show how to identify the various species, many of which look very similar to those found in Victoria. Small in size, it is a little treasure of a nature reserve and an asset for anyone wanting to study the creatures and plants in the area.
We did go the quick way back and I could see why Kerry had not recommended it at peak hour. Many roads are fairly narrow, with hardly any verge between it and the uncompromising hedges or stone walls along each side.
We had a lovely visit with Madge, Graeme and Kerry’s young cousin Hannah, checking out Kerry’s beautiful furry cats, meeting Patch and Pippa, who represent the two ends of a dog’s life, and examining the vegetables that Graeme has growing. I was impressed by the flowers in the front garden, with the gorgeous colours making it look like a brilliant island in a sea of paths and walls. After a cuppa and lots of chat, Graeme drove us home to Maureen and Dean's, although it would not have been so far to walk along the road.The evenings are very relaxing here, with lots of sitting around talking, cups of tea, some television, reading the paper, dinner with various choices and the luxury of desserts, a little reading from my book about Ian Thorpe and a comfortable sleep.
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