What do you expect from a pub named after an Irishman. :haha:

Headed down to Watermead, as they advertised"Larks on the Lake" and it was a very sunny day. Usually it's rained off. Poor things, they get a few hardy souls in wellies and windcheaters. This year, Aylesbury town descended en masse. No doubt there are some burger van owners even now sitting and cursing their luck, having earned nothing in previous years and not bothered to get a pitch this year!

Going through the arch onto the Plaza. That's my Dad more or less centre in a Commander Riker pose.
Looking back at the Plaza and bandstand

Watermead is a nice enough place when the sun is out.
It's just not as good as it was supposed to be.

It was conceived as a community on and beside water. But half the shops on the Plaza are closed and the local pub is now a Thai Restaurant (not so great for sitting by the lake with a single pint on a summer evening). The cricket pitch and the artifical ski slope were built on the wrong kind of ground - they suffered subsidance and were abandoned. The cricket pavilion is therefore now a private nursery. The running track was never built for similar landscaping reasons and is now just a muddy walk. The bandstands are never used except by the ducks, and the residents complained when the lake they moved next to was used - too noisy - so no boats allowed, except model ones.

So Aylesbury got a new housing estate with no facilities of its own and nothing for the wider community either.
I'm not bitter. I just bear 16 year grudges when I feel I've been gypped.

The English at play.
Crossing to the other side of the lake.
Picnicking and the climbing tower.

Some of the attractions for the children.
Note - this is part of the "Larks on the Lake", not a permanent feature (otherwise my whinging above would be in poor spirit).

Crooked House with mini wheel and detail.
Spooked child made me smile because I am teh evil.

General lake scene.
Detail - this boy had an ice cream as big as his head!

Model boats are allowed on the lake.
Have just realised I'm buying into their conceit by even calling it a lake. It's a pond really.

Anyway, Dad was really excited by this, as he has one himself. I thnik he might be going down there sometime soon.

As you can see - you DO NOT TOUCH the models.
Very unfair on children of course ;)
Is that LJ lurking behind the models?

Wouldn't be a day in the sun without a band.
I took a quick clip, will attach it once its YouTubed.

Roundabout for the kiddies.
I love all the colours.
The roundabout I mean.

And finally - this chap cuaght my eye.
But I didn't have £1.50 to spare.

ah! All the fun of the fair. Looks like a jolly good time was had by all, SG. Thanks for sharing!

huh....i always though England was in black and white.

and..I don't do hats, SG. that looks more like BigV......and he IS lurking...

The burger van guys will have more chances, global warming and all. ;)

We went on a walk through the woods today.
We walked over varying terrain for over an hour - it was a lovely way to spend a morning.

We took a shortcut on the way back - always our intention and it was marked on the map. Unfortunately, because it's just a little woodland map, and not an Ordnance Survey, it didn't show just how steep the path was. So 5 minutes prior to the second picture we were all panting, with hammering hearts. I'm pleased to say that hours on the stepper made things much easier for me than my parents. Being 30-odd years younger helped a bit too!

Anyway - our before and after.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep...
Well, they are in places.

There are four different walks - we took a meandering route which took in a bit of all of them I think, including the bridleway and cycle track. Dad and I wanted to follow the proper routes, but Mum wanted to go the way she had with Laura, and with Dawn, and the time they'd come up here before. Sigh - it's easier not to argue. We saw all the bits she remembered anyway.

Next time we go up, Dad is just going to drop us off so that we don't have to pay £4 parking. £4! And we'll do the Firecrest Walk. 1.5 hours. Yay! Dad isn't great on uneven ground, so I didn't even suggest it this time. All credit to him for happily tackling the steep flint path shortcut though. He came up it better than Mum - not bad for a man in his 70th year!

Okay, the top photo was obviously a mistake. I got Dad to take it without really thinking it through, and he assumed there would be a flash.

But I like it, so I kept it, rather than have it retaken.

And from the edge of the woods - the rolling hills of Buckinghamshire.
Midsomer Murders country.