Walking up Chapel Street towards Church Street and the Duke of Wellington. There isn't much traffic about at this time of the morning. To the immediate left is the stone wall of Chapel Street school, I attended there when I was a child. Notice the lovely old cottage on the other side.

We reach Manor House Court,  A beautiful Clematis (Montana Rubens,) sprawls across a wall in spectacular fashion, and up through the branches of a white flowered Lilac tree. This footpath will  take us out  onto the Cowpastures.

We walk along the footpath that borders Titchfield Park. Looking out over the wide expanse of the cowpastures, we can see the faint, hazy outline of the Pennine Hills and Derbyshire in the far distance

A gap in the hawthorn hedges, a tiny patch of yellow can be seen in the centre of the screen. It's a field of oil-seed rape, and the path we are taking will lead us through it. But we still have a long way to travel to get there, put your best foot forward and let's go.

We're getting closer, and can see the fields of rape much more clearly now .We now stand on the path at the western edge of the cowpastures, the footpath wends away to the right along the side of a steep hillside.

The very brow of the cowpastures. A well-trodden footpath leads us down towards the rape fields. At this time of year, many people walk this way to see the bluebells. In the far distance can be seen the tops of the trees at our ultimate destination, The Dumbles.

We're in the rape fields. I would suggest that you cover your nose and mouth with a handkerchief, these plants are head-height and give off a very pungent aroma, the air is heavy with pollen.

We're through the rape and walking along the side of a wheatfield. We don't have too far to travel now, we'll soon be at the entrance to the woods. Isn't it a lovely day for walking? Though it is thirsty work, I wish we'd brought a drink along with us, don't you?

We only have to climb over this wooden stile and we will be in The Dumbles. The bluebells can already be seen poking up through the undergrowth. The Dumbles are a dark, eerie  and mysterious place that have lain undisturbed for countless centuries. I pray the developers never get the chance to move in.. Click if you'd like to continue the walk