It was a sunny Sunday afternoon, and a short drive got us to Ironbridge. We’d done an autumn walk there a few years ago and I had fond memories of the once industrial town.
We followed the same route, finishing at the Iron Bridge itself. Along the canal on the walk, the azure-blue damselflies were out in force. These are delightful insects! I first saw them about 25 years ago on a common in Hampstead Heath, London. Usually, they’re near water. This was before the internet took off when geeks used to congregate on newsgroups. I went on an entomology group and described what I saw, and some kind person told me that the insect was a common blue damselfly.
I remember being mesmerised by the way they moved. You can barely see their translucent wings because they’re flapping so fast. They seem to move up, down, left, right, forward, and backward effortlessly. This rapid change of direction makes them look like thin blue matchsticks being blown about by the wind.
The walk itself was pleasant and gentle, passing a few pubs, one of which we returned to after the walk for a drink. The craft shops we previously went to had disappeared and been replaced by other shops.
Ironbridge, itself, was very crowded. It looked like everyone had come to the town and lots of people were taking selfies. We went in the former toll booth on the bridge and a friendly woman told us about a free museum we could go to. We didn’t have time but decided we would return for a museum daytrip at some point since there were several in the region.
Beautiful!♥️
Thank you 🤗