Swans, Bikes, Bridges and Coffee

On Saturday Mr Cocopopia was all systems go in the workshop on his latest sculptural creation so a friend joined me for a bike ride up the river to Steyning - almost a whole year since we did the same trip last year - cycling up river to Steyning.  

I met up with my friend at the lagoon and was so happy to see all of the young swans all present and correct on the water and doing well (there had been rumours earlier in the year of a dog attack).

We joined the river by crossing over the Old Tollbridge which has become a memorial spot to the recent airshow crash.  All of the flowers and messages have now been removed to be preserved for posterity but during one night last week, masses of ribbons (apparently 7,000 of them) appeared in their place.

After a few moments of contemplation, we journeyed on and followed the river inland.  The tide was going out so the riverbanks were muddy.

At one point the river crosses a busy main road, but it was really nice to find that this part of the Downs Link cycle route has been recently improved by diverting the route slightly so that the track now crosses the road under a bridge and you nolonger have to take your life in your hands by making a frantic dash with your bike across a very fast and busy main road.

Once we reached Steyning, we couldn't just turn around and head straight back without a visit to the quirky Cobblestone Tea Room - old fashioned and quaint, even our modern frothy coffees were served in retro and mis-matched tea cups, which was all part of the experience.