title Lockdown Bike Rides and an Anniversary Picnic, Mellis and Brome, Suffolk - 3rd July 2020 intro As both the boys are in school again, at least for a few weeks, Nosher gets a chance to do a bit of cycling again - mostly the route from Eye via Thornham Parva to Mellis and back via Thrandeston, which is a short but convenient ten miles. Later, it's the ten-year wedding anniversary, so Isobel arranges a lock-down picnic in the pleasant surroundings of the walled garden of the nearby Oaksmere hotel. As we're heading off we are intercepted by a member of staff with a bottle of champagne, which Frazer the owner has generously supplied, to properly finish off the lunch. imgc6191 The back road from Hoxne to Eye imgc6193 Poppies in the verge outside Hoxne imgc6194 One of Greater Anglia's new trains imgc6197 There's a cool old American pick-up in Mellis imgc6200 An old Chevrolet pick up imgc6201 The Mellis Railway Tavern imgc6204 The Yaxley Cherry Tree imgc6208 An old railway bridge in Yaxley imgc6210 Under a bridge on the former Mellis-Eye railway imgc6212 The Old Mill at Mellis, previously Multiyork imgc6214 There's a Bauhaus look on some straw bales imgc6218 Judas Lane, heading off towards Mellis imgc6220 Nosher's bike is abandoned for a wee stop imgc6221 Part of the old mill at Mellis, with an asbestos roof imgc6222 The back of the old MultiYork building imgc6223 Mellis railway crossing imgc6224 A bright red frilly poppy imgc6225 A poppy is infested with tiny beetles imgc6232 Poppy seed heads, ready to pop imgc6234 A close-up of scurrying beetles in a poppy imgc6238 A hover fly, er, hovers about around a poppy imgp1055 A field of chamomile at night imgp1058 The Oaksmere's walled kitchen garden imgp1059 Isobel sets up a lunchtime picnic imgp1065 Isobel picks a bit of surplus fruit imgp1068 There's a nice flower bed in the walled garden imgp1069 A sunflower with an interesting pattern imgp1070 Hoverflies on a flower imgp1074 Isobel takes one for the 'Gram imgp1078 We head off across the "dance floor" imgp1080 We are intercepted by a free bottle of champagne