Captain's Log 

The Far Ings reserve is split into two and I had to walk along the riverside path to get between them. There is a derelict hotel between the two halves of the reserve. This used to be the Humber Bridge Country Hotel and the organisation collapsed due to large debts. The hotel looks a large, modern construction, but it looks like the vandals have been busy; a lot of the windows had been smashed. There was some noise of drilling and I saw some people moving stuff to a van. I wasn't really sure if they were salvaging or stealing stuff. There appears to have been a planning request to build 19 wooden huts on the site as some sort of holiday complex, but this has had objections due to the nearby nature reserves.

I spent some time in a double decker hide. I was on the top deck and it had good views over the nearby lake. I heard a couple of blokes on the lower deck talking about a bird in the reeds just in front of us. 'It's a Reed Warbler'. 'Are you sure? It looks like a Sedge Warbler to me'. I took a photo of it. I think it is probably a Reed Warbler.

As I was walking along the riverside path I had to do a double-take when I saw what I thought was half of a torso in the undergrowth. One wonders how these things get there.

It was a hot day and I dropped into the Water's Edge Visitors Centre Cafe for a cup of coffee. As soon as I entered the entrance door I was interrogated by an old couple sat at a table. They were  nature lovers and they gave me an unabridged account of their lifelong adventures. The man was over 90 and age hadn't diminished his enthusiasm. I was eventually saved by the waitress who had brought them their dinner. I took the opportunity to make my way to the counter.

There are no hides in the Water's  Edge Country Park but there were many trails to walk along and many birds to view in the many lakes.

Although my itinerary had not been as I intended, it had been a marvellous day. Certainly a place that I'll return to in the near future.