We felt as though we were in a Breughelian lanscape this morning, walking out near Berthem. Here there was still some snow in the fields. The sky was magnificently grey and moody. The weather was wet and blustery and there was not a soul in sight… Except for about a hundred VTT (mountain bike) riders who invaded our path and thoroughly spoiled our communion with nature (what hope of seeing any wildlife?). Live and let live, of course, but it’s a funny old sport. I now know the collective noun for mountain bikers – a plague.