Take Another Walk In The Countryside...

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Well, a lot of you have asked for more walks in the countryside around my village, and today, when I saw hikers outside with their car boot open and changing into their walking shoes, I thought.. yup, a nice day for a walk, being only slightly breezy, sunny and warm but not too hot. So... get your walking shoes on... I've decided it's time! lol. We're going up the Street today, so I'll meet you at the bus shelter, out front of my place, and we'll start our walk by walking up the bank in a northerly direction. Today, I've decided on more of a woodland ramble. So, we walk up the Street, past the recreation ground, and War Memorial; then the Village Hall, named the Rawson Institure, on our left, where we turn left into Lodge Lane, a short lane, of about half a mile in length, travelling west. We reach South Lodge, where Trev and Ros live. Ros rides so has a couple of horses in her fenced off part of the garden. At the side of the house is a metal gate, through which we pass onto the public footpath. This footpath goes the length of the couples' garden, where you pass through a wooden gate, onto the heath. The heath is tall with grass, bracken and wild flowers, with bees buzzing around the flowers and several wild animals stealthily moving between the grasses and bracken. Walk on for about a quarter of a mile or so, and we come upon the edge of the woods. The woods comprise a lot of oak, beech and hazel trees, and the ground is a carpet of dead leaves and mulch from last autumn, which is constantly turning into a rich, woodland compost, and ohhhhhhhh, the woody scent is wonderful. It makes you want to breath in all the time. We wend our way along the woodland path, past glens and groves, vacated camps the kids have made, fallen trees, which make a great balancing beam for the kids, lol, and espy squirrels and birds scurrying around in the undergrowth, scurrying up trees as we come near to them, or taking flight into the branches of the tall beech trees. We come to a right-hand bend, and as we reach it, start to descend, fairly rapidly, into what can only be called a woodland valley. Through the valley flows a babbling stream... only a small one, but you can hear the water's tune, as it makes its way through the valley. There are a few fallen trees on the banks, and a tyre hanging from a rope around one of the oak branches, where the kids have been swinging. The tire sways gently in the breeze, and a wooden bridge crosses us over the stream. The other side of the bridge is a small, stagnant pond, obviously an overflow from the stream. Soon afterwards, we emerge from the woods, through a dense curtain or purple rhododendrons, onto another footpath, which runs between a farmhouse and farmyard on the south side, and a field of sheep to the north, travelling the length of the field. Ducks, geese and goats are in the farmyard, plus an old wooden cart, presumably for carrying workers to the fields. We climb the stile at the end of the footpath and turn left down a made-up lane, past the farmhouse, to Old Mill Farm Tea Shop. Kids can go onto the farm here and be at one with the animals, there are tractor rides and such and the tea shop where you can relax, outside with a drink, a slice of cake and a book for a while, before progressing on your walk. Rest complete, we travel on down past the orchards on our right and horses on our left, before turning into a lane, which runs past a riding school. Then over a stile, across a couple of fields and bridges, through the vineyard, down the footpath opposite the vineyard and back onto the Street. Turn right, and walk southwards down the street. I think after that walk, we'll pass my home, and venture another fifty yards to the pub, where we'll have a well-earned beer and perhaps a combo for two.:-) We can sit, eat and tell our friends in the pub what we have seen and done on our walk. A great way to relax. Cheers! I hope you enjoyed this walk... until next time, thanks for your company, I really enjoyed myself. We must do it again soon!:-)