Di and Maisie arrived at 7am for our annual Good Friday walk. We drove in fine weather to the quietly calm Bough Beech Water, parked on the causeway, and started off walking north for the Greensand Way. Uphill through birdsong and fields of Rape, by hedges and banks of springtime flowers, and startling a small herd of Fallow deer (which Di banned Maisie from chasing!), we entered Stubbs Wood above the hamlet of Boarhill, extremely puffed. Rose Ringed Parakeets had been roosting and were agitated by a Buzzard above and making a din! The view from Hanging Bank to the Weald was spectacular; the air crystal, the valley greening and Crowborough Hill twenty two kilometres south, a recognizable sight, as we caught our breath. At Ide Hill village, we stopped at the loos for a pee, then crossed into the wood, where Octavia Hill (co-founder of The National Trust) dedicated a bench, facing south across the Weald, to others who would come after her. The woodland walks on the Greensand Ridge are so peaceful; no traffic noise, and sparsely populated. Pretty cottages and small villages and hamlets are dotted along the way. We crossed green undulating fields, and along the way, greeted a chap with his little Jack Russell, who was clearing trees from a small copse, and a bonfire was throwing out a fierce heat, which was welcome on such a chilly day. Then up high to Scords Wood, where a bench is set for passers-by. The family of David Page JP MBE, who once owned the farm we walked across, dedicated the bench to him, saying that he loved the farm. We stopped at this quiet place for breakfast and enjoyed the view in the Sun.
From there, we made our way through Bluebells and woodland to Toy's Hill, then out onto the lane to take us to French Street, another pretty hamlet, with well kept gardens and well kept stables of show horses. We said hello to a mare and her foal (keeping Maisie well back!). A bridle path took us along woodland rides over Horns Hill to Chartwell; Winston Churchill's house. We stopped at the restaurant there for coffee and cake, recovering in the sunshine.
We left Chartwell via the farm (after a discussion about which way to go) and walked along a grassy flower garnished lane, with lambs bleating in the pasture, down to Puddledock Lane. The walk to Bardogs Farm was a lung-busting climb near Toy's Hill, but from there, it was all downhill along another grassy twitten, with Yellow Archangel and White Dead Nettle, pink Herb Robert, and at the Toy's Hill road, wild Strawberries. At the house gate where the footpath ended, there was a tray-full of home-made jams. Of all types and irresistible! I chose Gooseberry jam - £1.30 - bargain! Di chose Victoria Plum, I believe, and we paid by dropping the money into the post-box. Off the road again, for the last three kilometres, we went onto Hendon Manor dairy farm; a very well kept farm and a pleasure to see, as was the black and white 15th century manor house (I believe they supply Marks and Spencer with milk). We watched a pair of crying Buzzards, one playing at being a Peregrine: diving with folded wings and swooping! I'm sure it was just for fun. At Cooper's Corner, we cut across, back to Bough Beech Water and the wildlife centre there for a cuppa and rest before the drive back home.
No comments:
Post a Comment