Monday November 06, 2006

An inside view of an old walk..

On Saturday did a walk we have done many times before but we took a closer look at two things on the route. We started at the pretty village Waltham St Lawrence by its church and pub. Before we started I took a look at its Lychgate.

It is very attractive and on its front there were some words but the weather had taken its toll. Inside the gate however more was revealed. It turns out the gate was built by friends of Rear Admiral Capel Woodhouse who had been a church warden here for seventeen years. We left the village by Halls Lane turning off and following a narrow path between the gardens of houses before passing Halls farm itself. In the distance was the spire of Shottesbrooke. Along a path we went under trees and to our left were the two hills of Bowsey and Knowl Hill; after a few more fields including passing to the left of a Ha Ha we went under a narrow brick arch to get to Shottesbrooke church.

Here we decided for the first time to go inside and take a look. I don't think the church gets a lot of use but has a lovely coloured window.

We then continued our walk in the grounds of Shottesbrooke park . There used to be a village here but like many it was lost after the effects of the Black Death. Ironically this was at the same time as the church was completed. We left the park by a road and here we missed our turn and went wrong before turning back going along the correct route. We returned to the pub which was busy so we had a nice lunch at the nearby Star instead.