WALKIES!

I have to pinch myself that I'm actually here and remind myself it isn't a permanent situation. It's all so magnificent and charming, so ideal. I fall asleep to the Blackbird, I wake to Doves and Sparrows, to the absence of humans or time, the promise of another English country village day. 

Hello !

Today was walking day. It felt wonderful to be back in my hiking shoes and feeling the ground under my feet again. It's been too long, my legs were ready to go. I could almost hear my shoes say "Finally!" 

Culprit? The Jury is Out

But things didn't work out as planned, it was a mess at the end. I don't entirely blame this map, printed from an internet site, though it seemed to have been missing vital info. Somehow we got turned around.

Bottom line  and again the lesson is: Get A Map~! 

A 5 mile walk became a 10.5 mile trek. But thats ok. There are still many things to see and enjoy, again, it's the journey not the end.

Look At This Gorgeous Place! 

It Looks Like Bree- the Town in The Hobbit

Nice Find

Originally home to a Roman Villa and then a castle  - I want to get up to the earthworks, there are no ruins -  I've already said how Castle Combe is the Wiltshire Mecca of picturesque villages. The walk starts at the Market Cross, where all the tourists congregate. It's too early in the day, I have the village to myself.  The stump is the old 14C one, the one in the pavilion is a later 19C  reproduction built from old stone.

Market Cross Stump

Village Pump

Repro Cross

Castle Combe has a pack horse bridge, which is exactly what it sounds like - a bridge designed to carry packhorses across a river or stream. The horses would be loaded with side panniers, so the sides of the bridge had to be low to allow the packs to clear. 

Typically a packhorse bridge should be less than 6 feet wide, built before 1800 and on a recognized packhorse route. This one was designed for carts as well, so maybe not a true bridge. No matter, it's still a postcard. 

Pack Horse Bridge

Most people I've spoken to, all working class, want out of the EU. This person is in. The UK votes on the EU Referendum June 23. Both sides believe the outcome of the vote will settle the matter of Britain's EU membership for the foreseeable future. 

Look At This Imaginative Design Solution

Excuse Me.... I'm Not a Duck! 

So take a walk with me....................... the going was still good at this point, on track and on the right path.

I've Been Here So Long They've Sheared the Sheep! 

I Could Go For This......

......Or This......

ercerfc

Definitely This! 

This is Where We Go Wrong

Doghouse?

I Like This Old Farm, Very Thomas Hardy

We do eventually make it back to Castle Combe. We asked a shepherd part way, and wound up using Linda's iPhone and walking back on the roads. Good exercise, beautiful scenery you can't see any other way, but frustrating to be walking in circles.   

I Don't Like You Either

Lunch at the pub.

The closest town to buy ... you guessed it ...  a MAP, is Chippenham. A little down on its heels.                      

Stolen Flowers

Dinner was a picnic of ham, cheese and tea at "my" desk. Good news... we'd asked to extend our stay 3 more nights till Sunday and we're in! Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!  Time to cancel the next place and file it for another trip. 

Did I tell you the hotel lends you a tablet? Yes.... instead of a guest book of services you get an informational tablet and free internet. You can order room service, check out activities, set up a tee time or a tea time,  use the WiFi, listen to music, weather, time.... oh my! 

What will tomorrow bring?