Sunday 14 October 2007

A Walk in my local Countryside

Do come and join us on our walk
It is Saturday and a group of friends are joining us
I used to regularly organise walks around our local countryside for our church where we were often joined by non-church goers and we would always have a great time of fellowship ending up with a meal at a pub
Ronnie, Alan, Lorraine,Chris,Mick,Malcolm, Ken
This is The Woodman where we began and finished our walk with a
very delicious meal

We are off now over the first stile

Now you won't normally find a Portaloo in the middle of a field but this field is used for Clay Pigeon shooting

We did see lots of Pheasants in the next field



A typical bridge over the river


We passed a lake



He was keen to have his photo taken


Flat countryside
Soon after this we found some wild apple trees and picked some beautiful apples




This is Navestock Church
We enjoyed the sound of the bells ringing as we walked across the fields
and when we arrived at the church we found a group of bell ringers
who were touring the County and ringing the bells of 30 different country churches for 15 minutes at each throughout the day
Having been a bell ringer myself many many years ago I thought this was a lovely idea







We pass a pretty house



And drop into Malpar Flowers





Getting the Christmas barn ready





The Granary which is now a little museum





The resident peacock family












Now here is the interesting bit
Having taken an interest earlier in the week in the seasonal decorating of houses in the USA
in view of the fact that whatever happens over there eventually is seen over here
this country shop had a display of items for Autumn decorating
How long before it becomes a popular thing over here
Watch this space
There were so many beautiful displays but these Autumn ones intrigued me









We are now back at The Woodman taking in the menu display



Next to the fireplace
A nice way to finish our walk of approximately 4 miles



16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I joined you on your nice walk in your local countryside and I liked very much the Navestock Church. Bellringer is unknown to me. In our churches there is always a man or woman responsible for everything that concerns church and service (including that the bells ring). This is a job and people are paid for it. However, I like the thought of people going from church to church and ringing the bells..
Have a good start into the new week!
Barbara

Susan said...

Oh that is so delightful. It is so great the way we can vicariously share in these beautiful, lovely sights and times with you. I loved the bell ringing part.....of course you KNEW I would!!!!

Now I am awaiting a picture of your autumn display on your table. hee hee.

Have a blessed Sabbath ..... we are off to Church and David is once again joining us. Praise God.
Susan

Unknown said...

What a lovely walk on a beautiful autumn day. Thanks for inviting me along!

Lois said...

How I wish we had pubs here in
Canada like the ones that you have in the UK.
Our pubs here although they serve meals are completely drinking establishments and are not allowed children, and are not usually a good scene for families.
There are a few Irish Pub type places run by people from the UK, but of course they are subject to all our laws etc.
Neighbourhood pubs that try to spring up are usually petitioned against as they thought to be a disruption to the peace in a neighbourhood!

Anonymous said...

What a lovely walk and the pub looks really cosy.

The church looks interesting - is it Norman?

Marie x

Susan Skitt said...

Now Barbara, while I was reading and looking at all these wonderful pictures I kept thinking, "Wow, these people are walking miles and miles. I wonder how far?"

You answered my questions at the end after all! What a fun day!

Vee said...

Such a beautiful walk it was, too. How pleasant to share it with friends! I don't see a lot of traffic...are you walking along woodland paths specifically for pedestrians? (I wish that there were more of those here.)

Anonymous said...

Wish I could join you :-)

Betty said...

Barbara,
A lovely walk to be sure.....I think you should be the first on your block to hang a fall wreath on the front door......

What would a pub lunch consist of?

Susie said...

What a lovely fall walk! I loved the fall display at the shop and could almost hear the bell ringers.
Delightful!
xo

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

Oh how I'd love to be there, joining you on that walk! Look like such fun, good companionship, and lovely scenery, interesting shops, and a great meal to end it with. What could be more perfect.

I was studying that menu, by the way. My husband would have chosen the liver & bacon; I think I might have tried the roast chicken. I was also interested in the pricing. 8.95 BP must be about $20 US dollars. About right for a good dinner, but slightly expensive for a lunch (unless of course it's a 5-star restaurant!)

Thank you for sharing your walk - I loved going along with you.

Willow said...

Thanks for the walking tour. The Navestock Church's archictecture was unusual. I was first introduced to bellringing when I read Dorothy Sayer's "The Nine Tailors". I hadn't realized utnil then that playing melodies is not the focus of bellringing.

Betty said...

Barbara,
Thank you for the quick response to my query about pub meals.....the menu sounds delicious....well all but the liver and eggs....I don't eat eggs.....well, no liver either....I'm not an organ eater.

Now as to the wreaths...hmmmm, perhaps you could hang one on the inside of a door...I quite often do that......I'm trying to convince you to exhibit a fall motif.....Betty

Kylee Baumle said...

Oh, what a beautiful place where you live! It's my dream to one day visit the U.K. Thanks for letting me see yet another lovely part of it.

Reflection Through The Seasons said...

What a delightful walk Barbara and such a great shared activity with your group of friends. That looks a great pub too. Marion

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this walk through Navestock. My sister Val, who passed away in 2001, lived at Ingrave, Essex. She was in remission from cancer when I visited her from Canada that year. She and her husband took me to see the local sights and we stopped at Malpar Flowers where she bought me two little birds (see http://www.flickr.com/photos/muckyporter/3259151362 These birds have always held a fond place in my heart but as the years passed I forgot the name of the place they came from. So it was with great joy that I discovered your walk in your local countryside and the photos of the very place where we stopped that day.