A long walk and some pub time

Here we are on Wednesday, April 9. We've been here a week and it's feeling like home. It's nice being able to settle in and not feel rushed, like we have to see everything right away because we're going home soon.

We both were sore from the workout yesterday, but that's to be expected. We spent the morning at home (except for the walk to Nettlebed for the newspaper). Claire got started on her sketching. After lunch, we decided to take a long walk, so we did the "Church Walk". This takes about 1-1/2 hours on back roads and trails through woods and fields. It skims along a nature preserve which we will explore another time. We did the minimum as our soreness from the workout became more obvious as we went. It's called the Church Walk because it goes past the ruins of a small stone church. The day was intermittently sunny and cloudy, but cool, so it was great for a walk. The countryside was very quiet, interrupted only by a pilot in a bi-plane directly overhead, practicing his aerobatics (rolls, stalls, steep dives, etc.) which was fun to watch.

We are living in an area called the Chilterns. It's just south of the Cotswolds and consists of rolling hills and open countryside with lots of small towns, villages and hamlets. The rural Brits are inveterate walkers (usually with their dogs, often border collies) and are very protective of their rights. Every year, they have a mass trespass where tens of thousands of people walk every trail in the country, establishing their rights to use the trails, even when they are on private property. If they find a trail obstructed, they "unobstruct" it.

By the time we got to the end of the walk (we were quite sore and tired by then), what do we see? The White Hart! A sight for sore eyes (and muscles). Nothing like a cold one to revive the spirits! Relaxing on a comfortable couch in front of a cozy fire is a fine way to finish a walk.