The Cotswold Way England 2013

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

The End

Late last night so far away,
I dreamed myself a dream,
Well, I dreamed I was so all alone
Isn't it nice to be home again?

My Flight Survival Kit

This adventure couldn't have gone the way it did without the group of people that made it possible. Linda, Steve, and my best friend and husband George. I will never forget this experience and feel fortunate to be able to have done it. I came home mellowed, appreciative of simplicity, confident in my strengths, drawn to the positives and rejecting the negatives, stronger in patience. It was a success, a life expanding event that passed a renewed sense of history and nature into my spirit. We should all make a long distance walk sometime in our lives, its religion at its most basic because what are we but of the earth and strengthened by it. As above, so below!

Best Shoes Ever - Merrell Siren Sport 2

The End & the Beginning 10.1.2013

Turn RIGHT!!!!

Last Walk

The thing about walking 10+ miles day after day is, it's very hard to stop. It becomes addictive. I found myself unable to sit still, wandering around Lavenham on village pathways, keeping my leg from bouncing. I need to walk!
So I got a map and headed to the next village of Long Melford 5 miles away, a jump in comparison. George would meet me for lunch. Long Melford, named for its mile long main street, has 2 Tudor Halls. One, Kentwell, looked touristy with buses parked in the lot, advertising jousting and falcon hunting. Not for me. The other, Melford Hall was more a domestic home turned over to the National Trust. And it had a tea room. I'm sold. So with Long Melford Hall the meeting place, on a foggy almost warm day, I set off, again feeling the world and everyone in it was gone, just me and nature. It could be any day, any year, any place in time.

I Came From Way Over on the Left

Hummingbird Moth

Past the Sheep, Over the Stile.......

.......Through the Parsnips

Back Towards Lavenham

A WW2 Bunker

Rant: The Brits Are Really Trying to Get People to Clean Up after Their Dogs. They Are Way Behind Us in This Simple Courtesy. We Always Had To Walk looking Down to Avoid Stepping in Dog Turds, Right in the Pathway. They Also Don't Get that After You Bag Your Dog's Mess, You Don't Leave the Bag Behind.

What a Hefty Fella! An Ox, Lord of the Manor

Door in Long Melford

Queen Mary's Signature on the Charter to Grant Melford Hall

Beatrix Potter Was a Cousin of the Owners of the Hall and Stayed There Regularly

Beatrix Made This Toy Duck, Named It Jemima and Went on to Use It As a Character in Her Book.

George Absorbing the General Tudor Splendor. Tea Time Yet?

Awww... the Grave of ZOOEZE, Unknown Pet

Tudor Rose Showing Loyalty

Moving On ~ on the trail of John Constable

The Hay Wain, John Constable 1821

The Scene of Willy Lott's Cottage in Flatford, More Trees Now

Linda and Steve had bid farewell to take on the jungle that is London. We are exploring new territory 3 hours away in our own wilds of little Suffolk. I am on the trail of one of my favorite romantic artists John Constable. So away from the hilly, agrarian Cotswold gold stone and back in time to half timbered, level, Medieval wool merchants.

Seeing the hills recede with Broadway tower a small needle on the skyline was bittersweet. I took the word on the stone post in Chipping Campden to heart, the End and the Beginning. Time to absorb the last of England until next time.

George and I walked from Constable's birthplace in East Bergholt to Flatford, where he painted. We walked along the flats of the River Stour in Dedham. It was good to feel the earth again.

Our Old Friend Oliver Cromwell's Headquarters in 1642
He Sure Got Around

A Stunning Example of Ornamental Pargetting in Saffron Walden

Guess the Name of This Pub... Hint "8"

In Saffron Walden, It's Church Was Built in 1066

If You Think This Is a Small House, Consider
It's Divided in 2!

A Leaning Timber Building in Lavenham.
Lavenham is Nicknamed "Wonky Town"

Lavenham, Suffolk

This House Was Built in 1430!

The Facade of the De Vere House With Its Second People Door
Set into the Large Door. The House Was
Used in the Film "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". The Owners While Renovating Found Invocation Marks in the Attics, Put There to Ward off Evil Spirits.
It's on the Market for £950,000 - That's $1,541,856.15

The legends of De Vere House

King Henry VII visited De Vere House when visiting Lavenham for a day's hunting in 1498.

It is possible that De Vere House was used to house the many guests of the king and the 13th Earl of Oxford.

The sister and youngest brother of Charles II and James II were held under house arrest in De Vere House during 1651. For a short period of time between 1649 and 1660, the young princes and princesses were placed under the custody of Mary de Vere, the wife of Lord Fairfax.

The records show that Lady Fairfax soon tired of the children and handed them back, but do not state where they were held in custody.