… doesn’t look any different from Church Preen on any other day at this time of year. I suppose there was a house with a witch in the porch, but I wasn’t sure it was wise to point the camera in her direction. It’s just very pleasant to be out in the sunshine, on a day that looked like being wet.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=354860&Y=298485&A=Y&Z=120
A walk around a triangle of quiet lanes, up to Church Preen and back. We’ll take a look at the 13th century church (St John the Baptist) – and its remarkable yew tree. It claims to be more than 1,500 years old (it looks it!), and the oldest tree in Europe (perhaps not…). There are butterflies in the buddleia, just over the churchyard wall, and some quite astonishing fungus near the lychgate.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=354900&Y=298525&A=Y&Z=120
As well as being St David’s day, yesterday was the first day of (meteorological) spring. To mark the occasion(s), the spring flowers are starting to appear, and the sun’s starting to feel warm on our backs. It’s still pretty cold, though on a bright and breezy day like this we’ve got to be out. We’re walking around the lanes (avoiding the mud!) via Church Preen and Hughley, whose church steeple (that’s a steeple? Its clock has stopped in protest) was celebrated by Housman. Our starting point’s not far from the school, and as we close our circle, the lanes are suddenly full of huge four-wheel drive vehicles – some of whose drivers can barely see over the steering wheel. The mums are on the school run!
View OS map on Streetmap https://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=355185&Y=298405&A=Y&Z=120
The ecclesiastical link is pure coincidence. Langley Chapel seemed a good (and interesting) place to start, and the hamlet of Church Preen (whose church cannot be seen from the through roads) marked the half-way point. It’s a circular walk, entirely on very quiet roads (six miles, five cars, two horses), as last night’s heavy rain will have made the fields and paths really soggy. It’s very pleasant out too – clear air, just a light breeze, sunshine – what more could one want?
We’ve been to Langley Chapel before – for more photos, visit Langley Chapel
View OS map on Streetmap https://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=353900&Y=299181&A=Y&Z=120
geoffspages.blog 