Another Country Walk

Against all the odds, the weekend ended up being sunny and warm, which, this late in the year is really a minor miracle. It can only mean that winter, when it comes, is really going to be dark and miserable. We'll have to do our best to enjoy it while we can. So, as Dalton and I had been on our walk to Priory Farm a few times, this time we got everyone to walk down to the Farm, where we had a light lunch - I had my first Welsh rarebit, and found it to be really good.

I think it's fair to say that wandering the countryside here is a bit different than wandering the countryside anywhere else. Since the country has been more or less continuously inhabited for at least two millenia, most of the country side is tame by Alabama standards, which only means that it makes for some really nice walks. The other big difference is that you just never know what you're going to stumble across. While we were walking, we came across a small church which we thought was pretty (see pictures below). As it turns out, the vicar was in, and showed us around the church and gave us a brief history. The church was built on the site of an older church which was around in 1066 and recorded in the Domesday book, however, the church itself is from different periods, the earliest bit being from the 1200's. I mean, go figure, probably about a mile from our house is a church that has been around for some eight centuries.

Anyway, the walk was very nice, and we stopped several times along the way to take pictures of the countryside, and we popped off at the Inn on the Pond for a pint on the way home. All in all, a very satisfying day. Michelle and I later commented on the fact that, although London may be big and glorious in its own way, somehow, quiet countryside meandering is often more enjoyable than big city sightseeing...although there's nothing wrong with big city sightseeing either.