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Monday 4 May 2020

The Path Behind The Church

Besides the footpaths which lead from one village to the next, there are many small paths in every village which owe their existence to quirks of history. In my village there is such a path, it leaves the road, leads around behind the church and then rejoins the road once again. It's just over a quarter of a mile (400m) in length and saves you all of a minute compared to taking the road, though it does involve climbing a stile, opening a couple of gates and crossing a footbridge. Why go any other way?


First we go over the stile next to the churchyard, then along a track between two rather old walls.


The wall on your left is made of flints, field stones and the odd old brick. It's held together with concrete and copious amounts of ivy.


On your right is the village church and its graveyard. It may looks as though I'm lying on the ground taking this shot, but in fact ground level in the churchyard is almost at the top of the surrounding wall. We've seen this before on our travels and is the result of the number of burials which have taken place over the centuries.


Looking back you can see how the wall has been pushed over and is now held in place by a series of buttresses. 


And very soon it's going to need some more support!


Our path opens out into a small meadow which, at this time of year, is frothing with the white flowers of Cow Parsley.


And here we get a view of the north side of the Holy Trinity Church. Like most village churches parts of it are very old, probably Norman, and then it's been added to, repaired and partly rebuilt over the centuries.


Then we come to a little footbridge crossing the River Mel, the river along which our village was built.


As you can see it's not a very substantial watercourse, but it did at one time power four watermills.


The meadow on this side of the stream is home to a couple of friendly horses, though they've learned over the years that I don't have any treats for them and a cursory glance is all I get from them these days.


There are plenty of Buttercups here, but not many butterflies about today, just a couple of Orange Tips and an unidentified Blue, none of which were remotely interested in posing for photographs.


More buttercups!


And even more! You can just about make out some of the dips and hollows in the meadow which mark the route of an old road which once ran through here and was known as Dukes Lane. Back in those times the road into the village split into two and passed either side of the church. One is now the road while this is now just a footpath.


At the other side of the meadow we pass through the little gate, then alongside the garden wall and back out on to the road again. The house that you can see peeking over the hedge is called "The Warren" and was rented in the summers of 1906 and 1907 by the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams and his wife, Adeline.

And so concludes our brief excursion. So much nicer than walking alongside the road!


Take care.


26 comments:

  1. No contest.
    That path is enchanting - which roads virtually never are. And I say virtually to give roads the benefit of the doubt. I can't think of any which I would describe as enchanting.

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  2. I love that shot of the churchyard with the bright sunlight filtering through from the right.
    We are so lucky to have these wonderful meadows filled with lovely wild flowers to enjoy at this time of year.

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  3. Thank you for that delightful walk, John.

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  4. The path may be short however obviously a treasure.

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  5. Such lovely summery photographs John and just about my limit of walking these days. I love these forgotten paths - they usually have a history lost in the mists of time.

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  6. That was a lovely walk that you took us on!

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  7. That walk would be a favorite of mine...I would take it even if it took several minutes longer.

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  8. Thank you for sharing these wonderful walks with us.

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  9. Thanks for taking us along on your walk! I enjoyed it thoroughly.

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  10. You do find interesting walks everywhere. The meadows look lovely. I went to a school in London situated in Buttercup Lane. (I think)

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  11. Such a lovely path full of history and wildlife. The cow parsley is beautiful:)

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  12. Hi John - oh I agree ... so much nicer and just wonderful to see. Beautiful ... thank you - Hilary

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  13. It is hard to imagine that the path was originally taken only to save a little time - the emphasis being on little - and it would be fascinating to travel back in time and know the reason why it originated in the first place. I suppose it is the path less travelled these days, as are many of the delightful walks you take us on, John. Better start a "go fund me" site to repair the wall!

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    1. Duplication of routes was by no means uncommon in those days. To appreciate why you must remember that "traffic" in those days was mainly pedestrian, the occasional person on horseback and various farm carts. No one spent much time or money in repairing these routes until it was absolutely necessary, so having several tracks was an advantage - if one became impassable you simply chose another. As both these routes cross the little river, there may have been a ford on one and a bridge on the other; contrary to our view of the world the ford was a very useful resource as wagons would be taken that way to "tighten" the wheels when the wood began to dry and shrink - that's what's going on in Constable's famous painting "The Haywain". It may also be that the original settlement was built around a green and tracks passed either side of it.

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  14. What alovely post you have made!I enjoyed it very much!

    I will google that Nice little house belonging to the Composer!

    Thanx for sharing this beauty:)

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  15. Oh absolutely John, I would choose this way every time! Enjoyed very much reading your explanation in above comments. English history is fascinating ✨

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  16. This is such a wonderful walk. I am so glad you photographed the buttercups. We pass by a field of them here on our walks, and I can never remember their name. Thank you for such a lovely journey.

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  17. A very nice walk with lots of nature sighting possibilities John.

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  18. I would prefer taking this route. It is so beautiful. Thank you for sharing this with us. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.

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  19. Another beautiful walk, thank you John.

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  20. I love the shady areas, especially. This short cut is definitely the way to go.

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  21. What a place to call your home. Can almost catch the scent of wet grass and sound of flowing water.

    Have to confess that I am envious. For us in S. California, things are still in lockdown. I ordered some better quality face masks, as it seems we will need them for while.

    Enough moaning. I seriously wish I could be walking in the grass.

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  22. I enjoyed this virtual walk through your village in the shades of green. How lucky you are living in such an idyllic place. Different from those beautiful horses, deer in Nara Park will approach you bowing for treats as they learned over the years. Take care.

    Yoko

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  23. Indeed, John, WHY would we want to take the road when we could walk through a much scenic way. And, as far as saving time, well we really do have enough of that to spare these days. I enjoyed this back way ramble even if it did require climbing a stile, opening a couple of gates and crossing a footbridge. Perhaps those 2 horses would be more inclined to be friendlier if you did bring them a couple of treats on the next wander...just saying 😉

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  24. I think the buttresses will need buttresses soon! Interesting how the earth builds up around some churches as a result of centuries of burials. I noticed the buildup before but didn’t think of the reason for it. So many buttercups! They really brighten up the world.

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  25. Definitely the better path to take. I wonder what the horses would do if you did have a treat for them one day!

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