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Sunday 30 May 2021

A Very English Village

Every real landscape has an imaginary equivalent that exists only in our minds, a perfect example that is seldom encountered outside of dreams. But every so often the material and the intangible meet up and sing together in unison. When an absent-minded cyclist wobbles unexpectedly into such a scene all he can do is dismount and lean his bike against a tree.



The place is Barrington, a village just a few miles from my home. The time is a fine, sunny Saturday afternoon at the end of May.



Many villages in this part of the world have "greens", as sung about by the Kinks, you know, "We are the Village Green Preservation Society". Historically they were places where the livestock could be kept safe overnight, later they became the venues for outdoor sports and dancing too. But nobody knows why the village of Barrington needed such a huge green; it's 1,100 yds (1 Km) long and nearly two hundred yards (or metres) across at its widest point. And, believe it or not, it used to be even bigger till some parts were built upon.



Around the perimeter of this large green space is a mixture of old houses and thatched cottages, many of which are picture-perfect - a vision of the idealised Olde England of fantasy.



Of course, you'll need a few pounds if you want to buy one of these properties. There's one on the market at the moment (not this one) that's open to offers over £675,000. It's rather more luxurious inside than the original inhabitants enjoyed, but you still have to walk through one bedroom to get to another.



During the summer months there's entertainment on the green in the form of cricket, yesterday it was the village's Second XI on show.



Cricket's a game that puts on display the character of the participants. Some players wield their bats like cavalier swordsmen with extrovert thrusts and flourishes. Others use theirs like a farmer holding a heavy board in front of a runaway pig to block its progress.



Just across the road you can buy an ice cream (or flowers, fruit, lottery tickets, groceries, bread, milk, firewood, postage stamps.....), then you can watch a bit more of the cricket.



An elderly gentleman tells me that the cricketers are not as good as they were in his day. I don't disbelieve him; it's one of those games where indifferent players can continue gain reputations of greatness years after they finish playing! A woman remarks that the sudden summer weather has taken us all by surprise. An astute ten-year-old sees my camera and asks if I take photos that make things look cool. Well, yes, I suppose I try.



I'd better take another wander around to see what I can do! Quite a bit of the green remains unmown this year - good for the wildlife.



Whenever I come here I always try not to photograph these chocolate-boxy cottages - and mostly I fail; it's just all too addictive.



I'm making my way up to the northern end of the green where the church and the village primary school stand.



For absolute perfection there ought to be a wedding taking place, or at least bell-ringing practice, but the grand old building seems to be deserted on this fine Saturday.



Down at the other end of the green the Royal Oak pub is having more success attracting customers! Village pubs are not doing too badly as we come out of lockdown as they have plenty of space for outdoor seating, and now we are having suitable weather for sitting outside, pint in hand, and watching the world go by.



Now I'd better go and find my bike and pedal off homewards.


Take care.


27 comments:

  1. What a - dare I say it - charming village!

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  2. A super post with lovely scenery and images John.
    Very Midsomer Murders

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  3. It is like a movie set, John, it is so perfect and your photos with narration captures it for us! What a lovely day you had for your visit. Thanks!

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  4. What a lovely place to walk and take photos on a beautiful blue-sky day.

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  5. I’ve heard of the village green but not seen one. Thanks for the excellent photos and commentary!

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  6. A lovely stroll with great scenery and photos. I love photo #4 with the blue shutters, it's very picturesque.

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  7. I love those cottages! When my sister and I were there in 2008, we stayed in an ancient thatched roof cottage. If I remember correctly it had been built in the 1500's, but had been updated with all modern conveniences. It was a truly exceptional place and a terrific experience for my first time visiting England. Great memories.

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  8. Oh my. Oh my, oh my, oh my.
    Thank you. I particularly like the unmown green - but love it all. Though I suspect I would rather wander than linger to watch the cricket...

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  9. A charming village! It reminds me on Midsomer Murders. The reasons why I like watching the series are beautiful houses and gardens full of roses. I wonder if it is difficult to maintain these roofs?

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    1. I wrote a post about thatched roofs here:
      https://bystargooseandhanglands.blogspot.com/2018/08/beneath-roof-of-straw.html

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  10. Charming village and cricket match sets it off nicely John.

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  11. Lovely village. When we were staying one night in Evesham we went for an evening walk and heard bellringers in the local church. We wandered over and they invited us in to watch their practice! One of our special memories of England.

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  12. Life on the village green. Wonderful. Thanks, John.

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  13. I am not a big fan of watching sports as a rule, but I confess to being enamoured of cricket the few times I have watched it on visits to Britain, and even here in Canada where immigrants from the Caribbean, India and Pakistan have teams. It always seems to me that it is far more than a sporting event and part of the cultural life of a community. I watched for about three hours one day and then the teams left the field and we had tea under a big tent. It was all very delightful, and I was told that matches can go on for several days before a winner is declared. I am totally ignorant of the rules, but it was all very civilized and genteel it seemed to me,

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    1. And sometimes, after five days, it's a draw! You might well enjoy it, David, as in some ways it's similar to bird watching - hours of not much happening and occasional intense excitement, but always little subtleties and tensions that become more apparent as familiarity with the activity increases.

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  14. Sure is a picture book English village. How lovely that it is close to you. Great shots as usual.

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  15. Hi John - stunning village ... how beautiful and somewhere I'd definitely go on days like the one you had here ... cricket to bemuse - I love the sound of bat on ball, and general cries of the players as they gently waft over my as I contemplate the sky, landscape around me and generally pass the time of day relaxing.
    I appreciate the lifebuoy! As too the fire hydrant ... just those necessary extras in a typical British village.
    Cheers and enjoy today's stunning weather ... Hilary

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  16. Oh my gosh John could you even get a more typically English village than this, you didn't happen to bump into Miss Marple did you 😉 Such a delight to see and quite different to an Aussie country town, although.. they are fond of cricket here also 😉

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  17. I past close to Barrington on my way to Grantchester on Saturday. If I had called in, I wonder if I would have spotted you with camera to hand?
    Lovely photos.

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  18. One day if I ever have a few (thousand) pounds going spare I will treat myself to a Chocolate-Boxy Cottage in a village such as the one in your post!
    In my dreams.;-)

    A delightful post and images, thank you John!

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  19. My, that is a classically pretty village. You made me laugh aloud at your description of the cricket. I hope the batsmen don't read your blog!

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  20. Somehow I missed this post and now I can’t help but write something. Barrington village is picture-perfectly English! I love traditional English villages and countryside. Like other commenter, I enjoy seeing the scenery of fictional Midsomer or Poirot filming locations. I wonder which is the most popular in England, cricket, football, or rugby,

    Yoko

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    1. Football is played by more people and attracts the biggest crowds.

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  21. I like english landscape, it's so different as ours. And I love the chocolate-boxy cottages

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  22. This certainly was a perfect English village and reminded me of ones I've seen on cozy British murder mysteries. Midsomer Murders immediately came to mind after seeing the houses and walk ways and, of course, the village green.

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