Sunday 5 June 2022

Deep In The Past


We'll start today's walk deep in a ditch. Not just any old ditch. But a very old ditch. There's a stone at the entrance from the road to tell you all about it:



We're at the edge of Wheathampstead village, which itself has a long history and which we may well explore some other day. But right now we're heading out into the Hertfordshire countryside, to enjoy a taste of Britain's beauty and history on this Jubilee holiday.



We took a track alongside Beech Hyde Farm, in bright sunshine, with wild roses blooming in the hedgerow.



We reached Coleman's Green with its pub, The John Bunyan. There can't be many pubs in the land that are named after pious Puritan preachers, and Bunyan has only the most tenuous link to this one. To discover that connection you have to cross the road and find a minor by-way amongst the brambles and nettles.



Just behind the bushes you'll find "John Bunyan's Chimney". It's all that remains of a cottage where Bunyan preached from time to time. Bunyan lived through those turbulent years when many died because of their religion. At times there was an attitude of tolerance and he could preach openly, at others everything had to be conducted in utmost secrecy in remote locations, and for many years he was imprisoned for his beliefs.



The by-way soon became a long, sunken lane, lined with trees and leading between fields. These sunken lanes can be found in many parts of lowland Britain and are very ancient tracks indeed. Many, like this one, also form boundaries between parishes. The reason they became sunken beneath the general level of the land is that in times of heavy rainfall the water ran down these tracks and, over many centuries, washed away the soil.



Following the winding track downhill, between high earthen banks with overhanging trees, felt very much like navigating a secret river; till we met the Marford Road and landed abruptly back in the present day, with its traffic and untidiness.


But another path soon led us away into an open woodland area, sloping gently down to the River Lea.



Here we encountered a curious "folly" standing on a bridge between the Ayot and Brockett estates. Such structures were all the rage at one time and indicate that this area, now thick with nettles and brambles, was once landscaped as part of the grounds of grand houses.



But then we were heading through more open ground, still in the Lea's valley but with the river hiding from sight.



At length we found a lane with a small bridge over the river. This seemingly insignificant driveway was once the route of a Roman road.



Just a little way up the road stands Waterend House, a mid-17th century mansion that was at one time the home of Sarah Jennings, who, upon her marriage, became the Duchess of Marlborough. She was a close friend of Queen Anne and as such was an influential and powerful figure.



Further along was another bridge over the Lea, and a track leading us back to the start of the walk. My brother Les surveyed the scene. 



An old galvanised trough, repurposed as a planter for flowers, stood outside a farm gateway near the end of our walk.


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On the drive home we stopped for another look at the field of peonies that we saw a few posts ago.



Take care.


23 comments:

  1. Simply beautiful. I always enjoy walking with you, but am very sorry that I can't sniff the air and the perfume of the flowering plants you take us past...

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  2. Another fine ramble, John. Whenever I read your posts it makes me realize that exquisite corners of England still remain, and it makes me wish that others would present their corner of Britain in the way that you do. You'll have to devise a way of adding a sound track so that we can hear the birds singing!

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  3. Another lovely walk! I wonder for what purpose are these peonies grown, what are they used for?

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    1. They are harvested and sold in florists' shops and also you can pay to pick your own at the farm. But they always grow far more than they sell so there's a great show of blooms in the fields.

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  4. A really interesting post John both historically and scenically. Love the Jacobean architecture of the manor house. I do wonder how many properties built today will also stand the test of time and look as good as Waterend House in 400 years time.
    P.S I did not discover your last comment until yesterday. I found it sitting in spam - sorry - blogger appears to have a mind of its own these days.

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    1. I've been moderating all comments recently. Despite all the comments they're filtering out unnecessarily some spam is still getting through!

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  5. What would that folly have been used for, John? Just for decoration or did people sit in there?

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  6. Wow. Just wow!

    I expected Robin Hood to jump out of those trees.

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  7. I enjoy these walks that you take us along on so much, John.

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  8. Another most enjoyable walk with picturesque photos. Of course you can see beauty, but you do have a talent for capturing it excellently. Interesting architecture too! I think I'll start moderating comments too, because some just pass by, and I think they've been posted, but somehow they are to be "checked" by me, and even though I replied to them, they never posted to the blog. Now how are we supposed to have conversations this way!!

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  9. OH my! Breath has been taken away! so beautiful I nearly teared up! Thank you for this amazing , lovely walk!

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  10. Very intresting thks boys r otm

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  11. Love those old right of way trails. Nothing like that here in the States. You can feel the history of those that preceded you using their feet for transportation. [Must check comments again for those that may have ended up in spam. Thanks for reminder.]

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  12. The field of peonies is spectacular. Our peonies are tight buds yet,

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  13. What an amazing historical walk you too us, places I never knew about and now do.

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  14. Fascinating history and an incredible field of poppies!

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  15. Another wonderful walk John, those peonies delightful.

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  16. Walking through the ditch and then that sunken trail looked like quite the adventure, John. Thanks for the interesting history lesson as well. That still colorful field of peonies was a great end to your day too.

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  17. What a grand walk that was! So much to love. It would talk all day to tell you what I liked about each photo.

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  18. Beautiful. These places feel full of memory.

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  19. Hi John - the John Bunyan chimney building ... fascinating to see and understand a bit more about its setting. Our ancient trackways are so special ... while your part of the world is particularly interesting - I love learning what you introduce us to ... those peonies are just wonderful - cheers Hilary

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  20. I am quite envious of you from this walk. I was interested in this post -particularly the sign about the entrenchment (I’d like to see that sign) and the area you photographed. I spent some years growing up in Hertfordshire and now years later living in Canada I would like sometime to explore around Wheathampstead, There’s a Roman villa that was found in the area not too long ago. I enjoy your blog which I’ve recently come across. Jean/Winnipeg

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