'Walking' in all weathers



 It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I met a friend in the supermarket car park on Friday and asked if he was planning to field walk on Saturday. ; He said he was so I said I would go as well. So whilst the men marked the area into 20 metre squares I looked at some of the small 'finds' from previous walking in this field.

Too complicated for me to understand the maths!!

A minim

The minim is one of the smallest Roman coins and apparently about 2,400 of these would buy a loaf of bread!! Anyway after viewing this I set out to find something similar BUT the wind blew a gale from the North, the field was exposed and I got colder and colder until my right hand could hardly pick anything up. Needless to say I didn't find anything like this, only bits of Roman pottery and brick; at least I think it was!! I got home and turned the heating on full blast and didn't get warm until well into Saturday evening.

Sunday I completed my Christmas Challenge for Higham Piecemakers and now have to string it before mounting in the photo frame that we were given. I will show you the finished article after 'Show and Tell' next week. It has worked out well I think, but was not easy; and that is all I will tell you at this stage!!

Yesterday I had agreed to help a friend plan the 'Out of County' walk in May for the 50+ Adventure Club.  So complete with an Ordinance Survey map of the area we chose to walk in and around Ampthill in Bedfordshire taking in some of the Greensand Ridge Walk. It was a lovely day and very soon we were taking our coats off. We had great views over the Bedford Plain, not very attractive as you can see warehouses in the distance, but the chimneys were a reminder of the brickmaking which was a huge industry that I can remember from my younger days.

A bank of gorse bushes coming into bloom - lovely sight

We stopped for a short lunch break at Houghton House with it's views over the plain.  John Bunyan featured it in his 'Pilgrim's Progress' as the 'house beautiful'.

On our return we stopped at Katherine's Cross that stands on the site of Ampthill castle and this is where Katherine of Aragon lived from 1531-1533 before her divorce from Henry VIII, who was a frequent visitor, and before being moved to Kimbolton castle for the remainder of her life.

Katherine's Cross

There is also a memorial to the training camp and hospital which was set up here during World War 1.

Memorial to WW1

By this time the weather was looking quite stormy and we had walked 6.5 miles so we decided to head for the café for a welcome coffee and in my case a bun. A very successful day as this is the walk which the club will do. They want 'Good views, somewhere for a picnic lunch - Houghton House' and we will throw in a bit of culture on the way!! Oh and there are plenty of nice looking pubs in the town for afterwards.