Our Parish Walk in England, 2014

"Over hill, over dale, we will hit the [muddy] trail...."  And we did!

The day before our Sunday Shutterchance meet-up, there were 6 of us Shutterchancers who went on a parish walk through the streets and fields around Bradford on Avon.  Don't you just love the English names of places!

We rendezvoused right outside the Cross Guns pub where we later ate lunch.

It's situated just off the Avoncliffe Aqueduct on the Kennet and Avon canal.

Within minutes of our rendezvous, we were traipsing across the fields.

The fun thing is that we weren't trespassing!  There are even maps for these public walks.

 As in the Netherlands, the war bunkers are still visible, especially along the waterways.
The English call them pillboxes!

 At different points we left the fields and crossed streets, going into small villages.

Here, for instance is the village parish of Freshford, Somerset, about 6 miles SE of Bath.

Population is circa 550, which tells you everything.

And in the true sense of parish, we stopped at the Freshford parish church, St. Peter's.

These wee churches have become my favorites, in spite of the grandeur of the huge cathedrals.

Parts of this church date back to the 15th century.

Before going inside, we walked all around it, while sheep and goats kept watch..

We didn't stay long inside, but at least got an appetizer for the next church on the list....

 ...which was St. Mary the Virgin in nearby Limpley Stoke, Wiltshire, built in 1001.

The Saxon stone archway inside the church was worth the entire visit.

Then we went back into the fields after St. Mary's and played.  That's Lisl, my designated Big Sister 

on Shutterchance, who also hosted us at the beginning and end of our trip, along with her husband Michael
 (who was not on the walk with us).

Chris is Astrid's designated Big Brother on Shutterchance, joining her in the big chair.

He's the one who has hosted us in years past at his partner's farm in the Bath area.

Chad and Ray had their try on the climbing wall...while Ginnie took the pictures.

What can I say:  we're all little kids at heart, brothers and sisters!

 As we walked from here to there, look at what we saw.

How can you not fall in love with the English countryside!

Then, suddenly, we were at the Iford Manor from the 15th century, known for its gardens.

It sits on the River Frome.

From the bridge, I captured this Grey Wagtail tweetie-pie with my magic camera, 1000+ mm away.

Thanks to Lisl who knew what it was.  We don't have them in America, I don't think!

On that note, it was time to eat lunch back at the Cross Guns pub where we had started our day.

Were we ever hungry! A perfect place for a typical English lunch with a local hard cider.

Astrid and I were in heaven.

Look at all the wild flowers we saw on our walk.

And the weathervanes!

And all the sweet impressions throughout the day.

Lisl and Chris had been planning this parish walk for weeks, if not months.

Do they know their little sisters or what?!?