Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and the Weald of Kent.

Hello again! How that fortnight flies...

Our delightful stretch of authentic summer weather persisted. On Wednesday, however, I made the conscious decision not to join the group for a walk. With temperatures soaring to 27 degrees and several steep hills to conquer, I knew the combination would prove to be quite daunting. Considering these factors, I opted to skip the outing altogether, particularly since it was a route I had walked several times in the past.

In preparation for the scorching weather, I selected an ensemble that prioritised coolness and comfort. On that particular day I wore a pair of linen trousers from H&M, coupled with a stylish top courtesy of Next. Completing the ensemble were a pair of sandals I had purchased online. As is almost always the case, my choice of accessories included various pieces of pre-loved jewellery. It's worth mentioning that many of my pre-loved garments hail from popular chain stores, much like the aforementioned H&M and Next.. Early on Wednesday morning, as I diligently ironed my outfit, I happened to catch a glimpse of a woman strolling towards the nearby station from the study window. To my surprise, she was wearing the exact same dress I had worn the previous Thursday. I was just glad I wasn't wearing the same dress and strolling toward her!

Noticed a change in my writing style? That's because the paragraphs above were re-written from my original paragraphs

 using ChatGPT - an artificial intelligence chatbot.  I did re-edit it in places as it was so clearly not my 'voice'.  I'm so glad ChatGPT wasn't around when I was teaching students....it's a pretty amazing tool.

In the afternoon I headed into town to buy some seasonings and spices from the international supermarket and went to the library to collect a reservation; by which time I was ready for a sit down! I thought I might go out for a walk in the afternoon but it still was too hot. However, the garden was loving the heatwave; everyday brought something new in bloom and it's such a treat to see those bursts of colour.

Asiatic lilies in yellow and white with the orange just about to bloom; above; three salvias in red and two shades of purple.

Above stocks,delphinium and below allysum; striped petunias and creeping rock cress.

More petunias.

On my round of the garden on Thursday morning the nasturtiums had  begun to bloom. I bought them at the plant sale when walking in Risely village a few weeks back. 

I went for a swim managing 46 laps; then after getting ready went to do the Lidl and Aldi shopping. There was no basketball practice this week so I just had to collect youngest grandson from school and drop him home after dinner. It was another beautiful day of 27 degrees and sunshine all day. I wore this:

Cotton trousers by Tu and are several years old bought in a Sainsbury's sale; top from Barnardo's by Miss Look and sandals from J.D. Williams retail. I must paint my toenails...

 Jewellery all pre-loved. The necklace was my late mum's.

Have you noticed the improvement in the quality of the photos above? That's my new phone camera. The phone arrived on Wednesday and I spent the evening transferring everything over...

Another beautiful day on Friday; temperatures started off at 21 degrees and rose to 27 degrees by the time I drove home from the unofficial bus walk. 

To stay cool I wore this green pre-loved dress bought from Vinted during lock down.  Hotter sandals; pre-loved as was all jewellery. I changed into walking sandals for the walk.

I've caught the sun. 

Well, we were out for about 5 hours in total so it would be surprising if I didn't. I was so glad I remembered the Factor 50.

We began the walk from here; St.Peter and St. Paul's church in Fenstanton, Cambridgeshire.

Quite a plain church inside except for the stained glass windows and the memorial stone to Capability Brown.

This was in the grounds of the church.

Lancelot 'Capability' Brown; the foremost British historical landscape gardener was responsible for about 170 gardens surrounding some of the finest gardens and estates in Britain. He acquired the above title and land in Fenstanton from Spencer, 8th Earl of Northampton. You can read more about Capability Brown HERE.

This was the Manor House where the Lord of the Manor resided - (minus the cars of course!) We continued the walk through the village of Fenstanton where there were some lovely houses from different historical periods:

From the village we walked to Fen Drayton Lakes Nature Reserve. The lakes were originally gravel pits and the reserve was created by the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds). Fen Drayton Lakes stands at one end of a string of wetlands and fens that runs for 25 miles (40km) along the Great Ouse floodplain. SOURCE. We then walked along the river Great Ouse;  the photo below was taken looking across to the village of Holywell; once upon a time only accessible by ferry...

Grey lag geese swimming in a line. 

We passed several groups of grey lag geese swimming along the river before reaching the guided busway and walking into the town of St. Ives.

Graffitti spotted just before we climbed down from the guided busway. St.Ives is a lovely town which OH and I have visited several times and I took middle grandson to the (tiny) Oliver Cromwell museum there last year. Talking of Oliver Cromwell:

Here's Oliver pointing his finger in disgust at the huge crown designed for the Royal Coronation! 

We spent about an hour in St.Ives having walked 5 miles to get there. We had iced lattes and bacon baps in an open air cafe and very good they were, too. We then walked over St.Ives bridge and along the river to the boat yard.

Can you see how parched and dry the grass banks were? We hadn't had any rain for a few weeks.

Barry found this dying damsel fly. What a beautiful creature it was. 

We set off again, tracing our steps along the river for another 2 miles until we reached the start point once again.  There was a farm shop in the village and I bought some small pots of cosmos and some gooseberries  before setting off for home.  It was a brilliant walk and a great way to spend a Friday!

 Given my experience with the sat nav the week before; I had mapped out the route to the walk in my road atlas but I had also activated the car's sat nav. Surprisingly, it once again attempted to guide me along the same path as last week. However, once I persisted on my chosen route, the sat nav relented and redirected me to my intended destination. The route I had planned turned out to be 5 miles shorter than the one proposed by the car sat nav, even though it is designed to prioritise the shortest route...

Saturday was quite a laid back day and it was nice to not have to be anywhere by a certain time; at least until the evening, when we were going out for a birthday meal for youngest grandson who would be 13 on Sunday. I spent a couple of hours in the garden tidying up; weeding; dead heading and moving stuff around. OH spent the whole day sorting out the side that adjoins our neighbour on the right. We got rid of a rhododendron that had deceased; moved our huge fatsia japonica into the corner and got rid of a gooseberry plant that hasn't fruited for the past couple of years. This gave us more space on the side of the garden and we moved several flowering plants across to it.

The morning had been dull and quite cool which is why I spent several hours in the garden, but by the time I walked into town to the library it was very hot and humid. Very tiring weather I find; it saps my energy. I wore pre-loved jeans and this pre-loved top by Phase Eight; sandals as before. I was too hot... 

I changed into this for the restaurant in the evening:

Pre-loved dress by Asos bought from Barnardo's;  pre-loved jacket by Zara also from Barnardo's; and sandals bought online. All jewellery pre-loved.

I said I would have a charity shop no spend week and I did. I spent absolutely nothing in the charity shops; because apart from volunteering on Monday at Barnardo's, I didn't visit any charity shops all week. I plan to continue no spending as I've booked the ferry for Ireland and will be gone for 5 weeks from early July to the end of the first week of August. OH will come out for a fortnight as will my brother. Cousin Marian is travelling out with me and staying for at least a week; it will be nice to have company and I'm so looking forward to seeing Ireland again.

Sunday was hot and humid once again. We planned to have a barbecue at 5 pm; but when we sat down to eat around 5.30, it began to rain. The first rain in about a fortnight, I think. Oh well, ces't la vie. We put the umbrella up and stayed dry.  OH dealt with the barbecuing side of things and I made salad, potato salad, coleslaw, fresh fruit salad and sticky tofu for the non meat eaters. By the time everyone had gone home I was exhausted and spent the evening reading.

Here's the birthday boy with his basketball birthday cake and his cousin (middle grandson). Middle grandson had stayed all week because of his final exams but also because the flooring in his home was being replaced and it was easier for his mum if he stayed with us.

I wore a pre-loved cotton skirt by East bought in a Bletchley charity shop a few years ago;  pre-loved belt; pre-loved cotton t-shirt from the Cat's Protection League. All jewellery pre-loved; Birkenstocks donated by my daughter.

I picked these from the garden on my Sunday morning garden round...a second clematis had also begun to bloom. 

I then went for the usual swim. It was pretty crowded in the slow lane so I swam in the middle lane; which always makes me swim a bit faster. I managed 46 laps again although my fitbit continues to insists I've swum more. I always count my laps and I adjust the pool length (our pool is 33.3 metres long and the nearest fitbit equivalent is 34 metres) so I don't understand why it doesn't concur with mine! Technology can be a pain as well as being useful...

More sunshine on Monday.

Cotton skirt; pre-loved by Per Una (M&S); t-shirt, Primarni; jacket/shirt; Vinted; sandals Doc Martens and all jewellery pre-loved.

I was busy all morning at Barnardo's but it was one of those days where you feel you haven't achieved very much; although I did process several sacks of donations and served customers. I bought nothing at all! 

 Home to hang out the washing; chilled out finishing my Ronald Blythe book and catching up with blog land.

Woke up to lashing rain on Tuesday morning - I'm not complaining by the way; the gardens and crops needed it.

It was too wet to wear sandals. Everything I wore was pre-loved. Shirt by Wallis, trousers by Quiz. Shoes found in a Co. Donegal charity shop. All jewellery pre-loved.

There were plans afoot at the food bank. Apparently, we will be moving to a new warehouse. It's not signed, sealed and delivered - yet -  but it is going to happen. It will be on the same industrial estate as the the present food bank but the space will larger and reorganised. It looks like an improvement on the present arrangements; we were all happy with the new plans. 

Once home I did a bit of weeding and deadheading; the wall flowers seem to have finished and the senetti; I cut them all back in the hope they may re-bloom.  Updated to say the senetti is gone but there are some new blooms on the wallflowers; yay! I cut more sweet peas; the smell was divine. I hung out yet more washing and spent the afternoon anxiously checking the skies for more rain. When I left for the food bank in the morning it was raining heavily there was a small flood on our street. When I got home the road was closed off. One of the drains must have become overwhelmed with the volume of water, but Anglia water soon had it sorted. In fact, I found out, later that day a sink hole had appeared at the top of the street near the traffic lights. It was about six foot deep and was covered over with a metal plate which I noticed when I went for a short urban 3 mile walk in the afternoon.  Whether it was the heat or the rain caused the sinkhole to appear I don't know.

In the evening we started watching a German crime series:

The Marnow Murders

Complex German crime thriller from Walter Presents. A murderer appears to be killing at random. How far are detectives Elling and Mendt willing to venture into a murderous moral maze?

On my short walk on Tuesday, I passed this notice outside Bedford Park advertising a series of forthcoming concerts in the park. The deputy manager at Barnardo's is going to the 'West End Proms' on Sunday evening. The park is next to the swimming pool so about a 7 minute walk from my house; I may even wander along next Friday evening to see if I can hear the George Ezra concert. The concert area has barriers around it so it's not possible to see the stage but one could definitely hear it.

There was no rain on Wednesday but it was hot and sunny again. I joined my group for a 7.5 mile walk from Wilden which was lovely; although I felt really tired after the walk. It's the heat that does it as I can usually walk 7.5 miles without feeling tired at all. On the way home I stopped at Pells; a local plant nursery and farm shop and picked up a few plants and some broad beans. I had never cooked broad beans before and wasn't sure if I even liked them - they were okay but a bit of a faff. From Pells I went to Aldi and did the weekly shop; including buying two extra boxes of Earl Grey teabags to take to Ireland with me. I forgot to take outfit photos; all I wore were items for coolness whilst walking; black linen trousers with a black cotton vest and a black and white loose cotton shirt over it, plus my walking sandals and rucksack.

Hot again on Thursday; it felt very sultry. I had a lovely 46 lap swim; then got ready and went to do the Lidl shopping. Once that was unpacked and put away; I just had time to walk to the library and pick up my reservation before heading out to collect youngest grandson from school. Once we were eating dinner the heavens opened; there'd been thunder on or off for a while before the rain. But what rain! Our street was awash and looked like a lake. We had to venture out in it as I had to take grandson to basketball practice; we both got soaked feet and the bottom of my dress was all soggy. By the time I arrived home; the lake in the street had receded; I suppose it was what's known as a flash flood.

Cotton dress by 'Made in India' and was a sale rail find in a charity shop. Sandals retail. All jewellery pre-loved.

I planned to visit Stamford in Lincolnshire with my brothers on Friday. When my mum and middle brother moved from London in the 1990s to Kettering; one of the first places I took them for a trip out was Stamford but my youngest brother had never visited Stamford before.  OH and I had a weekend in Stamford for my birthday in March 2020; just before the lock down was announced. I remember the hotel we stayed in was the first place we had to use hand sanitiser every time we entered the premises...I don't miss those days at all.

 I should clarify that when I go 'visiting' places with my brothers; it often, if not usually, means visiting a pub/pubs and having lunch. Neither brother wants to walk very far for health reasons and neither brother drives; I do the driving and they buy me lunch. Suits me!

I had a delicious trout and risotto lunch at the pub pictured below called 'The Old Bertie Inn'; at Uffington, Stamford (17th C). The pub above was in a place called Collyweston and was named 'The Collyweston Slater' (1856). We had coffees here then on the way back to Kettering detoured to visit a town called Oundle. Oundle is known for its Georgian street scapes and impressive limestone buildings. We visited 'The Ship Inn' there where the brothers had a drink, but I went for a bit of a wander and found a charity shop. Not only did I find a charity shop but discovered a BNWT Per Una (M&S) midi dress (maxi on me) for £5.95 whilst I was there.  Oundle is a place OH and I will come back and explore another time; it looked very picturesque.

This was the view from the garden of 'The Collyweston Slater'. I zoomed in too much hence the blurriness. This is what I wore:

I didn't need the jacket at all; it was 26+ degrees for most of the day. Linen dress by Woolovers; t-shirt by Next and all jewellery pre-loved. Doc Martens sandals; retail.

Saturday was the long awaited London walk with my group. Originally, we were to walk in the Weald of Kent taking in a visit to Knole and Ightham Moat; both National Trust properties. The Weald is an ancient tract of forest nearly 40 miles long in the South East; it separates the London basin from the coast and crosses several counties. Rail strikes and engineering works caused the date of the walk to be changed twice; then at the last moment the walk leader discovered the bus that was to take us from the station to our walking start point was removed from weekend services! Instead, we would travel to Hayes, Kent (there's a Hayes, Middlesex, too) to Westerham and from there walk to Quebec House; home of General James Wolfe and then walk to Chartwell, the home of Winston Churchill; both once again National Trust properties. 

It was an early start; our train left Bedford station at 7.48 am. OH had a reunion to go so didn't come with us which was a shame. We changed at London Bridge for Hayes; then caught a bus from Hayes to Westerham passing Biggin Hill en route; using our Senior rail cards and bus passes all the way. Westerham, the village local to Chartwell, was a pretty little place:

On the village green.

Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Westerham. The church was mentioned in the Domesday book of 1086. The earliest parts of the building date from the 13th century but it is believed there has been a church on this site from 7th century.

The reredos or altarpiece (left) was very beautiful.

No flying angels holding up the roof - only corbels.

Next stop - Quebec House. 

Childhood home to General James Wolfe a British army office chiefly remembered for his victory over the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec. The house was renamed Quebec House after its purchase in 1913 by Joseph Bowles-Leamont of Montreal; who was keen to find a permanent memorial to Wolfe and the Canada connection.

We didn't have time to  visit the house but we did walk around the very pretty and modest garden.

This memorial plaque was next to the front door of Quebec House.

Although the walk itself was about 5 miles there was a lot of climbing with quite steep ascents and descents. By the time I arrived home I had walked in excess of 9 miles; which included walking to and from Bedford station; between stations and around the points of interest. It was an extremely hot day as well; the temperatures reaching 30 degrees on occasions. We were lucky however in that a lot of the walk was through cool and shady woodland. I was so hot when we reached a stream on the way back I took off my shoes and paddled my feet in an effort to cool down...

Chartwell House. It was a surprisingly unpretentious house, I thought There were hourly guided tours of the interior of the house; unfortunately we missed out on one tour and couldn't wait around for another.

 

I sat on a bench contemplating the house trying to cool down...sun hat from the V& A museum via a charity shop of course!

 

We stopped at Chartwell for our lunch and then commenced on a tour of the gardens which were a typical example of English country house gardens:

Pathways; walled gardens; terraces; different levels and wonderful herbaceous borders.

It was very busy at Chartwell but try as I might not to, I still managed snap complete strangers.

Look at all that alstromerias!

This interesting structure was at the end of one of the terraces and decorated inside with this frieze depicting battles galore.

It seems Churchill didn't mind a bit of manual labour...

Part of Churchill's studio. He was a keen painter. The lighting was very dim; apologies for the photo quality.

Bronze head in the studio.

Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953.

After about an hour and a half we began our return journey to Westerham. This was the beginning of the the descent down Mariners Hill. 

Here we all are at Crockhamhill Common having a breather on the return journey. Because of the chopping and changing of dates for this trip; lots of people dropped out hence we were only 8 people in total. Thanks to Barry for the photo.

In spite of of being disappointed at not visiting Knole and Ightham Moat as planned; I thoroughly enjoyed the day and was out for 12 hours altogether. What a dirty stop-out! Needless to say I was shattered when I got home and had an early night.

Monday was cooler and fresher than the weekend which was most welcome after the heat and humidity. It was stocktaking time (again) at Barnardo's and the shop didn't open until I left. I went to the post office to do the banking and spent the rest of the morning processing donations. It made a change to do that without interruption as I'm usually serving customers as well. I bought a few things to take to Ireland with me; a linen top; a maxi dress and a wine coloured bag.

Sandals online retail. Everything else pre-loved and bought from Barnardo's last year at the end of the summer. Jewellery also pre-loved.

From Barnardo's I took my car for its MOT and I'm pleased to say it passed with flying colours. Once again the garage went the extra mile by washing and vacuuming my car so I'll be able to drive to Ireland with a clean and shiny vehicle. When I was finally home I had some much-needed catch up time with blogs and blogging and opted for fish and chips for dinner as I couldn't be bothered with cooking. 

It started out cool and a bit breezy on Tuesday but became humid as the day wore on. I wore these H&M linen trousers again with a t-shirt by Lily&Me and a linen shirt by Ted Baker. All pre-loved but can't remember where the last two items came from. I changed into sandals when I got home from the food bank as they're not sensible items of footwear to wear in the warehouse. Imagine if I dropped a crate of toiletries on my bare toes...pumps from Sainsbury's bought about three years ago. I treated myself to a couple of more pairs of sandals from Vinted; a brown Timberland pair and a green camouflage pair. I hope the weather in Ireland will allow me to wear them.

I'm off to sort out my packing for Ireland. In order to not bring too much with me I have decided on a capsule wardrobe of about 15 outfits;  I can swap tops around to create several more outfits. I also have a few summer items in the caravan that I can utilise so I'm not going to be short of clothes. I intend to buy less than I usually do when rummaging in the Irish charity shops and only buy what I really like.

For those of you who have followed my blog for a few years you will know that where the mobile caravan site is in in Co. Donegal; there is no wi-fi signal. It's good to have a break from social media anyway and I shall make the most of it. No wi-fi signal means I won't be able to post for more than a month but I'll do my best to catch up with your blogs when I can. Until then I wish you all a happy summer and happy holidays if you're lucky enough to be off on holiday, too!

xxx