Hurst Green

Another walk in the English Countryside
Through the pastures, stepping carefully in order to miss the droppings!!!
Did you know that sheep come in all varieties - white, black, black and white, grey, thick coats, short coats, you name it!

We tried to stare this cow down, but it wouldn't budge. I don't really love being this close to a cow!!!

An ancient bridge....like really ancient......called Cromwell's Bridge because it was vandalised by Cromwell's forces in 1684. Mostly folklore!

Stonyhurst College was once the home of Tolkein's son. Tolkein himself stayed at a cottage in this area while he was working on Lord of the Rings. Perhaps the little town of Hurst Green is really Hobbiton!

Looked like the perfect place for lunch. We settled into this hobbit type forest, pulled out our peanut butter sandwiches and enjoyed the wonderment of this secluded area.

Woodcarving at it's finest. Some farmer -- who had a lone tree trunk sitting in his back yard -- took out his whittling knife and whittled away. It just sits here amid a pile of farm tools and farm junk! Maybe it keeps the crows at bay!

Stone walls, stone bridges, stone monuments! At one time this land must have had an over abundance of stone masons.

Over the river and through the woods.......

English landscape at it's best.

Now, the story of the hike. We had a book and a map which is a necessity because you go across pastures, through woods, over bridges, down lanes, along rivers, over stiles and in and out of private barnyards. You practically kiss the cows, pet the sheep, and stay clear of the horses!

Every walk is an adventure and this was no different. It was to have been 6 miles, but after we had gone 7.5 miles we realized we were lost! We emerged from the woods thinking we would be back to our car, but alas, we were standing on a small road and had no idea which way to turn. The road stretched in both directions as far as the eye could see. There was not a soul around to ask and it was starting to rain. My legs were screaming and I was not about to walk until I knew which direction would take us to our destination.

Now, for the faith promoting part.....

As we stood there trying to make sense out of our little scanty map, a car came down the road and pulled over right by us. Richard went to them and asked if they knew which direction to Hurst Green.

Turns out they were also lost but pulled out a big map and discovered that we were about 2 miles from destination! And then, being the guardian angels that they didn't know they were, they invited us into their car and said they would drive us there.

Now, just one hiccup! They had a big dog that was taking up most of the back seat. I hesitated for one brief moment and then realized I was so tired and wet that I would climb in that car if a bear was sitting there.

Their halos glowed as we drove along that lonely road. And of course, we had a chance to give our speel with a pass a-long card and invited them to a big geneology event that is being held on these grounds.
Things don't just happen by chance!