Lets Go For a Walk – Part 2

Besides cornflower fields there was also a plum orchard and a field of poppies.  I really like poppies, they’re so casually, carelessly pretty.  They also had daffodils and a bluebell wood but unfortunately they were already out of season.  We must remember to go again earlier in the summer next year so we can catch the daffodils and bluebells.

The farm also had a members-only fishing lake.  Annual membership is more than a £100 per person otherwise I would have been tempted to join just to give fishing a try.  Instead we contented ourselves with feeding the ducks and fishes at the designated feeding point.

That fish cutout had a bell attached to it and the worker in the farm shop told GM to pull on the rope to ring it so as to attract the fish to the top of the water.

We found though that chucking fistfuls of fish food in the water was the best way of getting the fish up to the surface.  They were extremely greedy; all fighting for the food with a ravenous intensity, their mouths gaping.  To be honest they were really off-putting.  They fought each other so hard that some fish would end up on top of their rivals out of the water, splashing so hard that the water got onto us.

I much preferred the ducks.  They liked their food too but they were altogether more genteel about it.  As was befitting the tranquil picture of countryside that they belonged to.

I don’t know what these were.  Maybe they were pheasants?

After feeding the fish and ducks we walked back round to where we started off, past the sunflowers on the other side.

As well as the big field of cheery yellow flowers.  It was an idyllic picture of the countryside in the summer.

Maybe it didn’t look like much in the pictures but our walk took us about an hour because there was much more to it than I can show you, and also we spent lots of time stopping and admiring random things along the way.

We visited the farm shop because I wanted to get some plums.  Sadly they didn’t have any.

For some reason I really like whole carrots including the tops.  I just like the look of them.

I liked these shell things too, I think they might be ashtrays.

These bottles were so pretty.  I didn’t buy any though.

Some other pretty bottles, this time in the coffee shop.

In the morning after seeing the selection of cakes and other baked goods on offer we had already agreed that we would go back for tea and cake after our walk.

GM had a scone and I had a piece of what I hoped was lemon drizzle cake.  And it was!  Very good cake it was too, with visible strands of lemon zest in the sponge.  Lovely lovely cake.

GM and I are completely in love with the countryside now.  We just hope that the weather will continue to be good during the weekends because we have a few other walks and activities planned.  We’re really getting to appreciate where we live because it’s completely amazing that we’ve got all this in close proximity to us.  It’s kind of a comforting thought to me, that we have charming England as foreigners imagine it so close at our fingertips.

Lets Go For a Walk – Part 1

You know how people say that spending time in the great outdoors getting back to nature makes them feel healthier in body and mind?  I never used to identify with this train of thought.  The outdoors brings to mind mud, sensible shoes, loads of wasps and getting hot and bothered rushing to get back to the comforts of home.

But as you know, lately GM and I have really been enjoying visiting farms around the area and on Sunday we decided to go one step further and go for a walk round a nature trail in addition to our customary farm visit.

We had to have breakfast first of course.  Get our strength up for the walk and all that.  We arrived too late for the farm breakfast, or rather, when we’d arrived it’d already sold-out despite it still being breakfast hours.  So we settled for an omelette each instead.

It was a three egg omelette made with Scratcher’s Godstone free range eggs, Ashurst Farm Leigh double cream, Grimsby smoked haddock, parmesan and hollandaise and served with salad dressed with balsamic vinegar and the farm’s signature red cabbage coleslaw.

If you look closely you can see the flakes of haddock in the pic.  Haddock reminds me of Enid Blyton and her circus stories.   The omelette was really good; really honest, good farm food made with fantastic fresh produce.  The red cabbage coleslaw was delicious, GM liked it particularly.

With bellies full of omelette we set off on the discovery walk having bought our tickets previously.  It cost £1.75 per person for a walk, bargain.  GM also bought some fish food and a mosaic tile to lay down later in the walk; this was for charity in support of The Children’s Trust.

The beginning of the walk was lined by scarecrows on either side.

Some were better than others.  This pirate was pretty good.

This one sprayed water whenever someone came close!

But this dancing girl was my favourite.  She’s so sweet.  A true English rose.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a field of sunflowers in bloom before.  I’ve only ever seen cut sunflowers in a florist’s but that’s really not at all the same.

This row was on our left-hand side and if you notice, they’re all facing away from us towards the direction of the sun.   So we had one side of pretty flowers facing us, and another side of the backs of flowers.

GM laid down our yellow mosaic tile underneath the yellow sign on the left of the pic.  Good job we didn’t get a red, there weren’t anymore spaces.  I was feeling yellow anyway, a happy cheery colour.

We walked to the top of the hill where there was a lookout point where we could see into the distance.  There were some sheep on pastures beyond.  If you look hard you can see three in the pic.

When people describe something as “cornflower blue” this is what they mean.  We passed by this cornflower field and it was beautiful.  A whole field of  little brilliant blue flowers.

More to come tomorrow!