Easter Weekend... Time For The Third and Final Part of Our Walk...

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It's Easter Weekend, and I guess it's as good a time as any to take the third and final part of our walk! You all ready to move on? Good... then, let's set off on the last part of our walk, heading once again toward the Garden Centre, along the tree-shaded path beside the main road. We turn left, where the church, school and cricket club are signposted, and head on up the gradient of the lane, which is quite dark in the shade of the umbrella of tall trees. We head on up the hill, and a huge, turquoise dragonfly zooms towards us. Is it a dragonfly or could it be something less worldly, like a faerie? Whatever it is, it seems to be leading us, stopping inches from our foreheads and suddenly turning and heading away from us again, repeatedly. Its colours are beautiful... a deep turquoise coloured body with black, lacy wings, so delicate which hardly appear to move as it flies in front of us. We reach the top of the hill, passing the vicarage in full view of the cricket pavilion, where we sit on a log and admire the open view. The cricket field is skirted by huge trees and down in the corner, rabbits are taking their evening sustenance before night falls. The ballons are getting lower, preparing to land, as the cricketing batsman weather vane moves idly to the left and right in the slight breeze. Crows are pecking away at the cricket square. I don't know what they're feeding on... possibly bugs or seeds in the grass. There are three of them... perfectly black and hopping around excitedly on the quiet field. We get up from the log and cross the lane by the school, admiring this very old building which in school time, houses around one hundred pupils. The old Saxon well stands on the field opposite, adorned with flower baskets, having been uncovered during the building of the pavilion and newly sited, in brickwork. The great oak tree stands just inside the playground wall, with the pupils' bird box attached to it, and the “pencil fence” marks the line of the picnic garden where the children eat. We move down onto the path through the cemetery, as the church clock strikes a half-past eight, after ringing out two bars of the evening reveille. We wander through the cemetery, amidst a variety of headstones, including Celtic crosses, wooden crosses where the gypsies rest, and the great family tomb of the Huthe family, whose head build Wykehurst Place, a Gothic style building in the village which was used for Hammer House of Horror films. Working our way around to the south entrance to the church, we see, on the Saxon chapel wall, an old sundial, without an arm. It's believed that this used to be used to tell the time for church services, when they used to insert a stick into the hole, and tell the time by the shadow which was cast. The big, oak doors are closed now, so we can't go inside, and as we make our way down the hill towards the lychgate, we see the heart-shaped chair which the local woodman cut from a tree he felled, and which has been used in many a wedding photograph. We pass huge, old tombs which stand some three feet off the ground, as well as narrow beams of concrete, headed and footed by small, concrete stones, as we pass the cypress trees and laurel and reach the lychgate. Down a few steps we pass through the lychgate, walking across one of the old millstones, which has been laid into the pathway. There are a few very old cottages here, which at one time were a blacksmith's smithy and a stable block, and opposite these, stands the pub, with it's sign boasting eight, bronze coloured bells; the number of bells in the church. This is the end of our summer evening walk. I think we all need a rest now. We'll go sit in the garden and take a glass of wine, a beer or a lager, or maybe even a cup of coffee if you wish, and talk about our walk, whilst relaxing and getting our breath back. If you're peckish, you could order a grill to enjoy with your drink, and watch the sun go down as we enter into dusk, and the lights come on under the huge garden parasol covering the rustic, gothic-type tables and benches. Then, you'll see the moon, which has only just begun to wane, rise up behind the church, as it shines through the trees and bathes the whole area you've just walked, in a silver-blue magickal light. I hope you've enjoyed your three-part walk. We'll do it again sometime, but head in a different direction. There are many footpaths around here and many different things to see. Enjoy your wind-down, and thank you for joining me.