We had a very pleasant walk today on the Heart of England Way, even though it was longer than I would choose. It was not too hilly and the sun shone all day with a pleasant breeze. We were surprised that, other than dog walkers near the town, we didn’t encounter any other walkers on a Saturday in May! We are now in Warwickshire.

We stopped for a sandwich in the attractive town of Henley in Arden, then crossed the M40 and trudged to our accommodation through fields. We are staying the night at a rather up-market hotel, Wroxall Abbey, and felt a little out of place as we approached from fields in our walking gear, seeing guests on the terrace dressed for dinner! Our evening meal was however worth waiting for, as was our comfortable room.

A Backward Glance

A warm sunny walk through rural England today, lots of fields, little sign of farmers; long lanes, little sign of mud. Carol walks faster than me and is normally three to ten metres in front, but today it was half a mile. For some reason Carol said “To be or not to be, that is the question”. I replied, “The most over rated lines in literature”. Well, Carol was quick to point out that my five attempts at ‘O’ level English disqualified me from being a critic of ‘The Bard’. I pointed out that in all my years as a ‘Samaritan’ volunteer nobody phoned asking “can you help me answer this difficult question: to be or not to be?” Carol used to stop to tell me something like “Fiona’s just texted to say she’s forwarding more Kendal Mint Cake” and I’d just grunt “good, about time” and off she’d go again resuming the modest gap. Not today, half a mile at least so fewer photos of Carol from the normal ten metres behind – sorry.