It rained on and off throughout our second day walking on the Camino Ingles, Reading to Southampton, but with peeks of blue sky and having met so many kind people we completed this section back at the little Chapel B&B in good form. When we had showered and gotten warm, we walked the short distance up the road to the absolutely charming, old fashioned (cash only) pub, The Plough and met the best folks who cheered us on.
 |
| Start where we left off, St. Mary's Sulhamstead |
 |
Stone masons mark
|
 |
| Old yew in the churchyard |
We picked up where we left off at St. Mary's in Sulhamstead and did, as invited to do so the day before, visit the interior of the church and paid our respects to a family's departed dad whose funeral was planned for the afternoon. It was an honor to stand beside the flag-draped casket of a British veteran. We left a note of condolences in the guest book and thanked the family for allowing us to explore the church before the service.
 |
| The owners of The Baobob, Gavin and Rachel |
 |
| Me and Molly taking a pilgrims rest at the Boabob |
We cruised into the old Saxon town of Mortimer and paid a visit to the new-ish pilgrim's rest and shop, The Baobob. The owners were so enthusiastic to have their stamp ready for our pilgrim's passport and prepared a take-away scone for our second breakfast on the trail. They absolutely support the new pilgrimage trail and love to see it getting used more and more. "We love meeting people from all over the world and we hope it continues to build in popularity and local support!"
 |
| Follow the markers through town... |
 |
| ...through the heart of the community. |
 |
| Crossing boundaries |
 |
| A little more rain, a lot more mud |
No surprise, it started raining again this time with a little wind and a cooler temps through meadows, pastures, through holloways and wooded sections. We found deer tracks everywhere and stopped a lot to watch and listen for birds. Mud caked to our boots and I stopped here and there to kick it off on a rock or fence post. Through gates and over stiles, we made our way along this old path as thousands of pilgrims must have done hundreds of years before us.
 |
| Small species of deer - the Muntjac. |
 |
| Footbridge |
 |
| Holloway |
 |
| More holloway action |
A holloway is an old sunken road lined on both sides by old hedges where the hedges have grown over the road to form a tunnel. My cousin loved walking through these and as we walked we counted the number of plant species growing in the hedges to arrive at it's general age. Not only are these old hedges important for boundary and fence lines, but they are biologically, historically, and culturally important as well. Some hedges are dated thousands of years old and host a variety of native bees, wildflowers and flowering trees, shelter badgers and hedgehogs, and so much more. History was the theme for the day as we walked along the ancient hedgerows and into the Roman ruins of Silchester.
 |
| Ruins of a Roman amphitheater |
 |
| Where gladiators and battle beasts entertained 7,000 people |
 |
| Tower entrance |
 |
| Arena entrance for gladiators |
We visited the old Saxon-Norman church of St. Mary the Virgin situated right inside the old Roman walls of Silchester and found a stamp for our passports then sat (shivering) in the church to read about its very long history. It was really cold! We moved outside to the slightly warmer bench and ate our scones and some fruit but quickly decided we needed to keep moving to stay warm so opted to do the entire 2 kilometer walk around the outside of the Roman city walls. We even saw earthworks of the older yet Iron Age ruins of the hilltop fort over which the Romans built their city of Silchester. The winds picked up and we waked faster, but stayed warm as long as we were moving.
 |
| Saxon-Norman church of St. Mary the Virgin |
 |
| Woodwork dating to the 900s above us |
 |
| Huge walls! |
 |
| Flint rubble built walls scavenged for the dressed exterior stones |
 |
| One of five corners to the city within that held a tower |
 |
| Earthworks emerged on the western flank of the exterior wall |
As we completed our walk around the Roman city ruins, the rains returned and we pulled our hoods and beanies close down over our heads. Some road walking a few miles brought us to an old coppiced woodlands managed sustainably by woodworkers for hundreds of years. Coppicing for stave and pole production, pollarding for limb beams, shoots for wicker and hurdles (woven walls), and waddle and daub building were all made possible by the careful attention woodworkers gave to a stand of trees that could supply a community with wood and natural materials for generations.
 |
| Coppiced tree |
 |
| Coppice mound and trench |
 |
| Walking beside a stave-supported hedge repair (right) |
Water burbled through the woods in trench-cut streams leaving straight, long mounds of coppiced trees growing between. The woodworkers are still at work here as we followed the path along a section repair for an old hedge made with newly cut staves. These support water shoots and sapling trees freshly planted to fill in gaps and openings in the older hedge. I remembered my Uncle Russ and his work in hedge building and repair back in West Virginia, a very old tradition of fencing and boundary-making brought with English immigrants to the Appalachians. I still have his old billhook and draw knife he gave me years ago, though I now work with a newer billhook when laying down younger trees along my own fence lines. Its a wonderful way to work with live wood and so thankful I learned from him so many years ago. What I would give to see his big tough hands wrapped around that old caulked Hickory handle one more time.
 |
| Anglo-Saxon/Norman St. James in Bramley |
 |
| Medieval wall paintings and iconostasis |
 |
| St Thomas Beckett slain by knights of Henry II |
 |
| Saxon barrel ceiling |
Light was beginning to fade as we walked into Bramley and visited the well-lit St. James church where we picked up another stamp and lingered about to admire the fantastic Medieval wall paintings so well preserved all around. More kind folks to talk to and a great conversation with another group of pilgrims who were local and doing the whole walk as day hikes, one hike per week. This was a very beautiful church and I wished we'd had more time to stay but our B&B was still a few miles away and it was getting dark. Did I mention it was raining?
 |
| Back to our warm and dry Chapel B&B |
 |
| Absolutely my favorite pub visit of the entire walk |
 |
| Mike and Jim - a very small world, indeed |
Through the cemetery and four soggy pastures and we arrived in the tiny village of Little London and walked right in to our delightful Chapel B&B for our second night's stay. After a shower and clean, warm clothes, we decided to walk up the road to The Plough pub for a beer. We were absolutely in love with this old place and stayed probably longer than we should have but the conversation beside the woodstove kept us in place for a while. We received a huge stamp (the biggest stamp on the Camino Ingles) from the pub onwer, Mr. Brown, who was so happy to have pilgrims walk in the door. Families and friends were gathered in each of the cozy rooms chattering away while the cash-only pints and half-pints of ales, bitters, and ciders were served over the counter. We even found a connection to home as Mike's brother plays organ for our local St. John's church and lives in Glen Arm, MD, only thirty minutes from where I live in Delta, PA. Small world!
 |
| The Plough still stands and serves customers after 300 years |
 |
| Cash only and old fashioned service on tap |
We completed ten wet and muddy miles on the Camino Ingles this day but were kept warm and cheerful with all the wonderful conversations with folks we met along the way. But honestly, our visit to The Plough won the day and if you decide to walk this path someday you will be forever sorry not to have stopped for a refreshing beverage and woodfire chat. Dogs and families welcomed. Sorry, but they have no social media presence and rely on word-of-mouth beyond the small village of Little London to draw in new visitors.
Notes:
No comments:
Post a Comment