The original post from 22nd March, 2013 in which Sue describes day three of our adventures in what was to become the story of, The Initiate…
Hawk of the morning… red kite
I woke yesterday to two lines in my inbox that brought a sense of wonder and awe to my first coffee of the day. Something so simple, yet so incredibly beautiful that it made the day sing.
So it is no surprise that it was a good one.
My friend and I had no real plans except to visit a tiny village church and perhaps the Hellfire caves. But first there was work for the School. We mulled over options, plans and possibilities, throwing ideas around between us. The inspiration came all of a sudden and we found an idea that was perfect… just as a huge red kite sailed over the house. It seemed appropriate… the hawk of the morning is one of the symbols we use.
We got organised and departed in search of history and adventure. The tiny church we wanted to see was closed and the wardens not answering their phones, so we headed for the caves at West Wycombe. It seemed as if the birds from yesterday had conspired to accompany us and we had an escort of hawks and kites sitting watching from the roadside or soaring overhead. So many we stopped counting and started laughing at it.
The Golden Ball, West Wycombe
The caves, sadly, were also closed, so we ascended the hill to the church on top, nestled in the remains of an iron age hill fort and topped by the golden ball, where allegedly Sir Francis Dashwood and his cronies from the caves beneath held card parties. Of course, the church was locked, so we wandered off towards the mausoleum, an intriguing structure.
Dashwood mausoleum
My friend caught sight of something and ran towards it… a red kite had landed. I followed, praying the camera would be quick enough. For the next hour or more we were treated to aerial acrobatics and sheer delight by nine red kites on that hilltop. Spectacular.
Red kite over West Wycombe
When they flew off eventually, we wandered over to the other side of the valley, stopping at an old church… also closed. As we went back to the car, we had to chuckle at yet another bird on an unusually carved gravestone… then looked up and were caught by another red kite that soared above before diving yards away from us. So we stood and marvelled again for quite some time.
It seemed the birds were leading us yet again. Whatever random turn we took they were there.And we took some very random ones, ending up standing on top of the Neolithic barrow above Whiteleaf Cross, a huge ancient chalk figure cut into the hillside, again on the Ridgeway. With a solitary kite overhead…
Continue reading at Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo