And day four to finish –
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Stained glass pelican
The final day of my friend’s visit dawned grey and cold. In spite of another late night we were up about dawn and a couple of coffees later we were out again. I had mentioned a lovely little place and it seemed right to have a wander there.
Of course, we detoured several times, wandering through the ancient village of Aldbury and through the woods at Ashridge. It holds a special place in my heart that wood. The huge ancient tree at the top of Tom’s Hill always gets a silent greeting.
There are deer at Ashridge. Did we see one? Even though one always sees deer there? No. Not a deer in sight. Then at the far end of the wood, where the bluebells will be at their thickest soon, something caught my eye. Not just a deer, but a herd of them. They walked deeper into the trees, startled by the car as I pulled to a halt and grabbed the camera.
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Deer in the woods
We left them in peace a few moments later and emerged from the trees opposite Dunstable downs, hoping to see the chalk cut figure there, the Whipsnade lion. The weather, however, made that nigh impossible. The white of chalk against snow is not ideal. It is much younger than the two figures we had already seen. A few thousand years younger than the White Horse at Uffington, but it seemed an appropriate end to the visit, especially as the remaining walkable Ridgeway ends here at Ivinghoe Beacon. The Beacon is the end of the Chiltern hills, and is marked by neolithic barrows too, as were our previous stops.. Of course, the weather was not good for photographs, but it had to be done after the past two days.
Even with snow on the ground, signs of springtime were all around. Nettles are growing fresh green shoots. Catkins dangle from the trees and the first fronds of leaves will soon open. In another few weeks the place will be vivid green and vibrant with life…
Continue reading at Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo