Another Country Walk: Whitley to Chiddingfold

(March) Our second country walk was very pleasant.  We started at the town of Whitley and made it as far as the Crown Inn Pub about 3 miles or so down the path.  We thought the telephone booth in the woods was a bit out of place- so we stopped to check it out.  It was full of spider webs- but it was worth stopping for a photo.  As it was March when we did this walk, it was so nice to be outside and to hear the birds and smell new grass and campfires.  Spring had finally arrived.

The Crown Inn was a beautiful pub dating back to the 1400s, but possibly even earlier.  The loos were especially memorable to me.  To get to the ladies room, you had to go up some stairs which took you to a little loft containing only the ladies loo.  It was almost like a spa atmosphere.  I felt pampered from the moment I was halfway up the stairs.  It was a nicely decorated little cottage room with a mirror, a chair, and a sink and then separate rooms for each of the two toilets.  There were no towels or blow dryers for your hands.  Instead, there were nicely folded white towels in a basket that you would place into a wicker hamper below the counter when you were done.  You could also indulge in some nicely scented hand cream.  After our meal, Ady had to use the facilities- so I took her.  As we got to the top of the stairs, she said, "Wow!  This IS nice!"  Even a little three year old could appreciate the lovely loos.  

British Quote of the Day

"I like England!  Oh... except for the weather.  And the food.  And the people."

Country Walks

(Still catching up...  Rewind to March)

When we moved here, we picked up a book called Country Walks.  It is full of day hikes through the countryside that are just a short train ride from London.  We took advantage of the first warm weekend of spring to do our first hike: Hever to Leigh.  With book in tow, we headed out...

After about 40 minutes on the train, we jumped off at a tiny little unmanned train station in what seemed like the middle of nowhere.

We were so excited to be outside and out of the big city.   There was something missing, though... Oh yeah, noise!  The quiet was so peaceful and nice.

Since the hike was about 7 miles long, we had decided it would be best to bring the stroller.

But then...   The path turned to this...

 

We were already far too committed once we realized we lacked the convenience of a hose - or any contraption to clean off the stroller back at our flat.  So we just had a laughed and carried on.

We decided that 7 miles was not going to be possible.  So we stayed close and saw the sites nearby- including this old church...

...and Hever Castle...

...and the Hever Castle Playground, of course...

... and the quaint country pub...

...and finally, the baby lambs and farmlands.

It was a good thing we cut the distance short.  There were way too many cool things to see and do in Hever.  It was a beautiful little town- and a great place to start our Country walk tradition.

Day trip to Dover

Even Better Than Cold Stone

Hard to believe anything could top Cold Stone!  ... But this gelato blows my mind.  It makes my mouth water just having to look at these pictures.

Yes, we are alive!

Life must be keeping me busy since I see it has been 2 months since my last post!  OH my!  Here is another shotgun attempt at getting this blog up to speed...

Rewind back to February...

This is what a run to the grocery store looks like for me if I don't plan ahead for a grocery delivery.  I have found our stroller to come in very handy in these situations.  Getting on and off the bus like this is a bit tricky, but not altogether impossible.  I wait until late in the evening to go so I don't have to be surrounded by a million people at the store and on the ride home.  This is usually my fate around holidays because the delivery charge is ridiculous and the time slots fill up quickly.

I have become good friends with our neighbors, who are from Korea.  They have a little boy who is in Ady's nursery class- so we walk to school or go to the park together frequently.  One day my friend, Sun, brought over a big plate of sushi to share with me.  I was so excited!  Yum.  It was delicious.  I am hoping she will teach me how to make it.

Ady loves to help me bake things.  She is a great helper.  It is so fun to be able to do more things together as she gets older.

A crisp, cold day with a beautiful view 

But Baby Its Cold Outside

Although we are anxious for sunshine and warmth, we finally got our white London we were hoping for.  We decided to get out and enjoy the snow since it wouldn't be around for long.  The snow was very wet- making it perfect for snowman-making.  The weather here has been quite chilly.  Another round of snow is in the forecast this week.  Brits go out for the day prepared for all 4 seasons because it is not rare that you get cold, rain, snow, warmth, cloudy, foggy, and sunshiny conditions all in the same day.

The cold breeze that blows through our flat reminds us that we live in a very old building with very old windows.  Brrrrrrrrrrrr....  Makes for a good excuse for a hot cup of tea.