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The friendly St. George pub in Barford
St Michael resides in a thatched house built of Cotswold stone. There's
a large car park and a terrace in the back.
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Meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria,
is a sweet-smelling flower found on moist ground. The fragrance made it
a popular strewing herb. It's also drunk in herbal teas. Do stick your
nose in it next time you pass a stand of meadowsweet.
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The footpath north from Barford goes
through a moist area with several brooks crossed by foot bridges. That's
where I found the meadowsweet above. This is one of the brooks. I like
the way the clouds are mirrored in the still surface.
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| The first thing I saw in Barford
St. John were these hollyhocks that are slightly battered by a storm that
passed the day before. |
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Hollyhocks are one of my absolute
favourite flowers. Not only do they have cottage garden associations, they
are tall and stately and the flowers are big and radially symmetrical. And
they come in sumptious colours. |
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| These hollyhocks are Althaea rosea nigra, one of the
few single colour hollyhock strains commercially available. Thompson
& Morgan sell the seeds. |
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This pretty gate was also in
Barford St. John. |
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This could have been a postcard for Barford
St. John. It's the kind of view that people visit the Cotswolds for: houses
out of mellow stone with brightly painted trim and wide views over the
hills.
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A British native, mullein,
has a long history as a medicinal plant. It has also been used extensively
in gardens. The latin name is Verbascum thapsus. Here it grows in
grit in an unused yard in Barford St. John. |
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The church in Barford St. John was not
terribly exciting. But this is one of the windows. I really like the trefoils
at the top.
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Walking along the river Swere
I was treated to some wide open spaces. This is a field of oats. |
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Regular readers of my walking pages know
that I'm not one for gratuitous farm implement sentimentality. But the
strong shape of this plow with the wide open space and big sky above really
captivated me.
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Another picture shows off the
sharp, mirror polished ploughshares. |
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It was sunny and the bridleway stretched
out far in front of me. A great day. It made me think of a rock ballad
by a Swedish singer, Ulf Lundell.
More...
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There's a faint hill on the
other side of the river. It's easy to see in this picture why I like this
part of the country so much. The variation and openness is something to
be cherished. |
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| Eventually I came up to an
uninhabited farmstead on Coombe Hill. An elder is growing next to the stairs.
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The slanting shadow across
the barn door shows that it's getting late. But it's summer, the sun still
warms and will be up for another couple of hours. Plenty of time for the
rest of my walk. |
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The footpath back to Barford starts between
Deddington and Hempton. It crosses a stubblefield.
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Here I've walked maybe hundred
yards into the field. The trees line the lane from Hempton. The shadows
are long and it's getting late. |
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One last picture, this time looking up
at the clouds that are faintly pink, speaking of the approaching sunset.
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