She Said:
More about The Crofton Lodge, our B+B accommodation last night...
The Lodge is the quintessential, small (11 rooms) country manor house owned by a quintessential highly educated (Cambridge) retired (he - civil engineer; she - teacher, though she didn't teach once she had kids) couple whose 3 kids (also Cambridge-educated) have all married and moved away (except for the daughter who lives in the next town over and just had her second baby).
It is exquisitely decorated in that appearing-to-be-effortless but highly structured country manor house style - very good upholstery, lots of silver, light and airy rooms, very polished heirloom furniture, and collections laid out - just so - on all those very polished surfaces. Look over there on that table - a collection of silver coins commemorating all of Queen Elizabeth's milestone birthdays and reigning anniversaries. Behind you, on that table - a collection of letter openers with silver/bone/ivory and/or tortoise shell handles. And, right here, in front of you - a collection of tiny (1.5" - 3") silver frames displaying photos of generations of Burches (the husband's surname).
And, in that giant, heavy, leaded crystal bowl? A collections of bocci-sized cloisonne balls.
Not my style, but absolutely aesthetically pleasing.
This, by the way, was all in our private sitting room.
Upstairs, along the gallery, photos of the husband's Cambridge rowing team and rowing club and rowing honors and rowing acknowledgements paired with photos below of their sons' rowing teams and rowing clubs and rowing honors and rowing acknowledgements.
And yet, our hostess, Ali, was completely unpretentious, quirky, and delightful. And, an amazing cook.
She cooked and served us a delicious meal of Greek salad, Spring lamb and gravy, new potatoes, perfectly steamed fresh veggies, and a rhubarb crumble with clotted cream ice cream (do you believe it? clotted cream ice cream?) that pretty much did us in. We waddled upstairs and slept happily beneath our crisp white linens and puffy comforter.
Needless to say, breakfast at the Crofton Lodge was equally amazing.
One last Crofton Lodge fact:
In addition to the swimming pool and tennis courts, and perfectly organized and well-tended vegetable garden in the huge yard, there was a white dovecote with white doves. I asked Ali want the story was with the white dovecote/doves and she said that one wedding anniversary several years ago she and her husband decided that neither one of them wanted or needed anything (ya think?) and maybe they would just get a dovecote to mark the occasion. And, she said, white doves are so pretty (they are,indeed).
The secret to dovecotes/doves is this:
Buy the beautiful white dove couple from crazy people that raise white dove couples.
Put them in your white dovecote.
Put netting over the entire dovecote so the doves don't leave.
In 10 days, they will mate and lay an egg.
Once the egg is laid, that dovecote will be their home forever.
Doves reproduce like rabbits, but Ali says that the local sparrow Hawks raid the dovecote periodically for eggs and keep the dove population down.
We reluctantly set out today (Thursday) at about 10 am.
Back on the canal path, on our way from Crofton to Pewsey, we saw all the goose and duck and coot families out in full force.
We passed a couple of fisherman who were just happy to sit canal side for the day - catching fish was a bonus.
We came upon the Bruce Tunnel, a 1530' tunnel that marked the contributions of Thomas Bruce, Earl of Aylesbury and his son, Charles, Lord Bruce, who were the main contributors and benefactors of the Kennet and Avon Canal. Though the Kennet and Avon Canal existed as a towpath for hundreds of years before, the Bruce's were instrumental in making it a sound and efficient communication by water from Bristol to London.
Next up, history-wise, was the Burbage Wharf Crane, a huge wooden structure that was erected in 1893 to off-load and on-load goods from boats along the canal. Incoming = coal, and lime for fertilizers
Outgoing = locally made bricks, farm produce, and timber
As we were about 10 miles further south from yesterday, the farm fields were planted and sprouting.
It was a cracking Spring day along the canal.
Canal boats lazily drifting by.
Hazy, blue skies.
Dry path, dry boots.
Oreo Cookie cows (Belted Galloways) in an adjoining field.
MG - you will identify with this:
We walked under a curved, brick bridge. I did the classic "echo, echo, echo" and Rick, without slowing down or missing a beat said "it has a certain resonance based on the geometry of the curve".
Hope you got a smile out of that!
You and me - silly
Lee and Rick - brilliant
We arrived Pewsey and The Circles B+B early so poked around the town and the (ever present) medieval Church.
The Circles B+B is run by a couple who have followed the mysteries of the British Crop Circles for several years.
While many think they are hooey (over-educated Ali from the Crofton Lodge), there is no doubt that they are crazy and mysterious and unexplainable in their intricacy and mathematical geometry and how-did-they-do-that-ness. Even skeptical Ali from Crofton Lodge admits that their friend, who owns a many, many acre farm property has had crop circles appear on his land, tried to catch the culprits, set up surveillance and motion detection devices, all to no avail.
I love the fact that nobody knows!
Every year, 300 crop circles appear in England. They are large and small and only fully appreciated in full from the air. The crops are not broken, but bent to form the patterns. One layer may be bent in one direction, the next in another. The angles and degrees at which the crops are bent are perfectly consistent - every blade is uniform. If the crops have flowered (like rapeseed), the flowers are all intact. No incoming or outgoing marks on the field are left.
This is a wild and wonderful phenomenon that deserves study and awe.
R was even impressed as there is a mathematical and geometric component to the circles.
I will be reading up on this.
A night in tonight - Happy Hour in our room with provisions from the nearby Co-op Market.
Tomorrow - on to Devizes.
Total Mileage:
10.78 miles (K&A Canal, in and around Pewsey)
He said:
We started our canal walk back in Sonning on Thames in Berkshire, Once we reached Crofton yesterday, we had crossed into Wiltshire, and so today, our walk was entirely in Wiltshire for the first time. (whooppee huh?)
We also have been walking upstream from the beginning at the junction with the river Thames, but today, we reached the summit of this part of the Kennet-Avon canal somewhere past the Bruce tunnel. After that, we started walking downstream along the canal. I suppose that the key technical problem is to get enough water up to the summit to make the system work and the boats float. Well, of course it rains in England all the time, but not nearly enough to float boats at the top of a hill.
It seams that the world's oldest beam engine is part of this water pumping system. This engine, which is not open to the public, was quite close by to us in Crofton, namely the Crofton pumping station.
We also have been walking upstream from the beginning at the junction with the river Thames, but today, we reached the summit of this part of the Kennet-Avon canal somewhere past the Bruce tunnel. After that, we started walking downstream along the canal. I suppose that the key technical problem is to get enough water up to the summit to make the system work and the boats float. Well, of course it rains in England all the time, but not nearly enough to float boats at the top of a hill.
It seams that the world's oldest beam engine is part of this water pumping system. This engine, which is not open to the public, was quite close by to us in Crofton, namely the Crofton pumping station.
The weather was pleasant today with some muted sun, a gentle breeze at our backs, and an easy path (other than the many mucky places left over from the rain). My feet are sore, but there's always hope for tomorrow.
Our place in Crofton, Wiltshire
wildlife along the path
Pewsey, Wiltshire
Crop Circles, Wiltshire has the most, and they are still a mystery
In St Johns church in Pewsey is a very old, very large, undated pendulum clock.
It was probably in the clock tower of the church 400 years ago, but nobody knows for sure.
The clock uses an Anchor Escapement mechanism to regulate the pendulum timing improving accuracy compared to previous methods.
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