FInchampstead walk

I am writing this blog a week later than I actually walked it - the weather has been so fantastic, that even half an hour behind computer seems such a waste of time. It is only 10 minutes from my house by car and I kind of regret that I haven't done it before. I really fell in love with it. and I have done it five times after that with three different persons. If you are looking  for a walk with a pub - it's perfect and the food in Queen's Oak is very good too. And they have have a play area for children.

The walk starts from Finchampstead church and from that point you'll be going down hill. The view is just breath taking. The path runs between the paddocks (as you know I love horses) for quite a while. There are some really nice houses. One had like a huge porch at the back of the house and the paddock with horses just in front of it. As the house was on a hill, and the paddock a bit lower, I could imagine how nice it would be to have your cuppa and enjoy your horses.

After passing this stud farm, you will reach the forest. The path stays at the edge of the forest. I love the fact that England is so full of history. Apparently Henry VII hunted in this forest quite frequently. And according to some sources he was on this path when he was informed that Cathrine of Aragon had  arrived Henry's  hunting lodge at Dogmersfield. She had travelled two months but when king arrived, she had retired for the night and would see no one. When I told that storry to Maurice he asked me how do people know it. We had just passed a handkerchief on the ground, so I took him back and showed it and said it was the King who dropped it when he rode here. He answered:"Yeah, right!" Needless to say, I had to give him proper explanation:)

To reach back to the start you have to walk through the church yard, which is really lovely, especially at this time of year with all the daffodills. The path up to the church is quite steep, so I could imagine how difficult it must have been for the people to get to church in olden times, especially during the winter with snow and ice on the ground.

The church yard


If you want to know more about Cathrine of Aragon, here's a good link http://www.royalpaperdolls.com/CAStory.htm