Welcome back to what I am going to call my stream of consciousness writing adventure. Today, Winnie and I went for a walk with a lovely group of ladies. When we first moved here I joined a group called the Chiltern American Women’s Club (CAWC) and before you ask, the Chiltern Hills are a chalk escarpment in the south of England. And, in case you’re like me and have no idea what an escarpment is, it’s a “steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations.” I definitely copied and pasted that from Wikipedia and you’re welcome for that little geography lesson.

Anyway, today I went on a hike with the CAWC ladies despite the rainy cold. I figured Winnie and I had to get out for a walk regardless so might as well go with friends. We managed to avoid the rain though Winnie came back covered in so much muck that it took about 10 minutes of bathing her before the water ran clear.

Walking on the footpaths can sometimes be a bit more of an adventure than just a muddy dog. Like, if you let the teenagers lead the way or, if you miss the fact there is a herd of horses in a field who aren’t taking kindly to your presence. There might be a canal or a river that your dog will throw themselves into because they have all of five brain cells and four of them are dedicated to water. There could also be livestock which requires care to avoid them and their manure which is frequently mistaken as a snack by the remaining one brain cell in your dog’s head.

This is all to say that in England there is an extensive network of footpaths and you can get from point A to point B by taking these paths through forests, fields, farms (Seriously! I’ve walked through a dairy farm!), and pastures. Some of these footpaths are over 1,000 years old and they would have connected ancient villages.

Since I’ve been a little not great about sharing photos, below is a compilation from the last year or so of walks. It’s just a sampling but I think you’ll agree, it’s gorgeous.