Ridgeway Trip X: Some Rain and Some Sun

At our very nice breakfast, we met two other sets of hikers -- and one pair was American!  These were the only Americans we met during the hike.  We all had a good time comparing experiences and giving each other tips.  Everyone else goes faster than us, but I think ten miles a day is plenty.  We got ready to go and popped into the co-op for lunch supplies -- crackers, cheese, and hummus, and a couple of pastries.  And probably my last DP for a while.

Just a fun door in Watlington

The road up to the trail was a lot shorter than it had been coming down the evening before, and we spotted the top of the White Mark through the trees (a very tall triangle carved into the hillside).  Our trail was very nearly a straight line northeast to the village of Bledlow.  When we got started, there was a light drizzle and that continued until we were pretty good and wet.  We didn't really mind, since it was nice and cool, and our hoods helped.  Mom had a light jacket but Kim and I did not.  But, Mom had swapped her waterproof boots -- which gave her blisters after several miles -- for her regular walking shoes, which were not waterproof, so her feet were wet.  

 

Fields covered in light rain

Soggy but undaunted

We walked on a trail between hedgerows for a good long piece and figured the rain was over; we were dry enough to be irritatingly warm and steamy, and I kept having to wipe my glasses.  When we came to a few scattered concrete blocks, this seemed like a good time for Mom to sit down and put on dry socks.  Halfway through the operation, with one new dry sock and one old wet one, it started raining hard.  We were quite close to an underpass that went under the M40, so we got there as fast as we could, but of course we got soaked on the way, and the rain stopped almost as soon as we got under cover (along with another hiker and two cyclists).  This time it took quite a while to dry out, and it was probably another couple of miles before Mom could change into yet another pair of socks (mine this time).

Studying the map
and changing socks (not pictured)

The whole time was pleasant going, fairly level, almost always between hedges or under trees.  We could see relatively little of the surrounding country, but sometimes we got good looks.  We got quite high up, on a ridge above everything else, and once we passed a chalk pit that just went down and down in terraced slices.  It was fairly overgrown and I suppose a Doctor Who episode was filmed there at some point.

We were having a tough time finding a spot to stop and eat lunch, and eventually we found a stepped concrete block on a small ivy-and-snail-covered bank.  Kim got the ivy, I put a bag on the top of the block to protect from the several kinds of poop visible on the block, and Mom took the step, which was cleaner.  We had a yummy lunch, and as we were getting going, a couple of families with small children arrived and shared the track with us for a bit.  As we left the clearing, we saw a very nice bench not 100 feet away from our concrete block....

 

Lunch on a block because we didn't see the bench at the other end

Poetic Instagrammable photo (right?)

The hill to our right was getting steeper all the time, and eventually a branch footpath led up the hill.  The sign said "Chinnor Hill / Barrows / 0.4 miles."  We asked a passing pair of walkers if it was worth the climb, and the guy said yes.  The girl said she didn't like it.  But the view was promised to be spectacular, so up we toiled -- it was very steep, but indeed it was worth it.  The whole valley was laid out below and it was pretty phenomenal, plus the breeze was fantastic.  We sat on a bench that was placed in front of the two barrows, which are kind of overgrown.  

Attempt at panoramic photo

Me on a barrow

We are very bad at selfies

Not really an improvement

Once we were ready to go, we decided to try to find another trail that went down at a less-steep angle and would join back up to the Ridgeway closer to our turnoff.  It took a while to be sure we were going right, as we curved around the top of the hill in dense trees (very beautiful) and went through a baby tree nursery, but eventually we started heading down in the right direction, and sure enough, we popped out onto the Ridgeway at exactly the right point to head down to Bledlow and arrive at our pub.  

Which we duly did, down rather a rough chalk path.  We heard church bells, and it turned out there was a wedding going on in the village, so we saw lots of guests roaming around.  After a drink at the pub, our host Alan arrived to pick us up to take us to his farm B&B.  It was my first time in a car in days (since Teresa's ankle and taxi) and it felt luxurious!  He told us that the village looks pretty WWII, and is often used as a filming location.  Tom Hanks was in the pub a few months ago for some new WWII thing, and the French scenes in Saving Private Ryan were filmed in nearby countryside.

Indeed this B&B was extremely posh; the fanciest place we ever stayed in.  Our room was lovely, the bathroom amazing, the meals were fantastic and so was the flower garden.  There were horses all around and we saw two bunnies.  The plan for the next day was to be dropped off at the same pub, walk ten miles into Wendover, and then get picked up for another night in the same place!

The pub, not the B&B