Tag: Graves

Eling Tide Mill – first published 24 August 2014

At the end of August 2014, I finally got round to the Eling Tide Mill walk. Even so, the walk started off in a grump. I’d intended to have a shortish walk, maybe five miles or so, and attempt the Eling Tide Mill on Tuesday. When I looked at the weather forecast it seemed Tuesday was going to be torrential downpours though. This rather put the cat among the pigeons. Then I realised I’d forgotten to charge my phone so I had to hang around drinking coffee while it charged. Not a happy bunny. Continue reading Eling Tide Mill – first published 24 August 2014

Time, graves and a cool beer

2 May 2017

We found the clock and watch shop at the exact moment we were about to give up and turn back. Every inch of the walls was filled with clocks, from huge and ornate wooden monsters to quirky plastic film themed timepieces. The sound of their combined ticking added to the illusion of being in some kind of bizarre dream where night was day and day was night. Other than the clocks the shop was silent.
“If they all chime at the same time,” I whispered, “it will sound just like the beginning of Pink Floyd’s Time.”
After ten surreal minutes, during which nothing chimed and the ticking threatened to send me to sleep we left, a few unfamiliar plastic notes lighter with a working Garmin.  Continue reading Time, graves and a cool beer

More tales from the Old Cemetery

8 April 2017

Even if you’re not a runner there are some advantages to getting up early on a Saturday morning for parkrun. For me this usually means a walk of some kind while Commando is running and, for the second week in a row my feet took me to the Old Cemetery on the Common. At this pont you might be thinking two Saturday mornings walking round a cemetery sounds borderline obsessive. Maybe you’d be right but there was so much still to see I couldn’t resist. This time I took the fancy pants camera with me. Continue reading More tales from the Old Cemetery

The graveyard shift – comedy, tragedy and shipwrecks

1 April 2017

On Saturday mornings you can usually find me at parkrun. If I feel like a brisk walk I march round the 5k course, rarely coming last unless I’m actually walking with the tail runner to keep her company. Two laps of the Common is a touch boring, so I often just go for a wander and come back to cheer once people begin to finish. Occasionally I wander down to London Road or to Highfield campus to grab a coffee, sometimes I poke about on the Common. Today I decided to visit the Old Cemetery, looking for signs of spring and interesting stories.  Continue reading The graveyard shift – comedy, tragedy and shipwrecks

A postcard or two from Eling church

28 March 2017

On the far side of Eling Causeway we passed the modern sluices that have kept it safe since the 1940’s. These days it’s hard to imagine the tide washing away the bridge across Bartley Water, which is probably a good job or we could have been stuck in Eling for a long time.  We’d successfully crossed Hampshire’s only surviving medieval toll bridge, in use since at least 1418, without having to pay a penny, now it was time to explore.  Continue reading A postcard or two from Eling church

Monks Brook, heat and an invasive species – first published 14 July 2014

My mid July walk in 2014 had started off on a sour note but had soon improved when I had an up close and personal visit with a black swan. As I walked on towards the reed beds and, ultimately, the White Swan pub, I sipped my water. The early morning rain combined with the sun seemed to have sucked up all the air and left behind a damp stickiness. Even along the river there was little breeze and my pace slowed considerably. Still, I told myself this was not about speed but about getting out and walking, enjoying the nature around me and the sun on my skin, if not the sweat trickling down between my shoulder blades. Continue reading Monks Brook, heat and an invasive species – first published 14 July 2014

An ancient chapel, a blister and a long hard walk

7 February 2017

And so we limped away from the duckpond towards the place I’d really been heading for all along. Well, I limped anyway. The huge, spiny tree trunk in my boot gave me a sharp pain whenever I put my foot down and I was convinced there’d be a puddle of blood when I finally took the boot off. CJ still had no real idea what we were about to see but I did and the memory of the tranquil little church went a long way towards making up for the pain in my foot.  Continue reading An ancient chapel, a blister and a long hard walk

A run in Victoria Country Park – first published 18 May 2014

Mid May 2014 and Commando had a race to go to. As ever, I tagged along for the walk. Even at nine thirty it was sunny enough that I had to track down the sun screen before we left the house and, for once, I didn’t even take a coat with me. The venue was Victoria Country Park, somewhere I’ve walked many times and, as it was only a 10k and would take Commando less than an hour, I wasn’t going to get a chance for much of a walk in but, still, a walk is a walk and I had a plan… Continue reading A run in Victoria Country Park – first published 18 May 2014

Apples in the graveyard, not walking the Cobbett Trail

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10 November 2016

This week most of my walks had been errands with nothing much of note happening apart from distance being covered. Today I had big plans to get some interesting miles under my belt. By now I should know making plans is not a good thing because something always scuppers them. This time it was CJ oversleeping. To be fair, he didn’t know I was planning to go out super early for an extra long walk to show him something I thought he’d like. Maybe I should warn him next time. In the end we settled on a pared down version of the walk I had in mind, minus most of the interesting bits. Even so, there was plenty to see. Continue reading Apples in the graveyard, not walking the Cobbett Trail

A burial ground and a Titanic tale

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4 October 2016

In the spring I went for a rather emotional walk to have one last look at Moorgreen Hospital before it was knocked down. On the way I stumbled on a graveyard I’d never noticed before but the rain falling on the distant hills looked like it was comming my way so I didn’t have chance to explore properly. After the post was published several people told me the hospital was not being knocked down after all, just converted into flats. Apparently there was a rather interesting grave in that graveyard too. Today seemed like a good day to go back and have a look for it. CJ was intrigued when I told him what I was up to and decided to come along too.  Continue reading A burial ground and a Titanic tale