Autumn Sunshine
Autumn seems to have come and is almost gone terribly quickly. Each week as I walk through Ashridge Forest, the yellows and reds are a shade deeper, just before the wind tugs them off their branches.
I was taking a shortcut through the nearby churchyard when I was approached by a man telling me the 13th century church was closed - thinking it could be the only reason I was there. I wasn’t planning on visiting that day, but on hearing he was from the Netherlands, fell into conversation, curious to hear where they had been.
He was hoping to see the excellent medieval frescoes and famous 14th century Penn tiles, that I did my best to describe: patchy and brown with shades of ochre, but it’s not quite the same as seeing them for yourself! This is an isolated minor rural church, I was impressed he knew so much about it.
He was very complimentary of our weather, which just shows how perceptions and another person’s reality are usually so different. Mind you, the weather in the Netherlands is usually shades of grey and our autumn sunshine and light made an impression on him. I was reminded that it’s our weather that brings visitors here: the climate shapes the colours and contours and means we hopefully will never be a dustbowl.
I continued my walk onto the Ashridge estate, along the quieter paths and lanes. Autumn seems to have come and is almost gone terribly quickly. Each week as I walk through the forest, the yellows and reds are a shade deeper, just before the wind tugs them off their branches to settle along the muddy paths. I must have walked these paths many times over the years and each time, there is something new to savour. This time of year, it’s the colour!
His wife was waiting for him in their car, clearly not as captivated as he was, but perhaps she has seen it all before. They had after all visited lovely Ewelme, everyone’s favourite, the Natural History museum in Tring, had been walking in Ashridge forest, poking around the nearby market town of Wendover - all on a previous visit too. I love the Dutch, they have a knack for finding all the good stuff in places very few visit, even the locals.
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