Over the years, although less often post-kids, we've liked to head out into the countryside for a bracing walk - typically with the help of an OS Pathfinder Guide such as this one for the Chilterns and Thames Valley. The great thing now is that Joshua and Christina are of an age where they can complete a decent walk (of 5 miles or more) without too much difficulty or complaining! So with the sun shining we took ourselves off to Amersham for a proper stroll along the South Bucks Way.
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| Muddy and hilly - it's not London! |
As ever it wasn't far off lunchtime by the time we arrived in Amersham but I figured that we should at least make a start on the walk before stopping - if only to get ourselves warmed up. So we slogged up the hill out of town and up to the top of the ridge. This was well worth doing as the view was very pleasing and the sun shone warmly from the sky; enough so that Joshua was forced to strip down to his T-shirt! All in all it was very nice to be out in the fresh air and stretching our legs:
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| We like walking! |
The funny thing is that while we were all keeping half an eye out for somewhere to lunch we never actually spotted anywhere right up until we stumbled into Chalfont St Giles! So we managed to complete half of the walk before lunch without anyone really noticing - although we were all quite ravenous when the sandwiches made an appearance!
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| Our natural habitat |
Of course on the way back along the River Misbourne things started to fall apart a little (compared to our previous state of high organisation!). On the one hand there were quite a few guard-dogs hanging around to provide excitement while on the other some of our shorter legs were feeling a little tired by this point. Not that this was always obvious given Joshua and Christina's level of excitement:
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| I can do this - I really can... |
Little by little then we edged our way along the valley and back towards Amersham. While I was aware of the sun edging ever closer towards the ridge-line the kids spent their time chasing a ball (pretending to be dogs) and rolling in the mud. Ah who am I kidding; Lenore was a more than active participant in the fun!
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| It could be a summer's day |
Hence it was left to me to be the 'adult' of the party and to shepard our weary feet along the valley. Apart from the hum of the main road it was very pleasant strolling along the grassy path and in some ways it's a shame that the temperature wasn't twenty degrees higher and we weren't able to just hang out and take in the scenery. Next time maybe.
