Walking Here and There

One of the things we really like about being here in England is the walking culture. Historically, many public footpaths and bridleways have been well established that crisscrossed the entire country. These often cross privately-owned land via a public right of way. Additionally, in 2000, the Countryside and Rights of Way Act was passed into law that affects England and Wales. It implements the 'right to roam' on certain upland and uncultivated areas even if privately-owned. This Act was a long time coming as the political debate started back in 1932 with the Kinder Mass Trespass, a remarkable act of wilful trespass and civil disobedience by hundreds of ramblers.

Today, there are fifteen long distance national walking trails and hundreds of local trails, from short day walks through to the latest national trail, the England Coast Path, which will be the longest managed and waymarked coastal path in the world when it is complete in 2020. When we lived in London we did a lot walking on the south and east coasts. Now that we're in the West Country, it's opened up a lot of new choices.

Recently, we've been trying a few walks around the Avon Valley and environs. The weather has been cooperating with mostly dry and still warm days in September. We've walked through quintessential English villages, like Freshford, all stone walls and honey-coloured stone so typical of this area.

In Clevedon, on the coast, we came across this traditional thatched cottage (loved the wooden pheasant carvings on the roof ridge)...

...and the Clevedon Pier, the only Grade I listed pier in the country....

We walked along the Avon River where we came across hidden pubs by the riverside.

...and old industrial buildings now repurposed as unique dwellings...

In Portishead, on the Bristol Channel, it was fun to watch the boats locking through into the marina and nice not to be in the scrum for once...

At Bathford, we climbed high onto a ridge and were rewarded with this beautiful vista.

At Glastonbury, we climbed up Glastonbury Tor (hill) to visit the remains of a 14th century church. The tor has been a place of pilgrimage for over 10,000 years.

Where to next? So much choice, so little time!