Aspley Guise circular

Angela and I had an "awayday" today, walking with the Kensington Chelsea and Westminster group. There's always a fair bit of cross-pollination with Ramblers' groups, and we weren't the only Hampstead members on the walk. In total, there were thirteen of us, led by Elizabeth.

Apsley Guise is in Bedfordshire. It dates back to well before the Norman Conquest, and the local Council has an excellent and informative website here.



Aspley Guise in the 1800's, from the website.

En route, we found two beautiful churches, both of which were open, a sadly rare occurrence in the English countryside nowadays.

The Church of the village of Salford was particularly attractive. A seventeenth-century wooden entrance led into a church with some well preserved monuments and carvings.


The knight above has an angel ministering to his comfort for all time...



This lion decorated a corbel...



And the cat above, in an almost Norse style, will protect the church from mice...

We stopped for a lovely lunch in the Carpenters Arms in Cranfield.



A post-prandial group photo. Elizabeth, walk leader, far Right.

Incidentally, Penny Thesen, extreme left on the photo above, is doing the London Marathon in aid of Sense, the charity for deaf blind adults and children. Anyone who wishes to sponsor Penny in this very worthwhile cause should go to her Justgiving web page, just click here.

We hope to publish an update here on how Penny did after the Marathon on the 26th April this year.

Plastic Bird Corner has yet another inhabitant! This post closes with a world-exclusive photo of the Giant Plastic Flying Mallard!