A GAP IN THE HEDGE..

Such glorious weather for late October - dry, warm and sunny - just the sort of days to tempt you out and explore local surroundings.   Dudley, our retriever puppy, is now six months old and although he has done very well in his training classes (he has the certificate to prove it) he really needs to explore the world around him and so he has been introduced to the North Downs, the Pilgrims Way and the North Downs Way, all very accessible just a short drive from home.

The Pilgrims Way is especially interesting, steeped in history as the route taken by pilgrims heading to Canterbury and we are lucky in this area to have a stretch of this long distance footpath which follows the line of the north downs and affords spectacular views of the Kent countryside.   The photo above which I took yesterday through a gap in the hedge shows the  hillsides  bright with autumnal green as the winter crops emerge and seemingly thrive in this good weather.

Here`s another photo I took, this time of the church at Trottiscliffe which nestles beneath the north downs and provides a quintessential image of rural England at its finest.......

And just to prove that not all the footpaths around here are dark or even a little forbidding, here`s a photo of the path from the village leading up the hill to the escarpment above.......

It`s more than an eye opener to discover what lies just beyond your doorstep.......