The Ridgeway

Out-and-about today with the twinnage and the stoic spouse. No, this isn’t a knitting post, but I’m 80% of the way through my latest project and will “ta-dah” it in a few days’ time.

So, we went to part of the Ridgeway. I’ve often walked small sections of this ancient 85-mile trail before. It’s a long, raised chalk ridge, trudged for at least the last 5000 years by herdsmen, traders, soldiers, and other travellers. Its height helped navigation and security, and raised it a little over the boggy lowland. The trail stretches southwest to northeast across a chunk of central southern England, and over millennia it came to be peppered with landmarks such as the Uffington White Horse, numerous Iron Age hill forts, and at its end, the World Heritage Site stone circle at Avebury. We didn’t get near Avebury today, but here’s a photo I took there with friends a few years ago.

And while I’m at it, here’s a view inside the excavated Neolithic barrow at Avebury, constructed 5600 years ago:-

Anyway, back to today. We were in Oxfordshire, dawdling at toddler place along a wide section of ridge:-

The sky was pretty funky:-

And we wandered along the wide track reasonably contentedly:-

And finally, as the sun set, we headed back towards the car:-

Not a bad trip, especially as the stoic spouse drove, so I could knit in the car. 🙂

Edited later to add: and now, the children are abed, and I’m drinking pink champagne in front of a roaring log fire whilst knitting. I’ve had worse days.