A second sunny day prompted me to go for another walk. This time, I went in the opposite direction, up through the woods of Burham Down to Burham Common.
I headed through the village.
At the end, the Pilgrims’ Way crosses as a main road. Across the road, a road up the side of the pub leads to a footpath that climbs steeply up through the woods of Burham Down.
Partway up, I was able to get a view across the down.
On the way up, I met just two people. The first was a lad on a small motorcycle. The lad was riding cautiously down the steep decent. The bike is wholly unsuitable for the terrain. The second was a Scouse cyclist who introduced himself as Dave. We stopped and had quite a chat, during which, the lad on the motorcycle reappeared, this time, coming up the footpath. Dave was outwardly less than impressed! He is very passionate about the health of our planet, our home. After a while we parted company and I continued my ascent, soon reaching the top, where a road crosses the common.
Directly across the road from the footpath is a public house called the Robin Hood.
I turned right along Common Road.
Just before a row of cottages, a footpath turns down the Down, eventually meeting the steep incline I had not long since ascended.
Can you believe, I had to hold back descending to let the lad on the motorcycle clear the path. He was followed by Dave. We greeted each other. I then continued down to a junction. A turn gate on a bend of the footpath lead down across a field.
I had a brief chat with a metal detectorist scanning the field. Most of the finds in the area tend to be WWII fighter plane shells from the Battle of Britain. I then crossed a recreation field, chatting to some of the villagers as I passed.
Back on the main Pilgrims’ Way road, I turned towards home. I stopped by the bakery. Richard, the baker there, bakes some incredible cakes. They generally tend to be of a generous size! We chatted for a while before I headed home to enjoy a cake with a well-earned cup of tea.