walks

Yesterday Helen and I did a lovely walk in the Chilterns with our friend Jude, a 9km loop starting in Pishill and having lunch at the Five Horseshoes in Upper Maidensgrove. more

Helen and I did a lovely walk on Sunday with our friend Jude, starting at Begbroke, going through Bladon and Blenheim, and finishing in Woodstock.

Camilla was in Wales making a coracle, so we picked a walk we could do by bus on a Sunday (when many services out of Oxford don't run). We caught the S3 and got off at the Royal Sun at Begbroke. From there we walked past the lovely little St Michael's church (we didn't go in because there was a service in progress), across fields, and past some oak trees, to join the bridleway through the woods of Bladon Heath. That runs to Bladon, where we followed the back lanes to the church; we ate apples on a bench in front of Winston Churchill's grave.

We went into Blenheim by the Bladon Lodge entrance, then went into the Pleasure Garden for lunch (and a quick look at the Butterfly House though that was just too hot). Then we walked across the bridge, looked at the Harry Potter cypress, and went out the green gate to Woodstock, where we had a drink in the Oxfordshire Museum (where there was a lovely textile art exhibition) before catching the bus back to Oxford.

It was a lovely day, sunny but not too hot and with some shade from trees. 8km (5 miles) in about five hours, and there was a little bit of complaining, but I'm reasonably confident we'll cope ok with 9-11km stretches along Hadrian's Wall in three months time.

When Camilla suggested we hire an antique campervan, I was a bit sceptical at first: I don't get excited about cars the way she does, and it seemed likely to be an expensive faff. But we had a lovely weekend in a classic old VW campervan called Blossom, spending three nights in the Peak District (five miles or so west of Chesterfield). more

Helen and I did a nice walk in the Chilterns with our friend Jude, a loop from the Studley Green garden centre to the Dashwood Arms in Piddington and back. The weather was perfect, warm but cloudy, with a gentle breeze and occasional patches of sun, and maybe half the walk was under trees. more

Helen and I did a really nice walk in the Chilterns yesterday, from Coombe Hill down to Wendover and back. This is a loop of about 6km, with maybe 130m down and then up, offering a good variety of terrain and views. more

We spent four nights in the Lake District in August and had a fantastic time: driving up on the Thursday and coming back on the Bank Holiday Monday gave us three full days, and we had really good weather. more

I took Helen on her longest walk yet, doing a near three mile circular walk in the Chilterns more

We had a lovely Easter outing, spending three nights in a caravan and cabin combo just into Wales, a little northeast of Abergavenny, and using that as a base for trips into the Brecon Beacons. more

We slept in and had a lazy Sunday morning, but after lunch we drove down to Dorchester, which is just twenty minutes away. more

Camilla had applied for Wytham Woods permit last year, but we'd never got around to using it. But on Easter Sunday we went there for a picnic with Jenny and Thomas and the boys. more

Camilla's sister Amy and her husband Alex were visiting, so we went for at trip out to the Jenner Museum in Gloucestershire. more

To take advantage of our newly acquired car, we headed off for a day in the Cotswolds. more