Oh what a lovely walk it was, over the rolling, Wiltshire downland near the Avebury Stone Circle, and in fresh air and warm sunshine. Can life get any better than this! Just seven of us walked, and we later enjoyed lunch in "The Red Lion" I had a "Devon Tickler," a jacket potato stuffed with really strong cheese and topped with fried bacon slices, all with a side salad and accompanied, of course, by a small beer. In the photo above we are walking back at the end of the walk from Windmill Hill to Avebury. The track was lined with teasels, just a few in this photo, but further on we came across a whole bank full of the interesting plants.
En route we stopped at the church of St Mary Magdalene at Winterbourne Monkton, a 12/13th century church founded on a site originally established by monks from Glastonbury in 928AD. We took a look inside at the 12th century font, decoratively carved with primitive figures set against a background of entwinned leaves in a zig-zag pattern. The font would have been brightly painted, and some evidence of the colours can still be seen. The church contains many original features, including a Jacobean pulpit, unfortunately without it hood, and in the windows some Elizabethan stained glass still remains.
This is "The Red Lion" at Avebury, a thatched pub built in the middle of the Stone Circle, and famous for its lady ghost who drowned in the well. She is supposed to haunt the pub at night, and gives the guests a rather disturbed night in their beds. We sat in the large back bar, and enjoyed our lunch together under a big cartoon style painting of Prince Charles, who ate and drank here during a visit to Avebury many years ago.
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