Date: Location: Distance: Parking: Lunch: | 7 June 2018 Damerham 5.2 miles The Compasses Inn The Compasses Inn |
We parked at the Compasses and after a short stretch along the road turned south down a well marked footpath.
St George’s Church looks very unusual and we could not resist having a look inside. We were very pleased that we did. It is very old indeed possibly dating back to Saxon times and it has the feel of a church built for the people to pray in rather than to the glory of the person who paid for for it. There is an interesting and detailed guide to the church at: A Guide to the Church of St. George, Damerham. This link will immediately download the two page pdf to your download folder.
We thought it would be nice to follow the track along beside the water. It was however almost impossible to see the stream or lakes and when we finally crossed the lakes at the south easterly end we found a rather dirty looking patch of water rather than the pristine fishing area we had expected.
Some excellent work had however been done to put in a new wooden bridge across the river. Soon we came across the Hawkhill Mill Farm Caravan and Motorhome Club CL where we had stayed with Juliet, Matt and our granddaughters a few years back. The path somewhat surprisingly runs between the old mill house and its garden. It must be a lovely place to live but this seems a bit of an imposition.
We were more than a little amused by the wonderfully named hen house.
There were a few wild orchids as we approached our right turn in Ashridge Copse and then an easy stroll across a field where the farmer had made a perfect path through his crop of wheat. As we walked past the houses at the south end of Damerham we spotted a wonderful wooden caravan in someones back garden. A real work of art. We had a nice friendly chat with a gentleman to whom we were grateful when he told us he opened the church most mornings.
Back t the Compasses we enjoyed gammon egg and chips and chicken and ham pie. Although a tad on the expensive side we agreed that both were top of the list when it came to quality.