Adelstrop

On Sunday March 17, sixteen of us gathered at the Village Hall car park in Adelstrop for a walk to look for signs of spring. A wonderful spring day – long awaited, blossom on the trees, blue sky, white clouds and a mild breeze.

We’d been warned about the mud and after a week of frequent rain spells we were all well shod for the conditions. Before we began Lindsay read us the well known poem by Edward Thomas, written in 1914, about the occasion when his train had stopped there unexpectedly and the one thing of note was that a blackbird sang. For us, a pair of kestrels flew over the car park.

We started off on the MacMillan Way, walking north through large grassy fields where ancient ridge and furrow patterns were clearly visible. Elaine gave us an interesting explanation of the reasons for their different shapes – all to do with turning teams of oxen. There was standing water in most of the furrows so some minor leaps were required.

Our destination was Chastleton House, reached after a particularly muddy uphill climb, but reaching the top there was a rewarding panorama of the surrounding countryside, and skylarks were singing. Chastleton is built very much in the valley beyond, though it’s upper parts are just visible. Muddy tracks through an avenue of trees, led to increasing glimpses of neat white lambs with their scruffily coated mothers.

At the far end we joined a quiet road leading to the church, built in the 12th Century, where tea and luscious cakes were on sale. A few of the party lingered behind, examining log piles and muck heaps! A pleasant time was spent in the churchyard resting our legs in the warm sunshine. The four storeys of Chastleton House, completed in 1612, could be studied at length from our perch on the dividing wall. Honey bees were busily buzzing in and out of a crack in the church wall.

Eventually we made our way up the hill to leave the NT grounds via more narrow muddy paths, sometimes in the woods where spurge laurel was coming into flower, sometimes on open land, with the sun still high in the sky, till we arrived back at the Village Hall, some three hours from the start.

A very pleasant and interesting walk.

The full species list can be found here.

Frances Ashling 20 March 2024

JC adds: The Club last walked from Adelstrop to Chastleton in March 2018, just after the ‘Beast from the East’ had dumped a lot of snow, which was still banked up by the roadside in places – and there was neither tea nor cake!