On Haresfield Beacon

I arranged to meet John W. this morning as I wanted to go walking again.  John has to walk his dog Theo every day so I knew he would enjoy some company. We drove to the top of the cotswold escarpment above Randwick Woods where we could park by the lane that drops down to the village of Haresfield at the base of the steep scarp slope.

I can only manage relatively flat terrain as I gradually build up the strength of my Achilles tendon. The picture looks as if the land is steep but in fact the path from the lane is quite flat, as it undulates through the Iron Age camp sited at the end of a hilly promontory looking out over the Severn Vale.

Once we reached the farthest point, looking out over the edge, we ended up chatting with several groups of people. The man you can see standing in this picture turned out to be a wildlife photographer who loves nothing more than journeying to south-east Asia and beyond to shoot wild animals. A woman came up and asked us where Berkeley could be seen in the far distance, so I pointed it out to her just by the estuary of the River Severn. She was doing a recce before the ceremony of lighting the Beacon fires next week to mark the Queen's 90th birthday, when beacons will be lit all round the highest points of this island.

I liked the amazing sky today where these tall clouds marked the low pressure zone as it began pushing away the high pressure system which had brought the morning's  blue sky.