Looking out across the Hampden Valley

I’m standing here, looking out across the valley from the John Hampden Monument.  The monument (which is behind me) was built by Lord Nugent in the 19th century to commemorate John Hampden’s refusal to pay Ship Tax. Hampden was an English Civil War hero who opposed King Charles’s imposition of ship money. The inscription reads, ‘For these lands in Stoke Mandeville, John Hampden was assessed in twenty shillings Ship Money levied by command of the King without authority of law’.  Some say that this was the start of the English Civil War.  An important political and military leader, the monument is just one of the many legacies left by John Hampden in the Chilterns.
The other special point about this spot is the beautiful view across the valley and I thought I might track this view across the seasons.
 
At present, because of the Spring and early Summer we have had, the trees are so full of leaves and so green – you might almost think that I have edited this, but I haven’t.  These are the trees in the valley in all their green and abundant glory.