North Common

A frosty and misty start this morning as the spaniel and I headed south from Red House Common onto Memorial Common on our first walk of the day. This whole area used to be known simply as "North Common" to distinguish it from "South Common". Apparently the separate names used today (Red House, Memorial, Romany Ridge, and Pound Common) were only introduced (by committee of course) in the 1970s so that people could give a more precise location when calling the Fire Service to a heathland fire. Seems odd to me - in my experience heathland fires produce masses of smoke that can be seen for miles. I prefer the traditional name - North Common - which can still be found on at least one signpost.