An afternoon in Olde England

I went down to Guildford this morning with my brother. He had to take his campervan in for a service, so I followed him in his car and we spent the day looking at some interesting villages in Surrey. 

I know that some people object to these country villages in the south of England where many wealthy people have large houses, but I take the view that if they hadn't built them in the past then we wouldn't be able to enjoy them today. I wouldn't like the responsibility of maintaining a large historic house, so am happy for someone else to do it for me! The locals look after their villages too for the benefit of everyone. This is Tilford, where the shrub Potentilla 'Tilford Cream' was raised by Kelvin Lawrence, whoever he was! Beautiful ancient bridges at each end of the village, a lovely old pub which appeared to be hosting a group of car enthusiasts, some WW2 pillboxes and three old oak trees at the corners of the huge triangular village green, commemorating various kings and queens. There's a massive ancient oak at the entrance of the village, in very poor condition now, which  is thought to be over 800 years old. William Cobbett (1763-1835), a native of nearby Farnham, called it by far the finest tree that he had ever seen in his life. I've put it on as an extra. Altogether a lovely place to spend a couple of hours. 

We went on and enjoyed a picnic lunch beside a lock at the edge of the River Wey Navigation. 

Home tomorrow!