Chipperfield Common

I’m on a little mini-break tonight and tomorrow night. I set off round the normally accursed M25 after church and an early lunch today, bound for the little village of Chipperfield on the Hertfordshire/Buckinghamshire border. Actually, the motorway was absolutely fine for once. I was, however, scuppered by some of the country lanes around King’s Langley being completely closed off for works. My SatNav kept trying to take me round onto the same blocked roads again, so I ended up driving through Hemel Hempstead (which I know quite well), and approaching Chipperfield from a different direction - which thankfully did the trick! After checking in, I sat in the lounge at the hotel and had a toasted sandwich, then went for a wander to reacquaint myself with the place. It holds some memories, because Mum and Dad stayed here back in the late 90’s when they visited me in Chesham, and I sometimes used to drive over and park the car on a day off from work before going for a walk around Chipperfield Common. One of the reasons I’m here in this part of the world is for book club with my Chesham friends tomorrow evening (it’s just a 10-15 minute drive away), and I’m looking forward to catching up with them. I had hoped to see my brother-in-law in Bicester during the day, but there are massive roadworks happening on the route over there at the moment causing terrible delays, so I shall try to meet up with him another time when I’m up this way again. Once I’ve posted my blip of the 15th century hotel I’m staying in (St Paul’s Church on another side of the Common is in Extras), I’m going to settle down and read some more of my Tiptree book club novel, which I’m really enjoying revisiting.