The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill, But Came Down A Mountain

I don't know if you've ever heard of that movie. Hugh Grant at the height of Hugh Grant. The only thing I remember about it was how much I wanted it to be over. Not really one I recommend, but the title popped into my head this afternoon when I went for a walk.

When I go out on walks I like to have a destination. Once I've locked the destination into my internal GPS I like to observe and think along the way. And take winding paths that come along the way. Cheltenham is small town. Sitting in my bedroom and looking out the window across the town center, I can see the country side. Today's destination was to first locate where my next Monday meeting is held and then to see how far across town I can go.

In a seven mile round trip I made it to the base of Leckhampton Hill. And when I say base, I mean, I actually followed a little public foot path and walked about the country side before coming back down to the town.

These first two photo's are of a house with a real honest-to-goodness thatched roof. This house was not sitting out in the country, but along a row of modern houses. The second photo is the gate to the open pasture. The little yellow sign says "Public Access". And yes, it was extremely muddy.





















The next two photo's are me standing in the pasture. To the North is the town of Cheltenham. (I told you it's not very big.) and to the South is a large house. I know, it's not very clear, but trust me it's bordering on castle'ish.




This next photo made me laugh! School was just getting out and parents and their little grade schoolers were walking home. This dog was sitting in the window in what appears to be eager anticipation at someone coming home. Usually one would see a cat sitting in a window in such a pose. Plus, the dog is clearly a few sizes too big for that window sill!



In other news I will tell you that at midnight last night I learned that American pancakes are not the same as British pancakes.