Havant to West By-Fleet

Monday May 14

I was up and out for a run this morning. Only did just over 6k this time. I followed the same path down to the ocean, but turned left at the bottom of the main street in Langstone away from the pub we visited. The sunlight was so beautiful over the old mill, and the ocean bed (tide out again), I took a few moments to let it seep into my brain. And, took a few pictures!! A chap asked me if I was familiar with the trails, but I admitted to being a complete stranger to the area! He was looking for a way to get to a near by cemetery. He was on a bike. I also got stopped both ways at the railway crossing close to Jacky’s house. The amazing thing was the barriers came down across the road, the red lights flashed furiously to warn everyone, and the train passed silently without a bellow from its horn. I wondered to myself why they couldn’t do this in Squamish…..in the middle of the night….instead of waking up the whole valley with their ridiculous sound system!!

Old Mill

Taken from the Ocean

Secure, and Silent

Jet Streams

Later in the morning, we went for a walk around town and went into an old graveyard. The graveyard was originally built in 1150, and the parish records show there were nearly 6000 burials between 1651 and 1851 and they estimated that about 20,000 people lay in the burial ground. There are three separate areas: one called the “dissenters” cemetery for people who were not of Church of England belief; one section called St. Faiths Cemetery for the members of the Church of England; and a third section “New Lane Cemetery” – no idea who that is for!!  It was a beautifully tranquil spot, filled with old trees such as horse chestnut trees, common and Irish yew, and holly; meadows filled with grasses and wildflowers; and birds of a myriad varieties including blackbird, robin, song thrush, chaffinch, blue tit, long tailed tit, and greenfinch. A haven!

Horse Chestnut Tree

Dissenters Cemetery

We finished our walk with lunch at the Old House at Home. Ray and I split a hamburger, but, I had the best dessert I have eaten in years: chocolate brownie, caramel ice cream, and peanut brittle!  Gross!!!! But absolutely delicious!!  Now, I have done 18,668 steps today……am I allowed???

Street Scene

Jacky and John

Ray and Liz

The Old House at Home

Beautiful Old Homes Restored

We said our goodbyes to Jacky and John, and drove the one hour to West By-Fleet with only one wrong turn. Our little flat is quite sweet, in a small town, with a lot of English atmosphere! We are quite settled in, however, unfortunately, there is no Internet!! Apparently Virgin Media is the provider, and they have a problem in this area. According to our host, it will be fixed by 1:00 am!!! We also hope to see Jacky and John in Squamish sometime in the not too distant future. Maybe 2020.

After picking up some supplies and exploring the town, putting on a clothes wash, and having a light snack, we headed off to bed.