Winchmore Hill

This entry should have been entitled "Winter walk to Enfield" for I intended walking up the New River Path to Enfield again, it being a morning with blue skies. And indeed that was what I set off to do. At about half past eight on a Sunday morning I was pretty much the only one about, which was nice.

I wasn't quite the only one about - I did see the odd Red Fox. 

However, by the time I reached Winchmore Hill I was beginning to realise that the lack of fellow walkers was not just due to the early morning, nor to the freezing cold. It also might have a lot to do with the state of the New River Path. I knew there was the odd muddy section, but in practice by today there were a lot of bits more like quicksand. Progress was just so slow that I got fed up and cut my walk short. Instead I cut into Winchmore Hill.

The Green at Winchmore Hill was less than busy. Normally this middle class area would be full as there are a couple of restaurants and a couple of pubs, and the Green is very agreeable.

I think this tree must be the most "mistletoed"of any I have seen.

The King's Head pub in other times might have tempted me in for a pint and Sunday lunch.

Or if not there, the nearby Salisbury Arms.

There are also a few rather nice old houses around here - Devon House ...

A Quaker meeting house

As you can see it bears its historic nature to the public. Impressively early. 

St Paul's Church. It is on Church Hill, so I guess this is the church the road is named after, or possibly an earlier incarnation of it.

Just down the hill is a charming little row of three old cottages.

The middle one claims to be the old school house, with another impressively early date.

It is only a few steps further to the north entrance to Grosvenor Park. The park was heaving. Evidently this was where everyone was hiding. Or rather what else was there to do on a sunny day if you lived in the area than walk into the park with the family, and get the rugrats to run off some energy? But one could escape most of them by cutting off to the wetlands area, which given recent rainfall had converted to the sort of swampland that you might expect more in Florida.

The duckboards were vital!

So all in all I managed about 4 hours out of the house before returning for a hot bowl of soup for lunch. It did feel really cold. Still enjoying flowers at home. My delivered ones being joined by my white amaryllis which is now fully in bloom.