Today began the second part of our tour through the Thames Valley to Windsor. We started in Lechlade which is located on the Thames at the farthest point navigable by boat. The actual source of the river is further up river but not by much. While we are near the Thames we actually only crossed it once this morning near a lock. Part of today’s route were 2 side trips, one to see a historic barn and another to see some ancient stones, more on both in the photos. Route also involved climbing several name hills such as white horse hill and a 6km stretch of some pretty rugged dirt track. Along the way I had first ever encounter with stinging nettles, an experience I could live without. They apparently sting for 24 hrs so at the moment they are still giving me grief, made worse when being touched by clothes. Here’s hoping wine will numb the discomfort. We are staying at the Greyhound Inn in the hamlet of Letcombe Regis 3km from a much bigger place, Wantage. It is a lovely old inn with very good food but no air conditioning and it has finally warmed up. I suspect that most of these old places in the UK do not have AC so it could be pretty hot mid-summer. At the moment I am sitting on a lovely back patio enjoying a glass of wine in a gentle evening breeze.
This is where we stayed last night. The New Inn was built in 1754 which is considered new around here. For example Oxfords new college dates back to the 1700s while everything else goes back as far as the 1000s.
The dreaded sting nettles. I went to open a gate to pass into a pasture without recognizing the plant. I knew instantly what I had touched and I am still paying for it. This plant is everywhere in the UK, so beware.
Bill ShaneyfeltIf you wear gloves to pick it, and then steam it like spinach, it is quite good, and notoriously nutritious.
But I feel your pain, having encountered it often.
https://www.thespruceeats.com/sauteed-stinging-nettles-2217561#:~:text=Nettles%20need%20to%20be%20thoroughly,down%20in%20one%20fell%20swoop. Reply to this comment 4 days ago
A gift from King John allowed this Great Barn to be built. It is the sole surviving part of a thriving 13th century grange (or farm), owned by the monks of Beaulieu Abbey. It was built to store crops, and has since been used by generations of farmers. The monks were from the Cistercian Order, who built up to 3,000 monastic barns throughout England.
This image was taken from a photo. The Uffington White Horse is a prehistoric hill figure, 110 m (360 ft)[1] long, formed from deep trenches filled with crushed white chalk. The figure is situated on the upper slopes of Whitehorse Hill in the English civil parish of Uffington in Oxfordshire, some 16 km (10 mi) east of Swindon, 8 km (5.0 mi) south of the town of Faringdon and a similar distance west of the town of Wantage; or 2.5 km (1.6 mi) south of Uffington. The hill forms a part of the scarp of the Berkshire Downs and overlooks the Vale of White Horse to the north.
This is part of the 6km of rough road that was part of The Ridgeway that is 139km in total. The roads is one of the oldest in the UK going back over 5000 years.
Wayland's Smithy long barrow was used for burials over 5,500 years ago in the Neolithic period.Excavations have shown that the monument you see today covers an earlier barrow. Both tombs served as a focus for ceremonies linking the living and the dead, and may also have marked the community's ownership of the surrounding land.The first structure built here, between 3,590 and 3,555 BC.
