I find it quite astonishing that, after two decades in one locality, one can still find yourself just a couple of miles or so from home, in an area you have never been before. Since satnavs were fitted one has the luxury of deliberately taking unknown turnings that lead to unfamiliar surroundings. You can safely get totally lost, take random turnings and follow signposts to unknown villages and hamlets, in the knowledge that you can turn on the satnav, lock in ‘home’ and navigate back to base.
This is what we did a couple of days back finding some pretty countryside, tiny villages and isolated churches, hidden among the orchards and fields.
I should have made a note of where this was, no houses just a church surrounded by a high beech hedge.
All around were apple orchards, some new, many maybe fifty years old and a couple that were centurions. On the edge of one a strange fruit… surely an apple but each fruit fully mature but the size of cherries. Just a few such trees amongst an orchard full of what looked like the full-size cousins…
…as can be seen in the leaf litter.
Neatly espaliered apple trees with a few like this one dotted about… anyone any ideas?
