Bit of Shakespeare there… and I prefer the phrase to ‘Indian summer’, I never knew what that meant. Two great weekends in a row prolonging that mournful ‘end of summer’ feeling, which hangs in the mild, limpid air. On September 20 we did the Downe circular walk on Saturday and on Sunday traipsed around a few miles of the Ashdown Forest. In between, I nipped up to East Mersea, near Colchester, to play saxophone at a really good wedding – now that’s an interesting, quiet part of the world (until the band cranked it up, anyway). Back in Kent/East Sussex today we enjoyed perfect temperatures, just a gentle breeze. Near King’s Standing in the Ashdown Forest we watched kestrels, and heard stonechats and goldcrests. There were many dense webs among the heather, which would have made for a good photo, but yours truly forgot the camera. Still, with the iPhone here are a couple of shots… Back to work, and rain tomorrow. But (updating on September 27) another great weekend followed and, after a sojourn in sunny Loughborough, we made it out to Otford late on Sunday in incredibly clear conditions. Could it be three great weekends in a row? Suddenly a high pressure area is sitting over us so I suspect another brilliant walking country weekend is in store… Another update (October 4): amid glorious sunshine we did the Ide Hill walk, marvelling at the hazy late afternoon light, lending the countryside a mystical, timeless glow. Well, it helped me get over the rugby…
Hazy sunshine on October 3 overlooking the Weald from the Ide Hill circular walk point 2
On the lower Darent Valley path near Otford, September 27
Downe circular, mid-September
Gill’s Lap, Ashdown Forest, September 20
Kent walks near London 