A lot of villages in Kent have intriguing histories - particularly the ones in the High Weald. Speldhurst has a 13th century pub, The George and Dragon, where, it is rumoured, soldiers who fought at Agincourt stopped off for a pint on their way home. One of its Vicars was the father of Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Scout movement. The Church itself boasts some beautiful stained-glass windows by Burne-Jones and William Morris.
But there are also 21st century charms here. I drive through the village regularly - it is part of my daily commute (see High Weald on my Travel page) - and as the seasons turn, there are many things, if you keep your eyes open, to enjoy and be thankful for. There is a particularly beautiful 'handkerchief-tree' which blooms every Spring, at least one resident picks the old apple-trees in his garden every autumn and leaves them in a box at his gate for passers-by to help themselves for free, and the lollipop-lady who sees the children safe across the road on their way to primary school is unfailingly patient and smiling.
At this time of year, co-inciding with the flower show, there is also the lovely surprise of spotting the village scarecrows dotted around. The first one that caught my eye this week was a diver, poised mid-air under an oak tree, followed by a horse and rider emerging from a hedge, a bride and groom under the church lych-gate, a pair of feet disappearing into a bush, and Mo Farah!
Seems like Speldhurst has definitely been wowed, as have so many of us, by the London Olympics this year!
But there are also 21st century charms here. I drive through the village regularly - it is part of my daily commute (see High Weald on my Travel page) - and as the seasons turn, there are many things, if you keep your eyes open, to enjoy and be thankful for. There is a particularly beautiful 'handkerchief-tree' which blooms every Spring, at least one resident picks the old apple-trees in his garden every autumn and leaves them in a box at his gate for passers-by to help themselves for free, and the lollipop-lady who sees the children safe across the road on their way to primary school is unfailingly patient and smiling.
At this time of year, co-inciding with the flower show, there is also the lovely surprise of spotting the village scarecrows dotted around. The first one that caught my eye this week was a diver, poised mid-air under an oak tree, followed by a horse and rider emerging from a hedge, a bride and groom under the church lych-gate, a pair of feet disappearing into a bush, and Mo Farah!
Seems like Speldhurst has definitely been wowed, as have so many of us, by the London Olympics this year!
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