Day 31 - January 31st

Thoughtful Millie.

Day 30 - January 30th

Snowdrops on the churchyard look beautiful.

Day 29 - January 29th

This afternoon we went for a walk over the fields.

We came across some rather cute ponies and sheep busily munching on their lunch.

We then decided to explore some footpaths we'd not walked before which took us alongside more fields and woodland.

It was a nice walk but we had to turn back sooner than we had wanted to as we realised we were wearing the wrong footwear for the muddy fields which we knew we would otherwise have to cross.

Day 28 - January 28th

This afternoon we went for a walk around Ampthill Great Park. Its been over 10 years since we last visited.

There are several signposted trails round the park and we chose to walk the long trail - 3.2km (2 miles) around the perimeter of the park.

The park is approx 160 acres of parkland and woodland. It has a long and notable heritage, famously once belonging to the Crown – site of Ampthill castle, built by Henry VIII and home to Katherine of Aragon whilst the King sought the annulment of their marriage in 1533. More latterly the park was landscaped by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and also utilised as the training camp for a regiment established by the Duke of Bedford during WWI.

Cattle were grazing in part of the park and the trail passed by them.

In 1687 125 common lime trees were planted to create a pedstrian avenue and the avenue of trees is possibly the oldest surviving example of such a planting in the county and by the 1830’s horticulturalist and author John Claudius Loudon, described Lime Walk as being “…one of the finest avenues of lime trees in the world.” 

In 1914 Lord Kitchener (Secretary of State for War) issued a call to arms. The 11th Duke of Bedford responded by establishing the ‘Bedfordshire Training Depot’ in Ampthill Great Park, at his own expense. This was a well-equipped, hutted camp to help recruit and train soldiers for the Bedfordshire Regiment. Of the 2,235 men trained here, 707 lost their lives in the war. The Duke of Bedford Memorial Cross commemorates those 707 men including 'Harry Ansell' - my Dad's uncle who was killed in 1918 in France.

There is also another memorial in the Park - Katherine's Cross. Ampthill castle was built by Sir John Cornwallin the early fifteenth century. In 1508 it became the property of Henry VII. Queen Katherine of Aragon stayed at Ampthill castle for three years while her divorce from King Henry VIII was under discussion at Dunstable Priory (1531-1533). The site of the castle is now marked by a cross erected in 1770 with an inscription on its base.

Day 27 - January 27th

Chocolate cake made for the weekend.

Day 26 - January 26th

Late this afternoon we went for a very muddy walk across the fields. 

The amount of mud we collected on our boots made it quite a workout!

Day 25 - January 25th

In 2021 Christopher split his Aloe Vera plant and gave me a shoot. It has done really well and now my shoot needs splitting too.

Day 24 - January 24th

I bought a little gift for someone.

Day 23 - January 23rd

The cold weather is sticking around.

Day 22 - January 22nd

This afternoon we had a shopping trip to The Galleria, Hatfield.

Day 21 - January 21st

This afternoon we decided to walk some more of The Greenway at Letchworth. This time we walked the section from the Grange Recreation Ground to Standalone Farm, and back again.

In places it was quite foggy and quite earie.

At the back of the farm, the sheep watched us with interest.

 

Day 20 - January 20th

Today there was time for some scrapbooking.

Day 19 - January 19th

Today in the mail I received a medal for raising at least £125 in my fundraiser in aid of Crohn's & Colitis UK. 

Day 18 - January 18th

Mum gave me a bunch of daffodils today. They were the first ones I'd seen this year.

Day 17 - January 17th

Ice crystals on my car windows looked really pretty this morning but were a pain to get rid of.

Day 16 - January 16th

A cold start to the day. Brrrrrrrr.