This morning, the Teashops and Taverns book was on the table at breakfast time, and a walk was suggested for today, my mother made strange noises after her porridge, I chopped up an old sock in an experimental attempt to make insoles for a pair of slippers (which didn’t really work), Poppy the currently broody chicken who doesn’t want to move was gotten up out of the nesting box (meaning she screeched at very loud volumes), and once the kitchen was tidy, we got in the car at 9.58am.

On Cubbington Road, there was a Labrador peeing on a road sign, a 3 legged Golden Retriever bouncing along, petrol was 169.9p/litre and diesel was 182.9p/litre, Offchurch and the continuing HS2 work got passed, a couple of massive cylindrical what looked like storage silos that said Balfour Beaty on them were amidst it, then Southam was entered and I saw a foot and gait clinic. We parked at 10.18am and the Teashops & Taverns book was gotten out of the rucksack I’d just put on my back, and 10.23am was when we began.

An ancient looking manor house on Market Hill got passed, then the town noticeboard, St. James Church (with loads of Commonwealth War graves), and a car with the head of a big grey dog stuck out of the passenger window passed us. In the park, a man was flying a remote controlled drone around, there were lots of daisies in the grass, and on the other side – a little metal bridge over a stream was crossed – next to a big metal pipe with a ring of spikes round it and ‘DANGER OF DEATH’ written in it. A couple of women (early 50s) who we bumped into were following a paper map and getting a bit lost; and we went through a gate, down a path next to a stream, met them again, and continued along through a field of cows and cowpats.

After the next gate, a field of some sort of green crop growing was crossed, a holy well was on the other side and water was emerging from nowhere; another 4 fields and gates (with the stream continuing alongside) led us to the bridge – where the water was going down a little waterfall and there were a lot of decomposing lillypads, and I could hear a rooster crowing. A field with lots of buttercups in had a tiny muddy stream in the middle, the next field had a big muddy pond, I got distracted by a wasp, and through the next gate we met a small walking group of quite old people with walking poles. That gate said ‘The Harry Green Way’ on it, and the path was surrounded by trees, nettles, and huge numbers of midges; and we crossed a road with a 50mph speed limit, and reached number 5 of the instructions from the book. The wood on that side was very wooded and leafy – with hoof prints visible on the paths and lots and lots of bird twittering going on; then after a field of wheat (and the big chimney in Southam was visible), at 11.57am, we got to a farm track between more wheat fields.

At 12.03pn we reached the lane to Bascote, noticed one called Pudding Lane, and next to Serenity Barn, we hit number 7. The field next to the barn had a horse in it, bird twittering was coming from all directions, and the next gate had a ginormous leafy plant behind it; it was 12.24pm when we crossed the River Itchen – and a stop was made for refreshments, and I got distracted by the unbelievable numbers of dragonflies and spent around 30 minutes photographing them – and 1 of them decided to come and sit on my finger and pose for the camera.

We continued round the field next to the little stream/River Itchen, crossed it, kept going round (passing a field of barley), then number 8 of the instructions was reached at 1.15pm – and civilisation could be seen and heard. The metal stile of number 9 was climbed over 8 minutes later, and a lot of that path went alongside the grounds of a college; 1.27pm was when we got to Welsh Road, passed the primary school, the town centre – which had a lot in it, including The Olde Mint, and a shop called. W. H. Goodwin and Sons – selling garden frog pot pets, and the car was returned to at 1.41pm.

On the route home – which was through Offchurch – a house that said Black Cat Cottage on it, St. James Church – with a banner outside that had ‘He is risen’ on it, and a sign (presumably for the swimming pool) that said ‘swimming poo’ on it (as the L had dropped off); and back at home at 2.17pm, the cat was spherical on the back of the sofa.