WALK REPORT These are some photos from a trip we took back in February – a visit to Benington Lordship gardens in Hertfordshire. This was at the tail end of winter, with spring imminent. 31 shots. With friends Aleks, Anneli, and Tobi.

1. Goodbye London! Passing through the North London neighborhood of Finsbury Park, on the train up to Hertfordshire.

2. Aleks at Stevenage station. We’re changing trains here to get to the little village of Watton-at-Stone, where today’s walk starts.

3. Anneli and Tobi at the start of our walk. Taken on the bridge over the tracks at Watton station. A violently graphic public safety film (The Finishing Line) warning kids about the dangers of playing on railway lines was shot here in the 70s, starring children from the local primary school.

4. Aleks, Anneli, and Tobi on the country lane that leads into the south end of Watton-at-Stone. The village takes its name from a type of conglomerate rock found locally, called Hertfordshire puddingstone.

5. The 15th-century tower of the church of St Andrew & St Mary, Watton-at-Stone. If you believe the Luton Paranormal Society, this place is haunted by the ghost of a jilted woman who jumped to her death from the parapets. Here are some photos from their recent night-time “investigations“.

6. Anneli in front of the small door to the church’s west tower (for scale). This may be the bellringers’ entrance.

7. Wrought iron finials on the church gates.

8. Outside The Bull on the high street in Watton village, admiring a 1973 Ford Escort mk I Super. This model, with its characteristic “dogbone” grille, was very successful as a rally car.

9. Local headlines on sandwich boards, High Street, Watton-at-Stone. Can you solve the mystery of the mill?

10. We followed the Hertfordshire Chain Walk out of Watton-at-Stone and into the countryside. First signs of spring!

11. Farming equipment: a heavy-duty cultivator parked in a field near Blue Hill Farm. This is what it looks like in action.

12. Anneli’s shoes started to get a bit muddy here.

13. Anneli and Tobi on the hill up to our first pub stop of the day in Hebing End. Thank you, Tobi.

14. Apple buds.

15. Aleks at the Lordship Arms, Hebing End. We stopped for a half here; they do good bitters.

16. En route to lunch in Benington village now. This is Benington Park, with Tobi pretending he actually lives here.

17. Sign on a house near Benington village.

18. We had lunch at The Bell in Benington. This car was parked in an old garage outside. It’s a 1.5L Singer from the mid-1930s.

19. Detail of the Norman folly at Benington Lordship gardens. It was designed by James Pulham, a noted Victorian landscape gardener.

20. Close-up of a willow bud in the gardens.

21. The manor house at Benington Lordship is the centerpiece of the gardens. The veranda makes it feel like something off the set of Gone With the Wind.

22. Spring crocuses at Benington Lordship. I think these are Crocus dalmaticus.

23. Pollarding on trees in the garden.

24. Just a few of the many thousands of snowdrops that crop up here at Benington every February.

25. A Moto Guzzi parked in the grounds of the gardens. The Ferrari of motorcycles.

26. Architect Tobi snapping a pic of the stylish water tower outside Benington.

27. A spot of mud on the path to Walkern village.

28. It’s not even 4pm, but dusk is near. Tobi and Anneli on the tree-lined drive near Box Hall. 45 minutes to go before we hit the pub at the end of our walk.

29. Tobi stops to talk with some friendly cows.

30. On the path near Walkern Hall.

31. The last sign. Taken on the hill down into Walkern village.

If you’d like to try this walk yourself, I’m running it on these dates.

– DW

Here are some snaps from today. If you know any of the plant names I’ve left out, please let me know – there are big gaps in my “naturalist knowledge”. [walk profile]

Gravestones beneath an exotic monkey-puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana) at the church of St Andrew and St Mary in Watton-at-Stone village.

Linenfold motif on a door at the church of St Andrew and St Mary, Watton-at-Stone.

A close-up of the old water pump in the middle of Watton-at-Stone village. Lilacs in the background.

Anna stops to check the map. It seems we’re at least 30 minutes walk from the next pub.

Possibly Centaurea scabiosa, commonly known as greater knapweed. Photo taken at Idle Hill, north of Watton-at-Stone.

Two ladybirds (family Coccinellidae). The one on the left is an adult, and the one on the right is in its larval form.

Yes I know it’s a bit blurry but that’s my second pint sitting there on the bar. This shot shows some of the extensive line-up of beers and ciders on tap at The Lordship Arms in Hebing End.

An ancient Citroen van and a classic Jaguar E-type parked in the driveway of a house in Hebing End.

Smiling ducks by a roadside pond in Benington village.

An inquisitive young moorhen chick (Gallinula chloropus) checks us out from its perch on some pond rushes.

First of a series of shots taken at Benington Lordship gardens. This is Persicaria bistorta “Superba”, an ornamental variety of Common Bistort. Apparently, if you fry up the leaves of this plant with onions, oatmeal, nettles, and bacon, you wind up with something called “dock pudding”, an odd dish that’s considered a delicacy in parts of northern England. Must try making one sometime …

I think this is a perennial cornflower (Centaurea montana). Photo taken at Benington Lordship.

Anna admiring a magnolia tree in bloom.

An explosion of red peonies on the path near the herbaceous border at Benington Lordship gardens.

Probably Geranium cinereum. Part of the herbaceous border. Richard, thanks for the identification!

A lupin at Benington Lordship.

Some old engravings on the floor of St Peter’s church in Benington.

Raindrops on an iris in the gardens of Benington Lordship.

Find out how you can do this walk too! Click here for more info.

Unfortunately, last Friday’s Bodiam Castle walk didn’t happen. I have about 6 other side jobs I’m doing to make ends meet while I try to build up English Country Walks, and one of them got in the way. I realized I wasn’t going when I looked up from the spreadsheet I was working on and saw that it was 3:30 in the morning. It’s not good to do a 10 mile walk on three hours of sleep.

This time around things are looking up. This week all five walks on the schedule are happening, so if you want to come along on the first full week of trial walks, get in touch. [walk profile]

Here’s a handful of photos from our trip to see the gardens at Benington Lordship. [walk profile]