The Woodlands of Bucklebury & Chapel Row

With the approaching Trafalgar Day, it was interesting to meet at Chapel Row, near the Trafalgar Oaks, planted to celebrate victory in the Battle of Trafalgar, 200 years ago. Our walk was to take us into Bucklebury which claims to have more footpaths than any other parish in England. We were determined to explore as many as possible on this lovely morning so we set off beneath a canopy of early autumn colour. In an orchard beside us we noticed the apple trees heavily laden with their precious autumn crop. Gaps in the trees gave us glimpses of the changing countryside, dotted with trees and hedgerows in various autumnal stages. Emerging from the trees, we walked closely to each other at this mystical time of year as we took to field paths of Bushnell’s Green, which has its fair share of gruesome myths and legends! Our path was edged with wild chicory, its flowers flowing along in a pretty blue stream. This more than compensated for the fact that, when we crossed a bridge, the River Pang, which should have flowed beneath, was just a puddle! We turned and paused to breath in the delights of the autumnal wooded slopes of Bucklebury Common behind us, before heading up a path beside a field of free-range pigs and piglets. Soon a church tower came into view, betraying the existence of a village. An ancient road bridge took us back over the, now flowing, River Pang, and soon we were standing beside the church of St Mary’s, protected by a cluster of old cottages of the village of Bucklebury. We used our break to explore inside the beautiful Norman church, built on Saxon foundations.

The stained-glass windows are stunning! Intense blue drew our eyes to the East window, which is unusual in that the portrayal of the crucifixion shows Christ looking up to heaven, not bowed in pain. By the pulpit a window displays a kingfisher and fish, important features in this Pangside village. No bright colours in this window, but its beauty came from its sheer simplicity. Above the Manor pew we found, possibly the most famous of its windows – ‘the fly window’. A sundial holds a central shield in enamel colours, and, next to the sundial, is ‘the fly’, painted so intricately as to appear completely real. The sundial and the fly reminded us that ‘time flies!’, and so we resumed our walk by climbing out of the village beneath trees to eventually arrive alongside the pastures of Bucklebury Farm Park. The large herd of deer were shyly hiding, so we had to make do with a muntjac deer which ran across our path. Our route now proved straightforward as we followed one linked path after another along pleasant woodland strips, to finally emerge alongside the ‘Millennium bench’. Walking beside the ‘Millennium Oaks’, we made our way towards the Bladebone Inn which has not escaped legend. Its copper bladebone hanging above the doorway is probably the scapula of a whale, but legend has it that it is the bone of a pre-historic mammoth that used to stalk the area! Thankfully the Inn’s conservatory proved snug and welcoming in which to enjoy an uneventful lunch!

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