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Our
walking correspondents, Me and Her, describe the walk:
We
parked in Pembridge in the free car park off the A44, which has
toilets, and we walked out of the car park back to the road and
turned right.
We
then took the next right down Bridge Street.
Just
down the road on the opposite side is a row of old almshouses bearing
the inscription "Forget not your good benefactor Brian Duppa
Bishop of Winchester who bielded this hospital 1661."
After about 200 yards we turned right immediately before the three
arched bridge over the river Arrow, we
walked along the meadow and went over a stile by a gate.
Straight
ahead is a stile with a footbridge over a brook and then make for
another stile half way up a hedge.
Over
another stile into a small meadow with a brook on the right hand
side - another stile takes you into another small meadow with a
row of tall poplars on the left hand side.
A heron
flew lazily up from the water.
Then
over a stile into a meadow with the river now close on the left
and the sound of a weir 50 yards on down.
We
stayed on the right of the brook to the end of the field - on the
right hand end of the field is a double stile.
We
then turned immediately left seeing Eardisland Church tower ahead.
Straight
on over another stile with fieldfares on the hawthorn berries and
the sound of pheasants in the distance.
See
Bird Brain's Diary: November
for more information on fieldfares.
Make
for a double stile with a little bridge and then straight on to
another stile - one more stile takes you into the road where we
turned left past a red phone box and the White Swan.
Not
far along the road is an 18th Century dovecot that was restored
in 1999.
It
is open to the public and is well worth going inside with its 960
nesting boxes built into the walls, excellent photographs of other
dovecots and a small exhibition of AA memorabilia.
When
you come out you can see a nicely restored old AA box over the road
- follow the road from the dovecot and turn left immediately alongside
the river Arrow.
You
shortly come to one of the most photographed views in Britain which
you may recognise from chocolate boxes of not so long ago.
We
kept walking along this minor road, past Folly Farm on the right
and Little Broome Farm on the left.
The
industrial buildings on Shobdon Aerodrome come into view and there
is an old orchard on the right with flocks of fieldfares eating
the apples on the ground.
Pigeons
flew up off the stubble in the next field, a buzzard circled overhead
and we turned left at the road junction.
Up
to the right can be seen the disused Pembridge Railway Station.
We
walked past the beautiful black and white farmhouse of Clearbrook
Farm on the left and then back to the car park - we had lunch in
Pembridge (Choice of Kings House Restaurant, Red Lion or New Inn).
Then
we had a look round the 16th Century Market Hall, 14th Century Church
and the detached Bell Tower - huge wooden struts and beams supporting
bells up to ¾ of a ton in weight - that is thought to have
been rebuilt in 1668 but originally erected soon after 1215.
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