The weather was incredible for this nice walk out around the ups and downs of Wooton and Glympton. The butterflies, birds and insects were out in force, the trees have all begun their quest to absorb sunlight and flowers are everywhere. Wild garlic and garlic mustard were both in full effect - and incredibly tasty! - and I've mentally logged a few new spring flowers thanks to my mum's vast knowledge of wild and garden plants.
We started out north from Wootton following a lovely path along the side of a hill, past Ludwell Farm and a swallow sat posing on a weather vane. We passed the large farm complex at Glympton Park Farm and stopped for a quick break in a field to take in some sun. Mum found a huge old horseshoe which was too large to carry around for luck. We continued downhill towards Glympton Park and I spotted a surveillance camera nestled in a tree. Further down the hill we stopped next to a bridge by a waterfall and a widening of the river Glyme.
Two heavily-armed police officers passed us as we sat for a break, followed a few minutes later by a luxury bus, two blacked-out Range Rovers and a blacked-out Jaguar in convoy. A little investigation online revealed the owner of Glympton Park as Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the nephew to King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and long-time Saudi ambassador to the US. As we continued through the park, past a car-park full of expensive cars with personalised number plates and a couple of Arab gentlemen in suits, the wealth involved became more apparent as resplendent buildings and gardens revealed themselves, along with more cameras and some anti-terrorism devices like retractable bollards. It was all quite intimidating if I'm honest, particularly the presence of two coppers with automatic rifles. I think that's the first time I've seen guns on my walks, anyway.
We passed the pretty gatehouse and perfectly-manicured globular hedges that surrounded it, crossed the road and spent a few kilometres in the dappled shade of woods before turning east onto the road for a stretch, then across country on the margin of a field with hedgerows and thin wood blocking our view down into the valley. At one point it opened out and we hopped over a fence to sit for ten minutes to enjoy the view of the lake with the village of Wootton in the distance. We passed the outskirts of the village and entered the Wootton Jubilee Fields and Long Meadow Nature Reserve that follows the Darn and Glyme for a fair stretch. We stopped for lunch here at a beautiful, quiet and relaxing spot right next to the babbling river, surrounded by cowslips and cuckooflower. A good half-mile of track, then another of wooded path and another of road carried us back to the car and a feeling of satisfaction having made the most of the sunshine.
