One thing I remember from trips to the UK when I was younger is looking down from the aeroplane to the land below and seeing the stark contrast of colours between my host country and my passport country. The Spanish ground below me always looked yellow and brown, as the summer heat had dried the earth, but as we travelled North, and began circling over our British destination, coming down to land in a new country, the fields below were all sorts of shades of deep, lush green.
This beautiful colour was, of course, only possible because England is a country where it rains a lot. Even the summer months are splashed in showers and while I greatly appreciated escaping the Spanish 40ºC heat, sitting on the beach in a downpour was never my favourite idea of fun.
Summer this year in the UK was beautiful, however. I stayed far from the beach this time but enjoyed plenty of country walks under blue skies and surrounded by many shades of green.
Westonbirt Arboretum is a bit of a favourite. We have visited many times over the years and it’s always different, changing with the seasons, meaning there is always something new to see and experience.
The novelty this year was the Treetop Walkway, taking you into the canopy of leaves and exploring fun facts about the different trees along the way. As always, it was fascinating to see all the different types of plants, leaves, bark,… It was a lovely warm day to just wander around and then enjoy a tea and ice-cream at the cafe and have a nosey around the shop. We enjoyed a good picnic, too, and made the most of the wonderful sunny weather.
Another enjoyable outing was the day spent in Bradford-Upon-Avon. From the Tithe Barn to the Avoncliff aqueduct, the walk along the Kennet and Avon canal was a great chance to enjoy the sunny weather, the great company and a bit of nature.
We also explored the country lanes near the oddly named village of Slaughterford. There were hundreds of wild flowers across the field and along the river bank. We enjoyed a leisurely walk one afternoon and had a bit of a trip down memory lane while we were at it.
There are plenty of amazing walks in Spain, also, and I’ll be sure to talk about them one day. Walking in the English countryside, however, was one aspect of this summer trip that I enjoyed a lot because it is something I get to do more when on holiday in the UK.
What are some of your favourite places to wander?
The Spanish Berry 