Autumn Changes

Walking past horses in a field near Downe.  30 September 2011.

This walk, on 30th September, was the last one to be led by Bromley Countryside Services. Their funding has been cut and no more walks or events are planned.

It was placed in the schedule by Ewa Prokop, but as Ewa left some while ago it was actually led by Jenny Price, who used to be the liaison for Jubilee Countryside Park. Jenny didn't know what Ewa had planned, beyond the hints given by the title and the starting point, so she took us around part of the Cudham Circular Walk.

It was hot and sunny, and the countryside was beautiful. I had been around much of this route before, not all at the same time but on various walks in the area, but some of it was new to me. There were some very steep hills ..

At one point we walked through the village of Downe, home of Charles Darwin, and along the path towards Downe Bank, the same path I took earlier with the Orpington Field Club. Two familiar horses were in the field to the right. The foal has grown well. We passed quite close to them, and they were much smaller than I had thought in June when I saw them at a distance.

Of course, there were many signs of Autumn to justify the title of the walk. I have shown several photos of fruits and berries here, and there are more to come. The image below is of Old Man's Beard, the wild hedgerow clematis. I showed clematis flowers in September; then, the plant deserved its other common name of Traveller's Joy.

Old Man's Beard, Clematis vitalba.  Near Cudham, 30 September 3011.