St Neot

Sunday was the best day for walking for a long time: bright and sunny, although not too hot and it was the first time this year that we felt able to wear shorts!

We began at the car park near Golitha Falls and followed narrow country lanes to reach the village of St Neot just over an hout later. The church stands alongside the busy London Inn - once an important staging post for the coaches (horse drawn, of course) to and from London. Inside the church, the famous stained glass windows are immediately apparent and most impressive.

Outside, a dead branch can be seen hanging over the top of the tower. This is replaced every May in a commemoration of the Civil War when this village remained loyal to the King.

After lunch in the churchyard, we continued along the partly way marked Two Valleys Walk. After some further lanes we struck out across open moorland for much of the remainder of our walk, leaving the way marked walk perhaps an hour later. One stretc h we had to navigate from the map as indications on the ground were scant, but we arrived at the road through the valley from Jaimaica Inn on target.

A unexpected tea room faced us as we reached the road - a temptation that could not be passed by! It was very pleasant indeed, sitting in the riversode garden, soaking up the sunshine so that we stayed rather longer than we should!

Off again and the next landmark was Siblyback Lake, a reservoir, where we passed the foot of the dam before climbing up to a footpath at the the level of the top of the dam. The reservoir, after all the rainfall, was at least full - unusual for this time of the year!

From there is was back across to the lake's access road - a route that took us along an old road/track, rather over grown but with the thickest swarm of midges we have ever seen (even in Scotland). Finally, back to the car park along futher footpaths. Only one church this week.