The Country Walk

For our country walk, we took a train out to Kent and were lead on a walk by Bro Chiddick and two of his brothers. Kent is an area to the southeast of London, often referred to as “The Garden of England.” It received this title because of the many orchards and hop farms in the area.

Throughout our walk we used the many public footpaths found throughout England. These footpaths are available because legislation was passed that stated that if a farmer did not provide a footpath on his property, that people could just walk through his fields. On our walk we got to see a hop farm, part of what Kent is famous for. Hops are a small flowering plant that are used as a culinary stabilizer and flavoring. It is most often used in the brewing of beer. Bro Chiddick explained that during the summer holiday, many families would leave the city and spend the summer in the country. Often they would work on hop farms. This way they could make some money and they got housing for working on the farm.

The walk was really beautiful. Every time we leave London and go out into the country I am always amazed at how green and beautiful the country is. I love the rolling hills, the beautiful trees, and the old run down fences around the fields. When we went on the walk the colors were beginning to change to the beautiful reds and yellows of fall.

During our walk we saw an Anderson shelter. These were used during World War II during bombings. Rooms were dug into the ground and covered by a dome. People would retreat to these shelters during bombings. They didn’t actually protect from bombs, but they protected from shrapnel which was a huge danger. Bro. Chiddick told us a little bit about growing up during World War II.

During our walk it started to pour down rain. We got a taste of some real British weather! And we got to go on a little trail-blazing adventure. Bro. Chiddick took us a different way than they normally go and we ended up stomping through the woods in the rain. It was a lot of fun though and I know all the girls enjoyed it.