Meadows of Clover

1 Oct 2023

We’re staying with some friends who moved to Kennington, England, a village outside Oxford. I think Harry Potter used to live here.

We went to a baptism this morning and I ventured out myself in the afternoon. I walked around the village cemetery, St. Swithun, which had only fairly recent markers (it was established as a civil parish in 1936), then the Sandford lock and weir. From there I found the Thames foot path and further along walked a mile or so on a country lane. In two hours I walked over five and a half miles.

I realized that my walking makes no more sense than golfing, which I’ve disparaged. (apologies to any golfers reading this: I’m repenting today.) Long-distance walking is not productive, except as healthful exercise. Golf can also be healthful, if one walks the course. But just as golf enthusiasts I know can be obsessed with pushing a little pock-marked ball around a large field, I’m obsessed with mileage.

I don’t particularly enjoy hiking in the woods and positively would not enjoy wilderness hiking without a knowledgeable guide. I once got lost in Lower Vinebrook conservation land in Lexington. Seriously lost in an area that was probably much less than a half square mile in area.

As you can see from the map, it’s not large. It was a Sunday morning about twenty years ago and as bishop Jim would be at church all day. I felt like calling 911, but decided I’d rather die in the wilderness. I prefer well-defined paths. Urban hiking is my forte.

The Thames foot path has a great advantage: as it meanders alongside the river it is clear where you are. I didn’t have my hosts’ cell phone numbers and Jim and I both have our phones on ‘airplane mode’ to avoid accidentally incurring the $10 travel fee our carrier charges. So there was no way to let him know if I needed help.

Along the way I found a large field of purple clover, more than I’ve ever seen.

It reminded me of the old children’s song, “I often go walking in meadows of clover; and I gather armfuls of blossoms of blue.”). Delightful.

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