Max and Paul's Excellent Adventure

We were in awe the first time we walked the dog down our street. Picture postcard houses everywhere. This place was built in the 1500s and it's done well to stay up that long! All the vertical timbers are load-bearing rather than the decorative fascia boards you see in later-built places. How 'organic' is the level of that floor? A side view gives another perspective Outside is a well that's still usable. And the house next door The pussy cat in the window A lot of cottages were built to house the staff serving the owners of the Croxton Manor. A lot of these places still have their traditional thatched rooves which have a life expectancy of 30 years before the replacement of sections are required. 'Rose Cottage' 'Orchard Cottage' 'The Old Appleyard' 'Chef's Cottage' 'Honeysuckle Cottage' Downs Barn (Where we are) Off on a dog walk. A curious young bull in a field along the walk. And a close-up of his cousin Whatever Max was sa...

Our third house sit in a row finishes with a beautiful place in Croxton, Cambridgeshire which was not far from our previous sit. We had dinner with the owners that evening as they had to leave at 3.30am the next morning.  'Melody' is a 5-year-old rescue greyhound and is a timid specimen but we won her over fairly quickly. She has a wonderful nature and has been described by her owner as a '45mph couch potato' which, I must say, is an accurate description. The 5 bedroom converted barn is very comfortable and the entrance is quite impressive.    With plenty of natural light and a grand piano in the corner, who could want for more? The back of the house The backyard is not too shabby either. I'll be posting photos of the houses in the street we are on and the surrounding area in a separate post.

Max managed to get 3 dog sits back to back enabling us to travel directly from one sit to another. The only drawback is that we had to go back to London from Cricklade first before travelling on a train to the second of the sits in Cambridge. We had been to Cambridge before for a previous sit however this one is in the south in a very well-to-do area. Jon, whose house we were going to, picked us up from the train station in the run-around family car which, in Cambridge, is a Range Rover. It's the first time we have done a stay in a yard bigger than a postage stamp. This was a 1/3 of an acre and a beautiful garden to sit drink our morning coffee contemplate the day. We really enjoyed the company of the two dogs we were looking after. Monty and Blue.         As we complete a sit, we get a review from the pet owner which then goes on the dog-sitting site for other pet owners to see. So far, we have received perfect scores which make it easier to get 'better' sits. ...

Woohoo! Another stone circle to visit and what a beautiful day for it. This one is supposedly the largest in the world. Actually, it is called a 'henge' as it has a particular type of earthwork of the Neolithic period, typically consisting of a roughly circular or oval-shaped bank with an internal ditch. We were hoping to feel the same energy we felt at the circle in Cornwall but to be honest, it was not as strong. It didn't take us long to realise why as they, in their wisdom, put a road right through the middle of it. Sacrilege I say!  We, and others felt that the energy that flows from the earth's ley lines to the circles flow through the stones in a circular direction. Once the road was put through, it severely hampered the flow. We put aside our wonderment of how stupid our species can be at times and made the most of a very pretty area. You can wander onto farmland to see these stones up close. The farmers and National Trust just ask visitors to be responsible for...