Panshanger - Walk to Orangery

 Another warm sunny day with a refreshing breeze. Our second visit to Panshanger and we decided to take the northern bridleway and to walk around the northern perimeter. 

We gorged on plump blackberries growing in abundance along the paths.

Then we followed the path southward to the ruins of the great house.  

A photograph on the ruins' surrounding fence showed what it had been.

But the view south, landscaped by Humphrey Repton was still there with the Mimram widened.

A bit further on through the trees we saw the remains of the Orangery

and then the Great Oak

and then we walked down to the rivers and lakes, through a field of English Longhorn cattle.

Walk South of Nickey Line

A new walk heading south from the Nickey Line at Redbourn and across the B487.

Kimpton to Whitwell

Pleasant walk across barley and sugar beet fields from Kimpton to Whitwell on Thursday.

As we neared Kimpton there were a few clumps of poppies.

On our way back the sun came out. The foot path ahead isn't the clearly defined tractor lines, but the faint dark line going diagonally up hill left to right which crosses the tractor tracks. 

Hoo Estate Bridge

This attractive round-arched bridge was built over the River Mimram  by Sir William Chambers around 1764 and restored in 2015.

Capability Brown landscaped the gardens, diverting and damming the Mimram to make a lake. 

But the river no longer flows under the bridge. A pipe carries it under the road a short way away.

Another good walk from Kimpton on footpaths and bridle ways over Hoo Estate.

Helicopter Again in Barley Crop

Threatening rain, we risked a short walk down to Beech Bottom dyke. Along the way gorged on wild cherries. 

Walking along Soot Spring Wood we saw the Westland SA-341 Gazelle YU-HEY helicopter again. By now the barley is almost ripe. 

The farmer had cut out a landing rectangle and a path to the edge of the crop. Presumably the helicopter's owner has business in Porter Wood industrial estate.

It started raining as we got back home.

Raspberries

Walking on footpaths across Hoo Estate near Kimpton we came across a clump of wild raspberries. They were lovely.

Burst Pipe Above Living Room

A drop of water on my head while watching TV on Thursday night was the first notification of a burst pipe. On Saturday a plumber arrived. 

By then the ceiling was bowed with the weight of water. The plumber made a small hole and bucket after bucket poured down.

He then had to make a larger hole to find where the hole was. It was where the pipe went through a joist and needed fixing from above. He says it's a pipe to the radiator and drains them all.
We go without hot water or heating till the pipe is repaired

Another plumber will mend the pipe on Wednesday. But the pipe kept dripping every 3 seconds.

The Saturday plumber mended the pipe; it was the hot water, not radiator, pipe. 

Now we are waiting for a quote to fix the living room ceiling