The Ham Nomads

19 Sep 2014. <GB-ENG> Forest of Dean, & Kempley, Glos —

Today we woke up in the Forest of Dean. The night had started off in an eerie silence, but then it started to rain. Because we were parked under a tree, the droplets falling from the leaves fell a bit harder than simple raindrops. Warren slept through it all — as usual — but Susie wasn't overly pleased. But after all, it was all her fault — she was the one who suggested washing the van yesterday!

Boars' work!

After breakfast, we went for a walk through the forest. It was misty, almost gloomy — Autumn has arrived. As we were walking, we met a lady walking her greyhound and asked her what was ahead of us. She suggested a slightly different path, and changed her own path to guide us part of the way. We love the locals — they are such wonderful hosts. We walked through the forest, and all of a sudden came upon a stained glass window! A real stained glass window, hanging from a wooden cross-beam, and representing the Forest of Dean, with a swallow flying through the top of it and a sheep in the bottom — although, from our experience, it should have been a robin — we've been visited by so many robins here! — and a deer or a wild boar, both of which are common in the forest. They don't mind the boars, which root through the bracken (which is here almost a weed), digging it up. On our walk we found substantial evidence of the boars doing just that last night!

Another part of the wildlife here is the ramblers. While we were out walking, it seems that they were busing in groups of teenagers who looked as if they were on some sort of orienteering exercise. Whatever it was, they were having a load of fun!

Apse

Chancel

Saints in Chancel

Anyway, we got back to the van, and then went off to the Sainsbury's near Cheltenham for a major (4-day) shop. We had lunch in the carpark, then set off — at about 3pm — for St Mary's Church in Kempley. This is a lovely old Anglo-Norman church built in about 1130. In 1872 the vicar, the Rev. Arthur Drummond, noticed signs of colour coming through the whitewashed interior walls. The whitewash was very carefully removed, to reveal medieval frescoes in remarkable condition. They were coated with shellac to protect them. In the next century the shellac darkened, once again obscuring the paintings. Fortunately, this shellac was of a type regularly removed in the conservation of artworks, so after its removal, the frescoes are once again in remarkable condition.

We spent over an hour at the church — it runs on an honour system, with postcards and brochures readily available, with the simple request that you put the suggested price into the box if you take one.

We then went back to a layby we noticed off the A417, near Dyke House Lane, where we will sleep until tomorrow — to the sounds of robins chirruping away!

Distance driven — today, 51 miles ( 82 km ); to date, 7,783 miles ( 12,526 km )