After a few days with Steph we moved on to spend the weekend at a campsite on a farm called The Leen just outside Pembridge. We had planned to satay here last year, however they had cancelled due to waterlogged pitches. Now we had the opportunity to use our credit and explore the area.
During the afternoon we had chatted to one of the farmers about the local food situation and he recommended the New Inn in Pembridge (the closest village), and looking at the map there was a footpath (almost) direct from the campsite. The only problems being the large herds of cows on the farm (luckily not I the fields we would cross) and the situation of Sue's knee after here replacement op at the end of January. However she was game to see how it would go and we could always come back via the roads.
From the campsite - we followed the farm track over the river arrow and then seeing the (barely) marked path crossed a field we stayed on the farm track down to the dismantled railway - also a farm track. However we had to cross a couple of very shoddy stiles to access a grass field and then walk along the side of it on a barely recognisable path into the next field where we could see that no one used the marked path and the obvious route was through a gate and straight over. Then picking up the driveway to the cottages at Byletts
A better marked path crossed a field with some sheep and several cows then crossed to the edge of the village and along the A44.
the village had a large number of very old buildings on each side of the road.
Just past the school we saw the New inn ... in fact it was a very old inn - with the same black and white construction as most of the village.
After dinner we returned via the road - the ground was too uncertain for Sue to manage after a couple of pints. At the junction of roads where it also crossed the old railway line route the end cottage had a signal post in its garden. Then along to the farm and our van parked up. As opposed to last year's might hikes the summer skies were clear and we had daylight for both journeys.
