I had the pleasure of a stroll across a pretty part of Berkshire from Caversham to Pangbourne. The sun was out that day and it was perfect for a walk.
The little village of Caversham, which stands by the Thames, now pressed against the sides of the spreading Reading, is still filled with pubs and houses as English in style and build as to be found anywhere. The two are separated by a reinforced concrete bridge with the main arch spanning 60 yards; it was the longest of its kind in England when built in 1923.
On a now long gone 13th century wooden bridge, the Royalist defenders of Caversham were defeated by Roundheads, and on the island between the bridges, Robert de Montfort duelled with Henry de Essex in the presence of Henry the second. Essex had been accused of cowardice in throwing away the Royal standard in Wales, and his life was spared on the understanding that he would become a monk of Reading Abbey.
The town is filled with old buildings, their roofs sagging gently along the peak, adding a rustic, fairy tale charm not found anywhere but England. By the river are the gardens of old Caversham Court, long gone now, and the little Tudor summerhouse is covered with climbing plants, it is one of the oldest in England. Above it is St Peters, in use for over 800 years, with its Norman doorway and Saxon font of Purbeck marble.
Various paths and backroads make for pleasant walking from there to Pangbourne, the village where Kenneth Graham, beloved author of The Wind in the Willows, came to live after losing his only child in an accident in Oxford.
The walk takes you past large houses, on a pleasant road, with glimpses of the Thames between. After this is the countryside, those pleasant rolling hills to one side, and the gentle waters of the river on the other. Hedgerows abound with their jumble of plants and flowers, fields of hay and grain stretching over the hills. Farm buildings dot the way, including an old shed with golden moss coating one side of the roof, the other much sparser spread, showing the red tiles; and arrow slots at the end. We walked past a whitewashed cottage, fresh and glowing in the sunlight. And a huge mansion, standing high above the flat land before the river, now an empty wedding venue, but one can imaging the life and splendour such a place would have had in times past.
Pink and blue hedgerow flowers speckled the long green grass of the ditches, as we passed the halfway point between the two towns, and large sprays of Queen Anne’s lace spread above them like a fan. One passes through forest, leaves blotting out the sun, and passing through a field of cows, with lush grass broken up by the intense yellow of buttercups. A farm of alpacas supplies amusement, as those creatures are quite funny with their long necks and big heads.
Pangbourne is under and surrounded by trees. We go into the town across a toll bridge. We humans go free, but a sign up on a nearby house walls indicates the old prices for all, including horses and carts, to use the bridge.
The town is lovely and calm, the spirit of old England remains. Roses climb up walls, no cars can be heard, and the Greyhound is filled with happy locals. This town has more famous people than just Kenneth Graham. Thomas Moreton, who wrote Speed the Plough, a play that is a melodrama with a happy idea, and, after being produced in 1798, caught popular favour. A character referenced in the play Mrs Grundy, became a symbol of our national idea of propriety. Thomas’s son John Maddison Moreton, born in this town in 1811, shared his fathers fecundity as a dramatic author and is remember for his imperishable favourite Box and Cox, which, set to music as Cox and box by Sullivan, is as popular as ever with amateur dramatic societies nearly a century after it was written.
Thus concludes my ramble across the countryside, and I must say, the countryside fills the soul with peace. It really is worth saving.
Call of the Shield Maiden is the Editor in Chief at the Corncrake. An online magazine which publishes stories which reflect on the tradition and histories of England. You can also find her on X at @Maiden_Calls.
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