It's all coming back to us now! You can't let a little breeze put you off when the sun's out and green hills are calling.

Last Saturday (April 18) we looked out from our Tewkesbury town centre windows at one of the few visible trees and decided that the breeze that was thrashing it about a bit would probably be a howling gale on top of Bredon Hill.
Then we changed our minds.
Thing is, gale or no gale, you have to grab your chances to get out in the countryside before the next grey cloud obscures the sun, and yet another shower keeps you stuck indoors.
English weather has a terrible reputation worldwide, never mind among the stoic Brits who have to live with it, but one good thing about it is that the dreary wet days teach you to really appreciate the bright and sunny ones.
So we set off back to Elmley Castle, hoping that we'd walk a little further up Bredon Hill than we did last time, then get a look inside the village pub.
Things did not go entirely according to plan, but when we grab our poles and hit the trail, we're not big on sticking with rigid goals (it's enough just to be out there amid the bird-song, the trees and the sound of bleating lambs).
Elmley Castle is a gorgeous little village, with a population of about 500, many of whom live in thatched Tudor cottages with streams burbling past the front gate and gardens filled with flowers.

 Google's satellite shot of the Bredon Hill terrain is a

helpful guide, and the red line shows how to get to Parson's

Tower at the 960ft summit if that is your heart's desire.

It's marked here with an icon on the far left.

 As you drive into the village of Elmley Castle, you'll

see the church in the distance to the left, and the Queen

Elizabeth pub is on your right.  Shame that the grand old

sign depicting QE1 in all her Tudor glory has been

replaced with a giant Q, a modern touch that might

match the revamped interior of the tavern but looks

all wrong on the pole outside.  Turn right past the pub

and you're on your way.

You'll see some lovely old Tudor cottages in the first

hundred yards or so.  Look for the field and the gate past

the last house on your left.

 Hard to miss the gate on the far side of the field because

you're drawn to it by the magnificent pair of cottages,

with a roof that reassures us that the art of thatching isn't

dead yet.  It's wonderful that home-owners with a special

property to care for do just that, preserving history while

providing beauty for passers-by to appreciate.

There's plenty more to look at as you plod on up the hill in

search of wide open space and an end to the tarmac!  Here's

what you will see at the point where the road turns in to

a track and cars can go no further.

 Bluebells!  Last time, this track was a bit of a muddy mess

and wild flowers were just starting to colour the embankment.

The camera on our phone does a fairly decent job of picking

them out.

 Up next is a choice between two paths, not including the

tractor highway that goes from left to right above.  Straight

on takes you up and round to the right to a large open field

that's filled with ewes and lambs at this time of year.

The less-worn track to the left past the pole is a short-cut

to the spot where you'll end up either way, just shy

of a lovely thick wood that for some reason is not named

on the Google aerial photo but is identified as Long

Plantation on map OS190.

Along our way, we encountered a pair of little bleaters

relaxing in the shade while their mum filled her belly

with grass nearby to keep up her milk supply.

Panic! Mama called just once and the wanderers

rushed to her side.

What a relief!

At the top of the rise, you'll come to two gates, and you

will take the one on the left unless you're planning to

rustle sheep.  Stay to the left through the gate, and

follow the path through another gate and round to

the left to Long Plantation (on the skyline in the next shot).

Here's the reason we did not get as far as we intended on

Saturday's walk.  His name's Dodger, he's five, and he's a

perfect gentleman, as well-behaved as he is handsome.

He's an Australian somethingorother, although to us he

looks a lot like the collie-Alsatian cross that wandered

into our garden in California during a cloudburst, and

never left.  We alerted the local dog-pound and plastered

notices throughout the neighbourhood, but no owner ever

came forward.  Thank goodness!

Dodger presented me with a stick to throw while Jenny

and his owner, Lisa, got acquainted, and an hour or so

later we (Jen and I) headed home while Lisa and her best

pal went off through the woods.  Hopefully, we'll bump

into them again one day...

Take the gate on the left to stroll through the long wood,

or go right and stay right to wend your way to Parson's Tower

or Folly and the 960ft summit of Bredon Hill.  In

Nevada and Northern California, we'd hike trails as high

as almost 10,000ft most summer and autumn weekends,

and I promise you, the scenery was no more beautiful than

the vistas you can see from this hilltop.

Not sure if these are the runaway lambs we met before

(we were not formally introduced) but it was feeding

time for this set of twins and they were too busy to

notice us.  The way those little tails wriggle like

eels on speed when lambs are suckling is one of

the great sights of springtime!

Gorgeous!  No haze today, thanks to the breeze that almost

kept us at home.  The Malverns are grand, to be sure,

but Bredon Hill is a lot closer to Tewkesbury and

we're in love with it already.

Perwinkles, we think.  They are all over the place,

and we're very grateful.

The view as you head back to Elmley Castle's village

square.  First time, I'd left my wallet at home so

couldn't sample a pint, as had become my custom on

walks and bike rides.  Last weekend, I came properly equipped

and enjoyed the pub and the staff very much.  Pity about

that sore-thumb sign outside, though!

Come back soon!