We began our day with a continental breakfast at our hotel in Farnham, the Bishop’s Table. We were going to attend morning Mass at St. Joan of Arc Church, but the 11am Mass time seemed too late, so we decided to listen to the Blackfriars of Oxford Mass and then head out onto the trail.
(1) Left: Starting the day at the breakfast table. (2) Right: Which way? This way!
We began our hike, transitioning from “St. Swithun’s Way” to the “Pilgrims' Way”, the trail plotted by the British Pilgrimage Trust. This trail sometimes overlaps with the “North Downs Way”, a UK National trail, and we are walking on this overlapping trail for today's segment of our journey. Of course, it started to rain!
(1) Left: A helpful sign points us towards the North Downs Way. (2) Ponchos on for rain!
We made our way to the town of Seale, where we stopped for an early lunch (or perhaps was it elevensies?) at Manor Farm Tea Room, a quintessentially British tea room in a converted barn. Outside the tea room we saw a red phone box kiosk, the iconic symbol of Great Britain. While about half of these phone boxes in the UK have been removed due to cell phone usage, the remaining ones are still active, especially for emergency use. Others have been repurposed as mini library book exchanges, art galleries, and …
...as defibrillator access boxes! Luckily no one here is in vfib.
The friendly staff of the tea room made us feel comfortable as we ate potato leek soup and sourdough bread (Frans), a club sandwich and crisps (Harry), American pancakes (Leslieann), and a caramelized onion quiche (Lisa). The highlight of the meal was the waitress showing Frans how to construct a scone in the “Cornish Way”: strawberry marmalade topped with clotted cream. Amazingly good! As we were leaving, we chatted with a lovely couple who were so excited to hear of our pilgrimage.
(1) Left: Manor Farm Tea Room in Seale. (2) Right: Cornish scone. An old rivalry exists between Cornwall and Devon when it comes to scones: The Cornish layer jam then cream, while the Devonians do the reverse (cream then jam).
We stopped by St. Lawrence Church in Seale, but couldn’t obtain a pilgrimage stamp due to a funeral. The Church was established in the 12th century, and the bell tower houses a peal of six bells.
From left: (1) Approaching St. Lawrence Church, Seale. (2) Interior of church. (3) St. Lawrence's bulletin board. Find the mouse!
We walked on (still raining) about two miles to the lovely town of Puttenham. Along the way, we passed by the Hampton Estate Farms, 2250 acres of rich and diverse natural habitats. The farm sells a variety of natural products and also grows hops plants. They specialize in just one variety, the traditional Fuggle hops, which is revered by brewers throughout the country. They also rent out wonderful rustic event spaces.
Hampton Estate Farms Hops Gardens, Seale.
Continuing on in Puttenham, we visited St. John the Baptist Church, which stands at the top of the main street.
(1) Left: St. John the Baptist Church in Puttenham. (2) Right: Inside the church.
Inside the church gate is an old village well. For a long time, this well had been filled in and hidden from eyesight (last used in 1750). It was rediscovered on Palm Sunday in 1972. As parishioners were leaving a church service, they noticed that a cypress tree outside was sinking and disappearing into the ground -- it was sinking into the well beneath it.
Rediscovered village well, St. John the Baptist Church, Puttenham.
We passed by the Puttenham Golf Club, and we were never so happy to find a small hut at the 10th hole for snacks and the loo!
After Puttenham, we walked on to Compton, visiting the incredible and awe-inspiring Watts Cemetery Chapel – full of history and marvel! The chapel was designed and built by local artist Mary Fraser-Tytler, wife of Victorian-era painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts. The Chapel's style is influenced by a unique blend of Art Nouveau, Celtic, Romanesque, and Egyptian art movements. Constructed between 1896 and 1898, every village resident helped to decorate the chapel in some way. Mary Fraser-Tytler was a follower of the Home Arts and Industries Association, which encouraged social improvement through creative enlightenment.
Top row: (1) Left: Exterior of Watts Cemetery Chapel. (2) Right: Harry and Lisa hold guidebook photos of the chapel. Bottom row: (1) Left: Watts Cemetery. (2) Right: Mary Fraser-Tytler's burial site, Watts Cemetery.
The video below showcases a small bit of the chapel's magnificent interior. The richly pigmented earth tones create quite the vision:
It finally stopped raining as we trudged (yes, that is the correct word!) up and down hills until we arrived at Guildford.
Uphill to Guildford
We arrived at the beautiful St. Nicolas Church in Guildford and were dismayed to discovered that it was locked! The Holy Spirit intervened, though: the church secretary came running out and asked if we would like to see the inside of the church. We then spent twenty minutes inside chatting with her about the church's history, art, and architecture, and we happily gave her one of our chaplets in thanks. On an interesting note, the Anglican priest John Mason Neale began his parochial work at St. Nicolas as an assistant curate. He later wrote the Christmas hymn Good King Wenceslas.
From beginning of slideshow: (1) Exterior of St. Nicolas Church in Guildford. (2) Interior of church. (3) Intricate painted wall panel and baptismal font. (4) Icon of modern martyrs: Edith Stein, Oscar Romero, May Hayman, Lim Siong Teck, and Janani Luwum. (5) In the church with our guide!
Afterwards we walked through Guildford and saw a delightful bronze sculpture on High Street: the Surrey Scholar, created by Allan Sly. This larger-than-life figure is balanced on one foot and captured in the middle of an animated movement. He's almost ready to jump off his pedestal and rush to school!
The Surrey Scholar, Guildford.
Ending our day after 13.5 miles of walking, we stopped at Waitrose and Partners Grocery Store to purchase provisions for our made-in-apartment dinner tonight. We’ve all decided we are going to sleep soundly!
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