The Bank Holiday

We visited some old haunts over the last Bank-Holiday weekend, but by far the biggest treat for us was being able to spend time with both of our sons and their families - it felt as if the good old days were back. We walked the Hicca Way, a route that follows the River Hiz Valley in Hertfordshire. The name of the walk is taken from the Saxon Hicca Tribe who occupied the land around the river, at what is now Hitchin. Here King Offa of Mercia created an important religious settlement in 792AD.  When Danish invaders settled just north of the area the Saxons were forced to pay a regular 'Danegeld' tax to save their land from attack. The tax is thought to have been bread rather than silver.

There was an over-the-top profusion of buttercups in the meadows, everything was looking extremely lush, very green, and very golden. I do hope that this also bodes well for the farmers and their crops this year too. The air was filled with the scent of wild flowers along with bird songs and insect chirps. We even heard the iconic sound of our first Cuckoo this year and then watched as it flew across the meadows. When walking with our youngest son there are not many birds or bird songs that escape his attention.

Germander Speedwell - Veronica chamaedrys - with its clumps of bright blue flowers, Germander Speedwell is said to be a good luck charm for travellers.

Hawthorn blossom - May blossom - Crataegus monogyna - these bushes will have a bountiful crop of red berries which will hopefully help to fortify our hedgerow birds during the winter months. 

The River Hiz travels along for 10 more miles until it meets up with the River Ivel. The land it flows through is known as 'common land' where cows, sheep, and horses graze freely. 

This small tributary will eventually become part of the River Ouse which drains into the North Sea near Kings Lynn in Norfolk. 

Time for lunch - food with our sons and their families is always a tasty treat, and then we are heading off to somewhere that we have never visited before.