Quiet pastures and still waters...

Yesterday after church I was longing to "get out" - to go off into the countryside, explore something of our beautiful new region, and just to get out, into the open spaces and fields. I had given Dan a book for his birthday entitled "50 Walks in Gloucestershire", so I grabbed this up and more or less randomly picked a walk, virtually threw Abby and Alex into the car, and off we went, leaving Dan behind working on a paper...

The walk started at an ancient chapel called Odda's Chapel, which was built by the Saxon Earl, Odda, in 1056 AD (think Beowulf, or King Arthur) while shaggy haired English people were living in wood and mud walled thatched huts, and wearing roughly woven canvas and skins, and fighting each other in various kingdoms over the land. Odda's Chapel is one of only a handful of complete Saxon buildings left standing in England - many parts of Saxon buildings remain, incorporated into cathedrals, castles, and churches, but this stands complete as it was, with a medieval wing added onto one side.

Maybe what Saxons looked like...

After a while pretending to be Saxons, we set off on what turned out to be a beautiful walk along the wide River Severn, up through a valley, past a village and some farms and back again. It was a glowing crisp wintery afternoon, the very air a tonic to the soul. It was so peaceful. Abby and Alex romped ahead like a pair of dogs out for a run in the fields. 

It was just what I needed...

He makes me lie down in quiet pastures... he leads me beside the still waters... he restores my soul.