S. Worthen | Weblog

My morning featured a totally unanticipated trip to Harlow. Thus, in effect, I spent the morning touring the Essex countryside (with a bit of Hertfordshire thrown in), first by taxi and then by bus. The fields of rapeseed were vibrant yellow, in full bloom under blue skies, contrasting with the rich green of the gently wandering hills. The roads were scenicly winding as they skirted fields and villages, and nearly traffic-free. The banks of the road were heaped up with Queen Anne's Lace and the perfume, mostly of spring blossoms, wafted in through the open windows. Harlow itself seemed all weary concrete and new housing developments, interleaved with really great bicycle paths.

I saw the mounds of earth for the White Water Canoe Centre being built for the Olympics. It's right next to a charming glimpse of the Lee Valley canel. I saw small villages, new and old, all the way down to brief hamlets, such as Jack's Hatch. Best of all, I photographed the lovely Norman church of Waltham Abbey in passing, where Harold II is buried and through which the Prime Meridian runs. (Now I know how easy it is to get there, so can go back to see it properly.)