Wednesday, December 20, 2006

The country life…

The local Westcott History group has done some investigation on the little village of Westcott that we now inhabit and reveals that it was mentioned in the Domesday Book. The sign on the green has a small thatched dovecote upon it with the letters of the compass above (though the N has been replaced with a T to spell out WEST of Westcott).

The village sits in an Area of Natural Beauty at the foot of the North Surrey Downs by Ranmore Common which is criss-crossed by many footpaths and walkways including the Pilgrim’s Way that runs all the way down to Canterbury. A path runs passed our front door and down to where it crosses Pipps Brook before climbing up towards the common.

We are in the lovely named Mole Valley District (named after the river that is so called for its habit of disappearing into the ground to emerge elsewhere), and near to the old market town of Dorking (why does everyone snigger at the name?)

Dotted around the countryside are many fine pubs and picturesque villages and just over the ridge of the Downs is the UKs largest vineyard, Denbies, who make some very fine wines.

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