Enjoying the countryside

Yesterday we decided the weather looked good and we would go "Off Roading". Packed lunches ready we set off about 9am. Our starting point was a few miles away using a map from a magazine.
It is amazing the difference when you travel along main roads the hustle and bustle of traffic and the noise and pollution, is then quickly followed by peace and quiet along the beautiful  lanes of Northamptonshire.

Entering the first of 20 gates that I [or sometime Chris] opened.

Occasionally we meet horse riders and always stop turn off the engine to let them pass on these narrow lanes, everyone smiles and greets us, occasionally asking about the Green Lane Society,  Chris has a big sticker on the front of his Land Rover, he hands them a leaflet.

These two horse riders waited to find out which way we were going so they could take a different track.
The countryside is there for us all to enjoy as long as we look after it.

The road map [ called tulip maps ] that we followed suggested a shop in one of the villages sold wonderful pork pies, Chris could not resist and I must say the slice I had, cut with his penknife, as we did not have cutlery with us! was delicious.

A typical tulip map. Number 21 meant a stop for pork pie, yummy.

See the legs in the front garden? You never know what you will come across when passing through little villages!

Standing room only for the sheep  taking a rest squashed in under the shade of tree

We found a nice wooded area to stop and eat lunch and watch the hundreds of butterflies everywhere, I have never seen so many.
The weather turned from warm to hot and the fields of wheat and barley etc. that we travelled through gave both of us terrible hayfever, Chris spent his time blowing his nose while I coughed so eventually around 2pm we abandoned our trip and headed for home. In any case it was the semi-finals of Wimbledon, where sadly Andy Murray got knocked out.