Living Country

Perhaps we have had sufficient waterscapes for a while, that a trip into the Test Valley countryside leads me to explore the wide open views across the hills and the valley.
Today we are no more than a mile or two from the mill scene we explored at the weekend, and discover an altogether different landscape, though none the less enchanting.
From the centre of the village of Lockerley you need take Mount Lane and wind through the very narrow lane till you reach Mount Pleasant Farm, and you’ll discover the Hampshire countryside living up to the name of the farm — it is indescribably pleasant from the crest of the hill, or at the mount.
That is because of the view which unfolds across the valley; the moment that rural charm unfolds at its best.  But then, the sun was shining, it was an almost cloudless sky, and there was nothing to disturb the serenity of the moment.
Whenever I move around the country or in nearby mainland Europe, even further afield, I delight in taking in the history and particular scenic moments from wherever I may be.  Yet somehow there is never anywhere like home, or the particular fascination of  the places I know best.
And to me it is landscapes like this  that are the epitome of Hampshire. And make it home