Castle Hill

This photograph was taken from Round Hill, one of the two Wittenham Clumps on the Sinodun Hills. The Wittenham Clumps get their name from the two clumps of beech trees which crown both hills. These are the oldest known planted hilltop beeches in England, dating back over 300 years. You see here the ancient beech trees on Castle Hill, where there is a hillfort. The earliest earthworks date to the late Bronze Age. More banks and ditches were added during the early Iron Age.

On this hot but hazy afternoon, it seemed like late summer. It was idyllic walking through the wildflower meadows of the grasslands that surround the Clumps, and that you can see in the foreground of the photograph.

Beyond the circle of trees and in the low-lying land lie the river Thames and Dorchester, with its abbey, and then in the distance are the Chiltern Hills. We are on a rare bit of high ground in the otherwise flat surroundings. It's a fine place to walk, and sit in the cool breeze, and stare at the peaceful scene and the spectacular panoramic views of the Oxfordshire countryside.

This place is near Didcot, known especially for its important railway junction and a neighbouring heritage railway station (steam trains running today!), as well as for its large power station. But we were in Didcot in the morning to join in the birthday party for a three-year old, the son of one of my former graduate students. We had eaten far to many delicious cakes produced by my colleague's German mother and Ukrainian wife. After good German meats and cheeses, the cakes were not exactly a slimming addition. It was thoughts of the effects of the cakes that was the inspiration of our walk to the Clumps!

We'll end with a further cake story, related serendipitously to the Railway Centre, where there is a steam engine that purports to be Thomas the Tank Engine. The birthday-boy is, we were told, obsessed by Thomas, and his mother had baked a birthday cake in the form of Thomas. The engine, beneath its icing, is of chocolate cake, and in principle was for the children, while the base is an unctuous honey and almond-based concoction for the adults. Here is the birthday boy, with his Dad holding the cake.

We surely needed that walk!