Walking up 'Happy Valley', under The Heavens

John W. came round for coffee this morning with his Bedlington dog, Theo, and we discussed the options for repairing the felted roof of our garden cabin. His ideas seemed eminently suitable so once we'd sorted out a down the garden and out schedule it was time to go behind the house and out into the valleys of The Horns and the Heavens.

These are the names for the short steep valleys formed by two streams. The Lime Brook runs down the valley behind our house and we dropped down the steep footpath, crossed the stepping stones and ascended to the Weyhouse, or at least the ruins of that farm. This was sited beside the old 'Wey'  an ancient trackway that leads down from the flatter Cotswold hills, crosses the River Frome and climbs up through Butterow to the site of the old Iron Age camp.

From the Weyhouse we then walked up the  converging stream that runs down from the Heavens and has formed the short valley which Helena calls 'Happy Valley'. Although it is farmland it has been unofficially regarded as a public open space by everyone who lives on the east side of Stroud town. In the time we have lived here (in the house immediately beside the white house in the right background of the picture) I've watched the stream cutting down through the pasture and continuing the evolution of the valley.

John admired the view too. His home is on the far valley on the horizon just to the right of the picture in one of the other of Stroud's 'Five Valleys'. It was great to see the onset of autumnal colours and the fruits of the hedgerows whilst watching buzzards overhead. In John's case he was very pleased to bend down over the stream just in front of my vantage point where he spotted fairly unusual and tiny liverworts, which are one of his favourite things, especially when he puts them under his stereoscopic microscope.

Just for reference, I should add that yesterday's sighting of the otter in the River Frome was about a quarter of a mile to the left of where I took this picture from.