Hankley Common

Easter outing? Yes we went to see a slab of concrete. It's not in the sightseeing guide books, but the Atlantic Wall on Hankley Common, Surrey, was worth the trip. It was built by Canadian troops in 1943 to practice assault tactics ahead of D-Day in 1944.

Only concrete, I know, but when I touch it, it's rather like putting a stylus in a record groove, connecting with the past, recalling khaki-clad men, crawling, jumping, shouting, storing thoughts and fears of the battle to come. Some would not survive to see their homes again.

The 100m-long wall was breached at one point by an explosion set off by one of Hobart's Funnies - tank adaptions and specialist devices created to assist the invasion. At the time this military area would have been top secret but today it's popular as a film location. A scene from Skyfall was filmed here when James Bond's ancestral home was blown up. Pippa sat on one of the tank traps.

We had lunch in the Barley Mow, Tilford, a pub since 1763 although the house is older. A former landlord, Silver Billy, was a celebrated cricketer whose portrait hangs in the Long Room at Lords cricket ground. A few yards from the pub is the Tilford Oak, thought to be around 800 years old. William Cobbett described it as the finest tree in England. Not any more. It's in a sorry state today, held together by sheets of steel.

I've often wondered why heather-covered heathland like this doesn't support grouse. Perhaps a birdy blipper will tell me.

This time last year I see I was in Scarborough and the sun was shining, quite warm too. A lot colder today. Happy Easter one and all.