Doing the Lambourn Way Walk!

Today we went on a most marvellous walk along the Lambourn Valley Way in West Berkshire. Matthew, my friend and  former colleague, and a very keen walker, had planned the route. We first had to drive to Speen, just  west of Newbury where we left our cars and at 9am  caught a bus to Lambourn village, from where we walked back to Speen, a distance of about 13 miles.
It is an area known in the past for sheep raising  (hence the name Lambourn meaning river for washing lambs) but later came to be  known for  training  race horses. It is now also known  as "the Valley of the Racehorse". We did see a few fine horses along the  route, as well as sheep and cattle. 
The Lambourn Valley Way follows both the River Lambourn, a chalk stream, and  the track of a long gone railway. Matthew also took us over the downs  and across  common land. Today, there was not much water in the  river, especially at the start of the walk, presumably due  to lack of rain over the past year.
The second extra shows the Old Forge at Eastbury, the first village we came to. On the door you can see ten shoes which belonged to famous racehorses, including Red April, Battleship, and Mr Frisk.        
The main and first extra show houses we came  across in the next village of East Garston. The main is of Cornbaggers. I was fascinated by the window set high in the thatched roof, resembling  an eye. 
The extra is of a house called, simply, Old Cottage. If you look carefully, you can see a fox chasing a hare across the thatched roof.The other four in my party seem to have spotted them too!  
We came across a thatcher  at work on a large barn in Eastbury (see fourth extra). He had  been working  on the roof for a couple of months already and was now on the last quarter. He was happy to answer our questions and we discovered that the local straw, that must be used in this area, lasts about 25 years, whereas  water reed used in East Anglia lasts twice as long. The roof he is  working on will cost the owner about  £50,000 to renew. The thatcher said he was  actually replacing his own work, (carried out 25 years ago)  but last time he had had to replace some of the  wooden roof supports too.
He said that a thatched roof on a house is good for keeping the interior cool in summer, and warm in winter.    
We stopped for lunch at the pub in Great Shefford, before  continuing through  Weston and Welford Park (known for its snowdrops and as a  venue  for "Bake Off" tv programme). The third extra shows the view across  the common as we approached Bagnor and the  final mile to Speen, arriving there at about 5pm..
Were we tired when  we got home?! But, as the saying goes , "No pain, no gain".