No cars!

The third successive sunny day! I walked through the village, then down the footpath from Cherry Gardens into the valley, heading towards North Elham, and would normally have struggled to decide on just one photo to share; but the Abbot's Fireside was an easy choice because it was an extremely rare opportunity to photograph it without any cars parked in front.

It's the oldest of Elham's old inns, built in 1451 as The Smithies Arms, and a number of fifteenth and sixteenth century features have survived, including a huge carved oak inglenook fireplace where King Charles II and a companion are said to have hidden from Roundheads during a clandestine visit to England prior to the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660. It's now a pub and restaurant with a few bedrooms, and seems to have become more popular with local people since the most recent change of hands and refurbishment.