Kennedy Memorial

We have made the most of today and the break in the weather. We began early as Parkrun tourists at Frimley Green, just south of where we are staying. The course was more cross country than Lister Park, and very muddy, so I was pleased to stay under the thirty minutes... just!

From there we drove to RHS Wisley for a cuppa and a look around the plant shop and then we moved on to Runnymede. This is the site on which the Magna Carta was agreed in 1215. The Magna Carta set the foundations of civil liberty and has since informed constitutions around the world. The site is managed by the National Trust and it is also the home of memorials to President Kennedy and the Commonwealth airmen and women who lost their lives in the Second World War. We had a very wet walk around all of the sites and spent some time at each. I was surprised that the Magna Carta Memorial was actually erected by the American Bar Association in 1957 and members have made several visits since. I was also taken aback by the memorial to the airmen and women. I guess the walls of names always bring home the extent of loss but I was moved most by the personal stories of airmen which were remembered through photos and flowers and writings.

After visiting the Airforce Memorial we walked back through the water meadows alongside the Thames and had a last cuppa at the cafe in the Fairhaven Memorial Lodge, designed by Lutyens as a memorial to Sir Urban Broughton MP who brought Runnymede in 1928 to safeguard its future. More blips from our walk, and of the memorials, can be seen here!

It looks like we are going to get very wet and blown about at the orienteering tomorrow!