Gorgeous guineas

Spent a very busy morning being a word machine, then took a break for a few hours to spend time with a chum. We escaped to a favourite spot, the glorious Darenth Valley in Kent. We had a walk in the sunshine around the flinty ruins of Eynsford Castle, then drove to well preserved Lullingstone Castle on the other side of the village hoping to see the World Garden, but we'd picked the wrong day. So instead we visited the nearby Roman Villa and enjoyed looking at its famous mosaics.

Then back into Eynsford, and over the humpback bridge past the ford, to a favourite pub for a late lunch. Munching the grass in the pub grounds was a tiny pony scarcely bigger than a German Shepherd dog. We would have petted him, but a sign warned that he was prone to biting. So we were entertained instead by these little fellows, who were among about 20 squeaky guinea pigs in a big enclosure of brushwood, foliage, old terracotta pipes and under-shed burrows where they seemed to be having a great time. So did we.