Faringdon housesitting and White Horse Hill

White Horse Hill summit

We're in Longcot, near Faringdon in Oxfordshire looking after young Puck cat in a lovely house in the small village of Longcot, near Faringdon, Oxfordshire. 

Puck really is the cuddliest cat, he’s sprawled over my lap as I write. He might be getting in the way, but that’s irrelevant! He has his mad moments as he’s only young, leaping about and killing things. Teddy found himself thrown up into the air before being given a good kicking.... I’d just messaged Victoria to ask if he’d ever fallen in the pond, (Puck, not Teddy) as he was even more interested in it than usual, as Brian had just fed the fish. Before I’d even had a reply a slightly soggy moggy came in through the cat flap, looking a bit sorry for himself.....

Little Puck cat, isn't he just the cutest? However,  that's where teddy should be!

Oh dear!

He’s not meant to go upstairs, “not even for coffee?” I asked “Well if I don’t know about it...” Victoria replied. So he has been up for cuddles with coffee in the morning, after ‘helping’ Brian make it. Apparently it’s hard to brew coffee while cuddling a cat! As soon as he wants breakfast or to go out though, that was it, collar on (he has a collar that beeps if he gets too close to the wire that runs all round the garden), food down, catflap unlocked and door to upstairs shut.

I think we are both besotted, but in conjunction with a fab library a cuddly cat has been great. I’ve managed three books while Brian only one, but his is factual, and at least twice as thick as the ones I picked!

He's very interested in the fish eating their food. We wonder if he's ever leapt into the pond in his keenness...

Soggy moggy! Well, he's been in it now!

We have been out though. On Saturday we went to Faringdon for the market which wasn’t particularly good, but there was live music which was, an arts and craft market in the hall where I accosted some random woman and asked her about Faringdon Folly. She knew its history, built in 1935 by the eccentric Lord Berners, and said we had to go. So off we went. It was only a 10 minute walk, and although the folly is shut till next year the woodland was open. We didn’t know what to expect, but loved finding the metal crows and the carved wooden animals, we couldn’t identify the mole, till I found a list of what we were looking for, it was a bit like a platypus.... and what the giraffe in the tree was about? Anyway, loved it. Back to town for a pint of 6X the beer I used to drink as a teenager, to listen to the band and be sold a pheasant! Dressed, so all I had to do while drinking was find a recipe! Slow pot roast with chorizo and butter beans, courtesy of the River Cottage, it was delicious, and made a change for Sunday dinner.

Faringdon town centre on market day. Not much going on but there were a couple of live bands playing and this photo was taken from the comfort of a table at The Bell Hotel while supping a pint of Wadsworth 6X

Faringdon Folly taken from White Horse Hill

The Uffington white horse is very close by, we could see it, just, on the drive back from Faringdon, so obviously had to be visited. We parked in the pub carpark and booked a table, something to focus the mind before yomping up the hill. We turned right at the top to go to Waylands Smithy, a Neolithic tomb from about 3000BC. We then walked about a mile along the Ridgeway back to the White Horse. The Ridgeway is a name I’ve been aware of since my youth, but had no idea what it was, well, it’s a long distance walk from Avebury, past the White Horse, finishing at Ivinghoe Beacon, a windy, kite flying spot, by Charles and Caroline. The White Horse is the oldest chalk horse in the country, dating from the Bronze Age, about 1000BC, and really, from close to was a bit of a non event. Like the Nazca Lines, (the oldest of which is from 500 BC) much better viewed from the air. We had to go though, and it was a good walk meaning we’d earned our pub lunch.

Faringdon Folly, the last major folly tower built in Britain erected in 1935. The hill is also a strategic site in the English Civil War. In 1642 King Charles I was stationed at Oxford and Faringdon was the front line in the Civil War. It is believed that Cromwell's men were stationed on the slopes of Faringdon Folly where they bombarded the Church with canon in a vain attempt to topple the steeple onto the Royalists. Look back on the photo of Faringdon Town Centre above, you can just see the church at the top of the road. It doesn't have a steeple! 

There were a few of these odd sculptures in the woods round the folly

We popped into Swindon which was definitely a non event and Brian ‘popped’ back to Birmingham for an abdominal aortic aneurysm screen! Took 5 minutes and 3 hours drive, but you have to do these things. We’ve also done the first three runs of couch to 5k, much as I hate running. B’s knee has been OK with his brace on, and I haven’t died yet, but I still hate running!

I wrote this a couple of days ago, since when we have left the gorgeous Puck and are back with mum for a few days. We went for a curry with Helen and Ian last night, lovely to see them. Today we are going to fetch Ted for his service and MOT on Monday, allowing plenty of time in case he doesn’t start, though with the new solar controller there’s hopefully no reason to think this..... then out for dinner with mum. Sunday lunch with Fiona and James tomorrow, van service Monday, and down to Warsash near Portsmouth for our next sit Tuesday. It’s still all go!

Pot roast pheasant with chorizo and butter beans - yum!

The White Horse Inn at Woolstone, the start and end of our walk to White Horse Hill. See our 'Relive' video of the walk with lots of photos. Click this link and press play: Click here

The White Horse seen from a distance as we walked in. Dated as about 3000 years old it's Britain's oldest chalk cut hill figure. It sits next to Uffington Castle, an iron age hill fort, both free to view and offering fabulous views of the surrounding countryside

Just a mile away along the Ridgeway path is Wayland's Smithy, a early Neolithic long barrow burial chamber believed to have been constructed around 3600BC. Also free to visit

Cuddly cat!

No peace cat!

Box entertainment for cats!

Back in Birmingham and out for an early evening walk with Helen, Ian and Monty dog, who needs to try out the River Rea in Cannon Hill Park on our way to the pub

On command Monty, shake the water off

Good boy, No-one got wet during this action!