The second heatwave of the year prompted a visit to Jack's twin and her family in Surrey. Starting from a landmark clump of beech trees laden with mast, the car brushed through lanes of rampant deciduous growth woven with bedstraw, honeysuckle, and incipient bramble fruits. A neighbour's cut and cleared hayfield overlooked luminous sweet chestnut flowers, while dead ash trees stood in Nanie Rowe's wood.
Journey Through the Southwest
Crossing the Tamar, the landscape shifted to a patchwork of woods and pastures, where the first lorry-load of straw appeared—essential supplies from upcountry needed for winter bedding. By Exeter, the dampness eased, and the motorway cutting through red sandstone reminded the traveller of fertile arable land, much of it encroached upon by suburbs. Along slower stretches, features such as the wooded eminence of Cadbury Castle were visible beyond ubiquitous ragwort. Near Ilchester, Somerset, trailers of chopped "cut-whole" straw stems and unripened grain were carted along the three-lane highway.
Chalk Country and Stonehenge
Ancient lynchets near Mere, Wiltshire, marked the start of proper chalk country, where coombs and winterbournes of rough pasture were interspersed with rolling downland of gold and brown cereals, some already harvested. Leafy green maize would be ensiled for winter fodder. Swags of old man's beard clothed the bushy verges, and tumuli preceded the always spectacular ring of people encircling Stonehenge.
Ever closer to London, the nervous passenger shut her eyes to blot out lanes filled with lorries and fast-moving traffic. Before the final straight, welcome relief came with an afternoon picnic in the part-shaded haven surrounding Hatchlands Park, the 18th-century country house built for Admiral Edward Boscawen, containing paintings and early keyboard instruments. Descending Ranmore Common, heat increased around the 265-acre vineyard near Dorking; the River Mole was low, and the windmill on Reigate Heath's golf course overlooked the destination.
Home in the Heat
Home, after five days away, was hot. Blackcaps had quietened; brown butterflies—gatekeepers, ringlets, coppers—flitted from seeding grasses to join admirals, peacocks, and painted ladies on buddleia, marjoram, and lavender. Blackbirds had cleared immature cherries, hollowed out early apples, and gorged on unripe blueberries. Opposite home, sleek south Devon cattle ranged across pastures not yet scorched as in the long drought of 1976.
