Sunday afternoon we drove to our neighboring village of Little Milton for Sunday roast at the Lamb Inn, a pub that was recommended by our landlord Charles. There were several glowing reviews online too, and it's so popular you even have to make reservations!
And wow, was it ever good! David said he may actually have to hug Charles next time he sees him. It was some of the best pub food ever and the atmosphere was wonderful. We may just become semi-regulars in our last few weeks here.
The Lamb Inn, complete with thatched roof. I believe it dates from the 16th century.
The bar. Our table was next to a window directly opposite the bar, so we got to listen in on all the Sunday chitchat. All the employees were very friendly and the place had such a relaxed, family atmosphere.
There were three choices on the menu: beef, lamb, or salmon. We both chose beef, and it came with the usual Sunday-roast trimmings - gravy, potatoes and Yorkshire pudding - plus some of the most delicious veggies we've ever had. I'm sure that a great deal of butter went into making them so delicious, but at least we got our vitamins! And the beef was so tender.
We got more vitamins and more butter in our delicious desserts - homemade plum crumble, with cream for me and ice cream for David. YUM.
It was such a beautiful day and we were so incredibly full that we decided to have a post-lunch walk. We drove over to Great Haseley to visit the old windmill we'd often admired from the road. We parked at the start of a footpath that led through a field and up a small hill to the windmill.
Along the way we saw a beautiful gray cat, who didn't let us pet him but we were able to get close enough to admire him. In the first photo it looks like he was stalking a pheasant, but he actually didn't seem all that interested in it. Too big for him, I suppose.
The windmill was very cool. We don't know its date or anything about it but it makes such a picturesque ruin in the middle of the field. We especially liked the tree growing out of the top window!
Next we decided to walk through the village to Great Haseley's church. Much like when I visited the other week, the village was so quiet and we hardly saw another soul. But we did see a lovely old MG!
Of course we took some more snaps of the church, this time with the benefit of clearer blue sky and some pretty fall colors.
And David snapped the church's only gargoyle for me:
After what seemed like a long walk back to the car by the windmill, we made a quick stop at Great Milton's church on the way home, mainly so we could get some gargoyle photos with the zoom lens. These are the two that are in good enough shape to be recognizable:
A dragon and a grumpy-looking, half-man, half... frog? pig?
David also wandered next door to Le Manoir to snap this gorgeous Bentley.
So it was a really good Sunday - one of those lovely, very English experiences to savor and remember when we no longer live here (we are leaving the UK at the end of November). Sniff.
