The Sacred and The Profane

Steph

In May 2010 I was walking between Waltham Abbey and Cambridge on my journey to collect Transition Tales. You can read the story of that in chapter 5 of my book “Tales of Our Times” – The Sacred and The Profane.

It all started like this…

Waltham Abbey, says the Isle of Man bred manager of the New Inn, is the weirdest place he has ever worked in. WynnAlice is inclined to agree; its grand name is initially lived up to as the abbey is the first thing to be seen; its beautiful flint and chalk walls nestling perfectly in a V between two roads. After that, the main street is pedestrianized; and though it is easy to see the lay of the original town and many of the old pubs are still in business, none of them offer accommodation any longer and the shops have an air of poverty about them.

Here, captured in pictures, is a flavour of that walk…

Waltham Abbey - The Sacred and The Profane

 

Beautiful Waltham Abbey

 

The Welsh Harp is no longer an inn for travellers to rest their weary heads
Fellow Ambulantes
the canalised River Lea
Industrial remnants in the countryside
Encounter with a road
Prehistoric Earth Mother Figure - reminding us still of her pain.
quintessential English village
walking with the Kindly Guardian
along the Ickneild Way
She of Silver Locks and Golden Tongue
The Lady called Una and her Giant Metal Pig
Rhea the Art Teacher - a vision of colour approaches...
a herd of cattle greet WynnAlice's entrance into the Place Where Bridges Cross The Crooked River
the streets are paved in flowers

 

Wild Flower Haven

 

The Gathering at the Elm Tree
She Who Aims True

‘Tis the last day in this haven of creative action and WynnAlice feels herself to be quite at home; sun worshipping by the river as the cows amble past, a musing herself with the notion that she has found at last a place where a person can walk or cycle where ever she pleases.

To read the full story download chapter 5.