When Amy was younger I used to make summer holiday vouchers for her. These were little tokens that she could cash in throughout the 6 week summer break and they usually included the simplest of activities and treats, things like a shopping trip, a picnic, a visit to the cinema and an annual favourite – berry picking at the local pick your own farm, which we did again, and again.
A few years ago she decided that she'd outgrown the vouchers and she was much more into spending time out with friends than doing things with her mum. But the other day she was at a loose end and so we decided to be nostalgic and head off together for a spot of berry picking.
Unfortunately the season here has already finished (it must have been an early year for strawberries) so instead we bought lots of delicious treats at the lovely farm shop, had a big slab of cake (me) and a full English breakfast (Amy) and then were at a bit of a loss for what to do. We opted for driving the long way home with lots of detours through the pretty local villages and we ended up in Braughing where we decided to park up and go for a wander.
It is the prettiest of English villages, full of thatched cottages, Medieval buildings and a beautiful church – St Mary the Virgin, the oldest parts of which date from the early 13th century.
Come and join us on our walk…
At the church there were some lovely people tidying up the porch noticeboard and they invited us in to look around. It is a beautiful ancient building with many different parts spanning the last 800 years – I found the 15th century angel ceiling particularly breathtaking. As we left and were walking through the churchyard we passed the Vicar who stopped for a chat, such a friendly lady. In fact the whole village has a very friendly feel, even the cows in the field at the edge of the village came over to greet us.
Thanks for coming with us, I hope you enjoyed the walk 🙂
And if you ever find yourself in East Hertfordshire with an hour or two to fill then a visit to Braughing is definitely recommended.
See you soon x
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PS: Thanks so very much for all of the lovely comments about the new room in the previous post. I really appreciate all the compliments and am really enjoying the new space. It still feels a bit like sleeping in a nice hotel – though sadly without the room service!
little cotton rabbits 
Lovely to have some special time with your daughter. Wow, the village is stunning, such amazing buildings. Thank you for sharing your outing. from Jenny in Australia
PS. your master bedroom looks serene and your crocheted blanket is absolutely beautiful!
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Doesn’t nice quiet mother-daughter time make where ever you are extra special??!! Perfect little getaway! thanks for sharing with us!
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What a happy day with your daughter – these sorts of days are very special, aren’t they? The village is beautiful, the perfect place for a wander. Your gravestone photos show the worn, lichened stone so well and the little cottages are charming.
Cathy x
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Gorgeous village. I may have to venture over that way soon, i’m a Central (St Albans) girl and i rarely venture in that direction!
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Thank you so much for the lovely tour of Broughing. There is such charm and history in the village. I live in a bustling city in Canada where the tendency to tear down old buildings is rampant.
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I’m so glad you had this lovely day together. I love the photos; this village looks exactly like my mental image of an ancient English village, even though I’ve never actually seen one. The church in particular is fascinating, just to imagine a building 800 years old!
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What a lovely day and what a wonderful village. Thank you for sharing your wanderings.
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Oh, I loved this! It’s like you stepped right into Dibley!
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What a delightful way to spend a few hours! Such a gorgeous village – looks like a movie set! So glad you’re enjoying your new room (keep wishing for the room service)! xxx
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What a beautiful village, I do love a mooch around an old church, so much history!
Pretty cows too, they are such lovely colours, aren’t they. 🙂
So glad you and Amy had had a lovely mother/daughter day out!
V x
P.S. I remember the vouchers well, I always thought they were such a brilliant idea!
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Thank you so much for sharing your lovely walk. I miss England so much, particularly the quaint villages and fields. I would very much like to revisit sometime soon. By the way the paint sample I chose as my favorite was the color you painted your room. Delightful!!
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How wonderful that you got to spend such an enjoyable day with your daughter.
Your post and pictures brought back nice memories. My husband and I lived in Teesside for two years when we were first married and spent every weekend and all our vacation time exploring. Mostly close to us, York, Durham, Hadrian’s Wall, Lake District, but we also spent a bit of time in the South. Never really made it to your part of the country. Two years obviously wasn’t enough to see it all. Thank you for the lovely pictures and the memories.
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Waouh! Thank you for the lovely promenade. My daughter and I have decided to look up on a map of the to visit the place when we’ll be fortunate enough to ggo to Great Britain… I’ m a bit dreading the driving on the left though 🙂
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What a beautiful place, thank you so much for sharing! Lovely for you and your daughter to have sometime together.
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I loved these pictures so very much. We’re experiencing suppressive southern heat-upper 90’s every day & now I feel like I’ve been on a nice little trip. 🙂 Thank you kindly.
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What a gorgeous village. I spent 9 years in England (70s and 80s), my favorite school trip was to a town called Lavenham. Your pictures remind me of those days and good times… Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you for sharing your walk with us! The pictures are gorgeous and history amazing!
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What a lovely village, will need to add that to my places to visit.
There is a lovely garden centre worth visiting called Bury Lane Farm (which you have possibly already been to!) on the A10 at Melbourn. We love going there for breakfast/morning tea and it’s a great place for gifts.
Love you bedroom wall colour. I would love to have our bedroom painted but in a rented house it’s easier to just leave it ‘renters magnolia’ bleurgh!
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What a lovely place to take a walk for some mother daughter time! Those are the best moments aren’t they! Thank you for taking us along too. xx
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What a small world we live in – a friend of mine, called Julie, has recently left our area to become vicar of Braughing, and I’m sure that is who you met! She is the most lovely lady! I had no idea she had moved to such a lovely village. Thanks SO much for posting the pictures. I felt as though I was walking with you! x
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What a beautiful village, it looks like you had a lovely time together. I love the idea of vouchers for the holidays, that would go down well here I think. CJ xx
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Beautiful, It lokks like a “midsummer murders” ‘ Village!!!
i miss the little Streets ans the little house with their personnality.
In my country, houses are not so old, and people want their house to be the same as the neighbour.
I am trying to make mine seems like an old English cottage!!
Miss, xx
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It looks like it was a great day to explore something new! beautiful photos, those cows look so sweet.
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It looks lovely and somewhere I have never been despite living nearby.
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Photos 9 and 10 – Whatever is on the roof of the yellow house? It looks an awful lot like denim, jean, fabric that has been stitched on!
I do enjoy your blog!
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Thank you so much for this wonderful little tour – now I am thoroughly nostalgic and not a little homesick – even though I have lived in Oz for over 40 years. Enjoy your holiday rambles!
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Looks like a wonderful day out, and I bet Amy really enjoyed it! Quality time with a parent makes wonderful memories, and that one-to-one time is so special 🙂
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I always enjoy reading you blog and today was no exception, thank you so much for today’s walk😀
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Thanks so much for sharing your day. It looks lovely. I just got back from visiting my (grown) daughters and I do miss having them at home. I got to catch up on 3 blog posts at once–what a treat!
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What a joy to walk with you and Amy. Love everything about this village. Also, Amy’s hair is very cool. Such a pretty girl. Glad you had some quality time together. Very special day that you’ll both remember fondly.
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I am always so jealous of the HISTORY that you have in Europe! We are lucky to see something 100 years old here!
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Thank you for sharing your day – such charming and beautiful photos!
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Thank you for sharing… Lovely entries. I read your entire blog yesterday and today – up half the night. Wonderful stories of appreciation and optimism and “carrying on”. Will have a cup of tea and think of you often.
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I want to live there!!! Thank you for taking me on a walk with you! Yet another place in my bucket list of places I want to see!
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What a beautiful place and such a special bit of Mother, Daughter time. x
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Some nice time with your daughter, and a lovely walk in this beautiful village… This was a very special day! This is happiness. Anne
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Thanks Jenny. It is nice to be spending a bit more time with my daughter – it seems that often teenagers become strangers to their families – it’s an inevitable part of growing up I suppose!
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Definitely Steph, the fact it’s a less frequent thing makes any time you send together a bit more special.
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It is a lovely village Cathy, I feel lucky to have such a great range of historic places all around us – it’s a bit like stepping back in time.
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Come on over to the East side Clare 🙂 I don’t get over to St Albans way very often either – I always said I’d go there more often once the children started school but that was 7 or 8 years ago and I’ve only made it over that way twice! You have a lot of lovely things to keep you in that area – St Albans is a really pretty town.
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We do count ourselves very lucky to have so much history around us Elizabeth. It’s nice to have that link with the past I think. Shame that your town planners don’t feel the same way.
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It is an archetypal English village Jennifer and it is lovely to wander around and imagine the people who’ve lived there over the years.
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Thanks Jean
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It is very like Dibley isn’t it? Shame we didn’t see any of the characters though!
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Thanks Laura. I keep hoping for room service but it’s not happening! Still, I am enjoying the space and it’s still relatively tidy!
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Thanks Vivienne. I do miss the vouchers – I used to have such fun thinking up little ideas and anticipating summer fun but your children moving on is all part of growing up I suppose. It’s been nice to spend a little more time with her though this summer and we really enjoyed our quiet country day together x
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Thanks Arlene. I think I’d miss England if I ever left, I hope you get the chance to come back for a visit soon x
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Sounds like you had a great time exploring when you were here Doris, you’ve named some of my favourite places (The Lake District especially). Glad you have such nice memories of being over here x
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Yes the driving on the left must take some getting used to Sophie. I hope you get to visit and enjoy exploring x
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Thanks Sue, it was a lovely and memorable day.
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Wow, that’s hot Amy! Hope you’re having more bearable temperatures now and enjoying the rest of the summer x
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Glad that the picture sparked of some happy memories for you Kieran. Thanks
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Thanks Betty
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I’ll be looking up Bury Lane Farm Caroline, it sounds like a great place to visit. Thanks x
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You’re right, they are the best moments Amy. I’m happy I could share them x
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This is definitely proof of a small world Adrienne because I am certain that we did meet your friend. The people who were at the church as we passed and who invited us in were telling us that the church looked especially pretty with all of the flowers as they had recently had a special service to welcome the new vicar. And then as we walked up through the church yard she was coming down the path. As you say she is the most lovely lady and we felt very welcomed and very peaceful when we left. Thanks for sharing that, it shows how interconnected we all are although we often don’t realise it!
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Thanks CJ. The vouchers were a big hit for quite a few years – they definitely helped add a little holiday sparkle to the long 6 week break!
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It does look like that sort of village Miss though happily it was quiet and sleepy and there was no need to call Inspector Barnaby 😉
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Thanks Julie. They were very friendly cows and it was amusing to see them trying to look nonchalant and uninterested in us whilst all the while finding clumps of grass that brought them edging closer and closer – they enjoyed an ear scratch too x
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There are so many hidden places around though aren’t there Gina. I’ve resolved to get out and about a little more often an explore the local area more – there’s so much Medieval history as the area was only a one-horse-ride from London.
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It does look like that Shirley, that would be fun wouldn’t it? It’s just thatch though (dried straw or reed) but they attach it in such a pretty way and clad it with diamond wire to prevent the birds from pulling out the straw.
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Sorry to make you homesick Helen, especially when you are so far and can’t just pop back whenever you might feel like it. We all have our roots no matter how far we travel but I bet you’ve got some wonderful new roots out there in sunny and fun Oz x
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Thanks Bekah. One to one time seems to be so fleeting and rare these days but that’s what made that day so special x
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Thanks for coming along Barbara x
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Thanks Ellen. I suppose we’ll always miss our children when they grow up and leave home. It’s nice you get to go and visit with your daughters though, I hope you had a lovely time x
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Thanks Kimmy. It was a special day and Amy is growing up so fast so it’s nice to get the time with her x
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We’re very lucky to live in a part of the world that has so many layers of human history. I hope to get out and about a bit more and explore more so I hope to share a little bit more of olde England. Hope you’re all well there Kirsten, I miss keeping up with everyone’s news and am looking forward to a bit more time in autumn tro catch up with everyone x
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Thanks Vicki
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Thanks so much for visiting and for reading back through everything – I’ve been waffling away here for quite a while so there’s a lot of it! Thanks so much for your kind words, looking for the upside isn’t always easy but it helps x
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Pop on a plane and we’ll definitely take you along. I’d pack up a picnic and walk you round to show you all of my favourite places, it would be so lovely to share them with you. Maybe one day! But if not then I’ll continue to share some pictures so you can come along in spirit! Will be paying you an online visit soon – time has got away from me yet again but I miss you and news of your lovely family x
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Thanks Sharon, it was a good day x
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You’re right Anne, this is happiness x
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We went camping in East Sussex this summer, and were charmed by all the old villages. While there I also knit another dress for one of my children’s foxes. I have knit 3 foxes and countless dresses and sweaters in the year since I bought your patterns. They are a lot of fun to make and my kids have become good friends with their little foxes. I have to knit a fourth one now, for my youngest, who has turned 2 and is old enough to demand one of his own!
the dress on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/sarabrankaer/seasonal-dresses-pattern
my blogpost about our camping trip and the dress for Cas: http://meynensoutenboom.blogspot.be/2015/08/clover-dress-for-cas.html
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I just found your blog and am so glad I did! What an amazing photographer you are! I feel as though I am wandering with you. Thank you!
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Really pretty. Love the photos. Best way to spend an afternoon together. 🙂
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Absolutely lovely post. Made me an armchair traveler today!
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Thanks such much for sharing such a beautiful village in your part of the world! It was such a treat and your buildings are so much older and quainter than in the U.S.! I was only in London once for a weekend, but I have always wanted to explore the beauty of the English
countryside. It is special to share mother-daughter time when your daughter gets older and becomes involved with friends and nice that you could share it enjoying a fun outing together! 🙂
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What a beautiful village!! I would love to have places like that to visit. Here in Southern California we feel like someplace is old if it’s from the early 20th century! Glad you got to spend some special mother daughter time! Thanks for sharing!
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looks like you had a lovely time in East Sussex and you got some sunshine! Cas’s dress is so sweet x
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Thanks so much for visiting Traci and for your lovely comment x
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It was a day I’ll remember, thanks x
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Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it x
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we’re very lucky to have so many lovely old villages and building all around us. It’s nice to share them here for those who aren’t close enough to pop by for a visit of their own x
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Thanks Linda, we did have a lovely day x
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Amazing village and fabulous photos—can I ask what camera you used? Every photo is crystal clear!
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