Yesterday I stayed and worked in my Village and strolled about in the wet.

I had started my morning at our bus stop planning a trip into Canterbury to work at the cafes. The bus was about 15 minutes late and it was raining so I took my umbrella and headed off to our local tea room. Saying goodbye to bus travel for the day.

So yesterday was a day of working in Tea rooms.

Our little very local one, which is literally just down the street not even a block away, is a great place to get to work of a morning.

Here you can see me all snuggled into my little corner. I love this place as it is decorated for WWII era England. Lot's of that sort of nostalgia, which I love, and they always play music of that era, such as Big Band and Jazz. It's really perfect in that sense.

The owner is also a florist (a business I myself once owned) and she runs both of them from this location. There are plenty of outlets to plug in, the coffees are good, amazing pots of teas and of course good food. I usually skip the food as my no carb lifestyle only allows me to drool over all the delicious deadlies they have: cakes and scones and Victoria sponge and every good thing...but I digress.

It started as a sort of make do place to go and work out of the house but is becoming one of my first choices.

Well, I worked there a few hours, sipping coffee and chatting with locals and it looked as if the rain had let up. Now, do I brave the bus and go into Canterbury afterall? No, I thought, today is a Bridge day. (My village is called Bridge, not an actual bridge)

Off I went, then, along our street into the chruchyard.

The next tea room I love to visit is in the next village over and you get to it, if you haven't a car, through the footpaths. These are easily got to by walking through the quaint little churchyard. As I entered the church gate, looking up as I often do at the beautiful old clock in the spire, I heard the sing song joyous call of Christmas tunes.

As I neared the great double doors I could hear the singing was children and peering in, saw the place filled with smiling families and singing children in Christmas costume.

I didn't want to disturb their wondrous event, so took this shot through the glass doors in the antechamber. It made a bit of a glare. However, the people beckoned me to come in and listen, but I smiled and thanked them and silently went on my way. I should have loved to stay and listen, but as I had no children there myself, I wasn't sure if it was the done thing. Who can say in this day and age?

Looking back now I see I should have done, but alas, I carried on through the churchyard, and gravestones to the footpath onward to the next tea room.

The foot path begins with an ascent up a lush green hill. At it's peak, here, you can see the local country house in the distance.

This bit of field here usually has sheep in and you can see their water trough, but I think they must have been moved onto different pastures, as they are wont to do here.

You follow through this gate and along the top of this field, all with lovlier views of the great house and the lush landscape. Then you come into a little copse and wood and follow that path around to this gate. See how wonderfully it frames the house in the distance?

This is surely an enviable commute compared to sitting in traffic or on packed trains.

Although, if one doesn't like the possibility of rain or the squelch of a wellie in mud, then it's not the walk for you.

After passing through this gate, you continue along a good height with the house smaller in the distance.

This landscape just begs to be painted and I have done a few studies, like the one I shared a few weeks ago.

It actually had a sketch of the house in, only I just shared this bit with the sheep and the undulation of the hills.

The day I sketched and made this beginning to a painting it had been very sunny and warm. Today it was cooler and damp. I don't mind, however, as I love the English rain.

And on I went.

This bit here begins the final descent of the walk into Bishopbourne, the neighboring village with the Tadpole tea room. The two large fields, for sheep, are traversed with this wonderful narrow passageway. It might be December, but look how lush and green the grass and plants.

One of my favourite bits of this walk is at it's end, just before the tea room, you come to this darling house.

The famous writer Joseph Conrad once lived here.

We found this out the other day and it only made it more precious. I had got some other shots of the funny little chimneys and the Christmas tree in the window, but the foggy day made my phone pictures too blurry. I should carry my camera about with me, surely.

Across the road from this little house is a series of farm buildings and more pasture with hundreds of ducks in. They waddle and splash about and were loving the wet day. As you pass the main farm building, which also sells all sort of local veg and meats (and now Christmas trees too!) you come to the Tadpole Tearoom:

Office number 2

It might look small here, but it's actually good sized and has pennants and bright colours and a wonderful old leather chesterfield sofa that I always nab, after hanging up my coat. And I have to love a place that features a giant cow photo so prominently.

We are meant to take off our muddy wellies, but they said not to worry. So, here is proof of my commute with my next repast before getting down to work, a piping hot pot of Lapsong tea!

Despite one being well in the country, I mean muddied wellies and footpaths and sheep, the wifi here is excellent. So a gal can get to work and also have the internet to keep her going for quite awhile.

Being a 'foreigner' in these parts, as well, one is given leave by the locals to sit for hours nursing pots of tea and drawing and typing away.

Or probably, the English are far too polite to ask me to go, who can say? Either way, both of these tea rooms are great places to work.

Now, this walk isn't quite done, for when I do all I've shown in reverse, it is wonderful to see that when coming home, back to the churchyard in Bridge, this back entrance can be magical.

I'm afraid my bad camera photo is not doing it justice, but to see this great tree making shadows on the gravestones and to hear the organ coming from the church is magical. And as I crept closer, I peered in again to see the church dark, now free of all the singing children and smiling happy families, to a single man at the organ lit only by one light playing away.

Our church here just got it's organ reconditioned and it is lovely to hear its ominous sound booming out of the little stone and flint church.

Then through the church gates, down the road with my packages (I had to visit the farm stand at Tadpole Tearoom) to cook up my fresh local sausages and veg for my afternoon repast.

Overall it was a grand day out and not a bad commute, wouldn't you say?

I hope all of you had a moment to enjoy what your local area has to offer.

Check out my other posts, if you like, and by all means upvote, resteem and yes leave comments!

*A new Singularity Study and trying to find a new 'Office' of sorts.
*A study for #DecorativeDecember, Advent service at a Cathedral, and ruminations on Life's Plans
*A day spent in Canterbury that was meant to be in London and learning a Life Lesson

• A study for a decorative piece with sheep and ruminations on my upbringing.

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