We are leaving Godmanchester today to pick up our daughter Naomi in Potters Bar before the long trip back to Italy. Godmanchester is a pretty village just outside Huntingdon which is more or less unspoilt.  We have a little flat near the River Ouse with a communal garden down to the river - which is lovely. Our daughter Louise works nearby and she part owns the flat - hence the connection with Godmanchester. You can easily walk into the centre of Huntingdon from here and even as far as the station for the London train. Huntingdon itself would also be a great town if it hadn’t been “developed” by enlightened “town planners” in the 60s and 70s. There is a pretty awful shopping centre running out from the high street and several original houses/shops “re-developed”. Despite this it still retains  charm and still has some lovely original parts. Huntingdon was the birthplace of Oliver Cromwell.

The village of Godmanchester centres around the river Ouse with a slow moving duck pond area at its centre. The centre is unspoilt with original houses, although further on a new housing estate has been built on the outskirts. The main part of the village though is very attractive with long walks along the river and around the great meadow. This is the largest water meadow in Britain and acts when needed like a flood storage plain. The rest of the time it is left alone to grow wild flowers and be home to wildlife and dog walking. The circumference of the meadow is about 2.5 miles.

A beautiful morning today with no clouds after 3 weeks of mixed weather. Of course I have to spend most of it in a car but still managed to go round the meadow at 7 am first!