War of the Worlds

The weather here in the UK is going colder and they are predicting snow but today the sun was shining as John and I set out on an adventure. The plan for the day was to investigate an area around Woking in Surrey where H. G. Wells set his story The War of the Worlds. He was a science fiction writer and also one of the nation's greatest intellectuals. He was born on 21 September 1866 and in 2016 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of his birth, there was a series of events called 'Wells in Woking'. This included an international conference, a number of guided walks, a heritage trail, statue and public lecture. The reason for all the events was because Wells had chosen Horsell Common as the location for the Martian invasion of Earth. We set out to complete a walk that visits some of the locations and goes past art works that were created to commemorate it. The walk in total was 6.3 miles, a perfect distance for a winter walk. Better still the walk was basically on the flat so no aching knees to contend with later in the day.

We started at a car park on the common where there was a very nice cafe. Since it was coffee time we decided to start in the cafe and we enjoyed delicious cake with our drinks. Outside the cafe there was a play area with these two play fellows.

We walked through open fields and through wooded areas.and we zig zagged over streams. Out of the sun whilst walking though the woods it became quite cold. It was a perfect place to bird watch but I didn't manage to get any pictures as I didn't have the bigger lens with me. 

Once back out in the open the winter sun actually had a little heat. The Shetland pony didn't want to have its photo taken. As I went nearer the fence it backed away. The sky was a lovely blue.

There were beautiful reflections on the ponds.

We walked past the sand pits where the Martians landed. I'm pleased there weren't any around today, it's bad enough dealing with Brexit without throwing in Martians

A little further on we can across this structure.

It wasn't marked on our walk instructions so we headed round the wall to investigate.

The plaque on the wall explained  what it was. 

Inside the peace garden it was very calm and quiet.

A short walk from here we reached the towpath of the Basingstoke canal. The water was very still which meant the reflections were beautiful.

I particularly liked  the reflections of the silver birch trees.

There was a convenient bench so we decided to have lunch. As we ate our sandwiches pigeons started to gather on the telephone wires, eyeing up our food.

After finishing lunch we left the canal and crossed the main road into Woking using the subway. This had a mural depicting the war of the worlds.

Outside there was a statue of H. G. Wells. If you look to the base behind his chair there are tentacles of a martian starting to reach out for him.

Just down the road there was this 7 metre Martian tripod. 

From here we carried on our walk with no further problems from martians We did come across Pegasus looking magnificent as we headed back to the common and the car.

 Once back at the car park we spotted this lone sheep enjoying the grass in the play area. The nice thick wool coat would make a great jumper but the sheep needs it until the warmer weather.

We had a great day walking and all that's left to do now is get on my kindle and download The War of the Worlds. I have vague memories of the story but I'm not sure if that's because I read the book or saw the film. I'll add it to my list of books to read this year.

My day off next week is going to be a sewing day but I'm managing to do at least 30 minutes of stitching a day at present. With the weather getting colder I need my day off to be wet or snowing so I have the perfect excuse to stay in doors and just sew.

Lyndsey.