On this crisp and breezy autumn day I took a stroll from the outskirts of Hitchin to the nearby village of Charlton. From childhood on I have walked these paths many times. 

 Bright sunlight played across the Chilterns beyond. I was reminded of those words written by A.E. Housman...

                                        Into my heart an air that kills 

                                         From yon far country blows:

                                        What are those blue remembered hills,

                                         What spires, what farms are those?

 But it's not all melancholy. The village pub in Charlton closed in 2015. There was a successful campaign to 'Save the Windmill' and it reopened recently so I stopped off for a pint.