{"id":8327,"date":"2019-03-27T07:59:57","date_gmt":"2019-03-27T07:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/martinblack.com\/?p=8327"},"modified":"2019-03-27T08:06:45","modified_gmt":"2019-03-27T08:06:45","slug":"to-sally-rainbows-dell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/martinblack.com\/oldsite\/2019\/03\/to-sally-rainbows-dell\/","title":{"rendered":"To Sally Rainbow’s Dell"},"content":{"rendered":"

O<\/span> ne early spring morning in March the dogs (Smithy and Jeff) and I set off on a hike to Sally Rainbow’s dell<\/a> in the east of Hertfordshire.<\/p>\n

\"Dogs
No more snacks, time for a kip<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We caught a train to Stevenage and then to Watton-at-Stone, this all took a good hour and a half but I had a book1<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> and a cup of tea with me and the dogs settled down after searching the carriage for snacks.<\/p>\n

We arrived at Watton just before midday and headed south in the direction of Bramfield woods.\u00a0 I had been this way before having wild camped in the woods<\/a> a few years past.<\/p>\n

On entering the woods I released Jeff from his lead while poor Smithy had to stay on his; being a terrier his instinct is to hunt and he is impossible to get back on the lead again. Jeff, on the other hand, is of a more nervous disposition and hates having me out of his sight for long.<\/p>\n

\"in
Smithy looking for squirrels, Jeff looking for me.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We made our way to Sally Rainbow’s Dell, a steep-sided chalk hollow where, in the 18th century, lived a reputed witch.<\/p>\n

Legend has it that Sally Rainbow was on good terms with highwaymen Dick Turpin<\/a> and\u00a0 Walter Clibbon who used the dell as a hiding place and storage for their ill-gotten gains.\u00a0 It is rumoured that Sally extorted money and food from local farmers in exchange for ‘protecting’ livestock from the evil machinations of other witches, a kind of Hertfordshire protection racket.<\/p>\n

How much of this is true is anyone’s guess.\u00a0 It is just as likely that Sally was an elderly homeless woman living by her wits in the woods, a century or so earlier she would have been burnt at the stake.<\/p>\n

Sally Rainbow’s Dell (photo by Mark Jobling<\/a>)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Sally<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

From the dell, we made our way down to the village of Bramfield<\/a> and enjoyed a pint at the Grandison<\/a> pub.<\/p>\n

\"Jeff
Jeff watching some Spaniels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most of the rest of the walk was across open farmland.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

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Eventually, we found ourselves at North Hertford station where we began the long journey home.<\/p>\n

\"On
Snacks?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Oh yes, I almost forgot, on this hike I tried out my premium membership of the OS map app<\/a> and very handy it was, \u00a34 a month is a pretty good deal. I like it how I can plan out a hike online and then download it to my phone for offline use.\u00a0 Good stuff.<\/p>\n

Footnotes and further reading<\/span>[+<\/a>]<\/span><\/p><\/div>

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Footnotes and further reading<\/caption>
⇧<\/span>1<\/a><\/th> The Betrayers by David Bezmozgis<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n <\/tbody> <\/table> <\/div><\/div>