Driving to our walk, we glimpsed Stowe House in the distance through the grandiose Corinthian Arch as intended on a beautifully sunny day.

10 of us walked on the quiet public paths in the surrounding 700 acres of parkland. We soon reached the main drive and the two Boycott Pavilions one of which housed ‘Capability’ Brown* and his family during their time working on the estate. We walked past Stowe House now Stowe School.

On reaching the Grecian Valley we caught our first sighting of silhouettes of soldiers, recently brought over from Normandy where they stood for the D-Day 80th Memorial Commemoration. They had taken 4 years to make out of recycled road signs by volunteers in Britain.

We continued to the Bell Gate where we entered the Landscaped Gardens to see an extraordinary mixture of bridges, temples, statues and columns. Jerry then became a guide giving us some of the history that surrounded us. He led us to the Grecian Valley, crossing the Palladian Bridge and then heading for the Gothic Temple which can now be booked for a holiday through The Landmark Trust.

It was not long before we viewed the 1475 silhouettes (this been the number of British soldiers who lost their lives on the one day of the D Day landings – 6th June) dramatically placed across the Stowe Landscape. It was a moving tribute to those soldiers and, for us, emotional – especially when reading the poems and a few of the soldiers’ last letters home.

On our way back to the cars we visited the Church in the grounds where ‘Capability’ Brown was married and we paused at The Temple of British Worthies. This was Cobham’s monument to the best of British, for example Shakespeare, Isaac Newton, John Milton and Elizabeth 1 are there. Beautiful views of the two lakes, the bridges, the temples and grounds surrounded us.

Once back at the cars we had walked 7.5 miles and had a brilliant day. Thanks to Jerry and Glenys for this extra activity to our calendar.

*Did you know that “Capability” Brown was a man not the heroine of a Bronte novel and his real name was Lancelot?