A Shepherds Hut on the Edge of Loki's Woods

Monday, October 31, 2016 ~ by Amy

Once I figured out how to adjust the seat of our replacement car, it was a dream to drive. Several feet shorter and a bit narrower, it whizzed down the narrow country roads. We crossed unceremoniously into England in the dark, never even seeing a sign. Since we knew in advance that we would have no phone or internet connection with our hosts, we had arranged that we would just go to the local pub and use their phone. Arriving at The Shoulder of Mutton at 8:30 or so, I hopped up on a bar stool and asked to use the phone. The room was cozy, with a fire dancing on a far wall and lots of friendly, if slightly curious, faces gathered around with their pints. One thing that I've noticed...Alyssa and I easily pass as someone from a neighboring town, but when we open our mouths to ask a question, we quickly become foreigners. After making connections with our host, we chatted with the bartender a bit before going out to wait in the car.

Pete arrived 15 minutes later in his beat up Land Rover. A tall, shaggy looking guy, just a bit older than me, he rolled down his window and motioned for me to follow. We barreled through the village and down the dark country lanes. Trees hanging over and hedges on either side made the narrow road even narrower. At Alyssa's urging, we stuck pretty close to his decrepit bumper. Once, a tiny hedgehog darted out and missed Pete's tires. Unfortunately, I was too close to safely dodge him. I still feel bad about that one. As we went along we memorized the turns...2 lefts, a right turn, a right curve, left into the driveway and then another left...so that we would be able to find our way out again. At last we arrived at the big barn in Pete and Hillary's farmyard. We got out and officially introduced ourselves before Pete helped us carry our small bags (we knew it would be compact so only brought our carry-ons) through the woods to the shepherds hut, where we would spend the night. Pete had a torch and the trail was outlined with an occasional solar globe down in the foliage.

Shepherds hut in the morning sun

Nestled on the edge of a small, mostly deciduous forest, the shepherds hut was recently constructed to the specifications of an ancient shepherds hut. Though very tiny and compact, it was cozy and filled with special touches.

Bathroom window ~ High Trewitley Huts

Pretty dishes fill a corner

Our bed was loft style, filling one end of the hut.  The area below was their private storage area.

A cozy place to spend Halloween night

There was a tiny wood stove in the corner where Pete had laid a fire for us. I eagerly started it but never succeeded in getting it going. As soon as the fire starters and tiny bit of kindling were burned up it just smoked like crazy. We saw that the log he had put in was completely blocking the pipe. The hut got so smoky that we had to open the top of the dutch door to clear the air.

Smoke pouring out into the night air

When we gave up on the fire, we decided to head for bed. It was already about 10:00 and we were pretty exhausted. I was hungry so I sliced up some cheese from a block we'd been hauling around in our box of groceries since the Shetland Islands and ate it while sitting in bed.

We slept reasonably well considering I kept almost falling off the bed in the middle of the night. We had no rush in the morning as Pete knew we'd had a bit of trauma getting there and told us we could check out at our leisure. We hadn't really brought anything for breakfast except a box of cereal we'd been hauling around, but Hilary had left us a couple of pieces of fruitcake in a fancy dish. I had those with a cup of coffee and Alyssa had some cereal. 

Alyssa greeting the day

There was a fire pit outside near the fence so I hauled out the barely burned log and with the addition of sticks I picked up from the ground, soon had a cheery fire going. The fire got us thinking of hot chocolate so Alyssa dug out the can she'd bought in Inverness and soon we were enjoying it at the little table by the fire.

Fluffy sheep gathered near us in the verdant pasture beyond the fence. Sun filtered through the trees and I felt all my worries and concerns just drift away on the smoke. One cannot spend their entire life sitting in the sunshine by a campfire but I would hold these brief moments long in my memories. 

Finally we washed all the dishes, packed up all of our things and walked back through the woods to our car.

Compact kitchen ~ bathroom through door

Sink open, with Alyssa doing dishes.  Cooktop under left side

We've always wanted a dutch door

Special touches

Walking through Loki's Woods

Back at the barn

We said goodbye to the peace of Loki's Woods and found our way back through the various turns to the town of Longhorsely. There in the center of the village was the Shoulder of Mutton, where we'd met our host the night before. We'd promised to come back for a bite to eat before we left town.

Beautiful countryside, wind farm in the distance

Country road with windswept trees

Hedges or walls seemed to be everywhere in England

Shoulder of Mutton ~ Longhorsley, England

We sat in a cozy spot by a roaring fire, but ordered up at the bar. Alyssa ordered a burger that turned out to be about 6” tall (due to the insertion of three large onion rings). I asked for a traditional dish that didn't have pig's blood (black pudding) or sheep's offal (haggis). My server recommended fish and chips. Amazingly, I hadn't tried that yet even though we'd been in the UK for two weeks. It's normally served with a side of squishy peas but I got a side salad instead. The fish was huge, and of course a little greasy, but delicious nonetheless.