Hiking the English countryside is a daily activity for us. Once afternoon tea is done we fill up our packs and head for the trails. This isn’t new for us. Back in Edmonton we would daily make our ways through the river valley trail system. We would see such exotic sites as the Wayne Gretzky bridge. Or gaze from a distance at Common Wealth Stadium where the famed Edmonton Elks play. 

It is much the same here in Cerne Abbas as we hike past 1000 year old abbey ruins. Or gaze from a distance at at the famed Cerne Giant with its distractingly HUGE long club.

To help in our hiking adventures we purchased a book from the local grocery store. We hiked this map yesterday. 

It took us up around the Cerne Giant. At one point we were approached by a black cow who was on OUR side of the fence. The kids were a little frightened by it. We thought it was stalking us actually. It turned out we were all headed towards the water trough it wanted to going to.

After avoiding ‘certain death by cow’ we followed the path out into a wheatfield. This is what they do here, you can walk established paths through other people’s property. You just need to stay on the path, be respectful of their property (don’t steal their wheat!) and close the gate behind you.

The wheat in the field looked ripe and ready for harvest. The kids ripped off the heads to munch away on the wheat berries one at a time. Watching them do this reminded me of what my Grandpa Trepanier used to do when he and did our early morning walks down the old marsh road. 

On our walks to the back of the cornfield he would scope out a stray stock of wheat growing by the ditch and snap off the top. He would strip that head clean of kernels, keeping them cupped in his hand. Then with his rough and weathered hands he would rub them back and forth. This would remove the chaff. He would next make a bowl shape out of his hands and blow inside it. The light chaff would blow up and out, leaving the wheat berries behind for me to snack on.

I’m sure every farmer and farm hand knows this trick but I past this down to my children yesterday.