If you turn off the Passingford Bridge roundabout down a dead-end road, you pass first through an avenue of stately trees, then by an octagonal lodge marking the former entrance to Albyns, a grand country house demolished in the 1950s. Glimpses of the Tudor brick ancillary buildings can be seen beside the farm. Further on, the road becomes a track, and the landscape becomes almost mediaeval, with rough grass clearings amongst forest-like trees, and tracks leading off to various smallholdings and cottages. Horses roam by, happily grazing common land, as cattle and pigs used to in the past, and the track becomes bumpier and more pot-holed. Eventually, if you’re lucky, you may reach Willow Cottage, a tiny timber-framed house built in about 1660 and set in a delightful 4-acre cottage garden.
Nearby is the site of some old marl-pits (marl is a special kind of clay), which have been cleared and dug out to create a natural open air amphitheatre. The audience sit on blankets or cushions as the actors make their entrances from behind bushes and trees. In the interval, home-made refreshments are served from the cottage, and as night falls, flickering flares light your way back through the forest to your car. A magical place.
If you would like to share the magic, you can visit Willow Cottage this summer.
Saturday 19th July, 3pm and 7.30pm
and Sunday 20th July, 3pm only:
The Merry Wives of Windsor The Wadham Players.
Adults £6, children £3.
Bring a blanket, cushions, maybe a picnic, and insect repellent.