This is the tithe barn in the village where I live and today it had an Open Day. In 2027, it will be 500 years old but there is currently a struggle to obtain funds to restore and maintain it. If these efforts fail, it could be converted into a house or houses. That would be a great pity. Unfortunately there are limited options regarding how it could be used if funds could be found to save it.

  It’s on church land but is owned by either the parish council or south Cambridgeshire Council. A £100,000 is needed to restore it internally and to repair the thatch (straw on top of reed).There’s no parking and access is restricted to the grass path  in the pic below.

 We went to Wimpole Estate parkrun today. The weather was glorious – sunshine and blue skies. It was cold but that’s often a common feature of winter, isn’t it (see how knowledgeable I am about meteorology and seasonal variations!) There was more mud than last week and, blinded by the low light, I followed the couple in front of me into a quagmire whilst wiser runners skirted around it. A lovely run and good coffee and jam scone in the cafe with running pals. If there was a cloud on the horizon, it was the second hand bookshop not opening before we left (again). The cries of the books begging to be re-homed was pitiful and clearly audible through the heavy locked gates of the Courtyard.

 This weimaraner waiting patiently for its owners to reappear fixed me with its plaintive gaze. I half expected it to drive away!

I’m still only 70% fit. I can run but have difficulty putting my socks on. I may have another walking Janathon day tomorrow and run on Monday and Tuesday,