Although we only moved to East Woodhay in 2000 I had always felt a close affinity with the East Woodhay/Woolton Hill area.
I was born and raised at Wash Common which in the 1960’s still felt very much like the village it had once been.
View from Wayfarers Walk across to the area
As children had complete freedom to roam the local countryside on foot and bicycle and took full advantage of the opportunities this presented to us.
In the school holidays myself and local mates would set off on our bikes with a few homemade sandwiches, an apple and a diluted bottle of “squash” to keep us going (no mobile phones!)
Almost invariably we would wind our way out to Ball Hill, Heath End, East End and back through Woolton Hill.
In those days most of the hamlets there had a small shop so these provided ideal refuelling stops.
The beautiful woods and wide vistas towards Coombe Gibbet were the backdrop to theses adventures and we would often stop around the grounds of the mansion at Stargrove in East End hoping to catch a glimpse of Mick Jagger or one of his famous friends. Little did we realise that he was already a tax exile in France. We were intrigued to see a number of “Tepees” and various tents in the grounds whose inhabitants were apparently part of Mr J’s Hippy” entourage.
I have heard many interesting stories of their doings and the escapade which Jagger & Co, Led Zeppelin, The Who and others got up to in those halcyon days.
Peter Brunsden
see Brunsden Associates link below
