Ibstone, Bucks

I spent the weekend in High Wycombe for a wedding.  The reception was a few miles out at Ibstone.  On Saturday morning Adam and I explored the bluebell-filled woods, but it wasn't until the next day that I went further into the village and saw the standing stone that gives the settlement its name.  I've read now that it was Hibba's historic boundary stone between Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

Between breakfast and checking out, I hadn't time to go as far as the church, but here's a sketchbook page from my brief exploration.  Here you will find:

• The standing stone (twice) and detail of its lichen,
• The perfect cricket pitch with its square, nets, club house and rusting roller,
• Local flora, trees and gorse in the tussocky ground around the stone,
• The row of communication:  telephone box (disused, but a notice about planned renovation says that "It will be beautiful"), post box, noticeboards, bus stop and telegraph pole,
• Play equipment and benches dedicated to villagers of long standing,
• Cottages and houses with hedges, gates and an Airedale,
• The Fox Country Inn,
• The red kite that circled above, and a couple of gliders.

Andy and Jess's wedding was heaps of fun:  singable hymns, classic cars, a hog roast, extensive cheese board, chocolate fountains and raucous dancing.  The couple are on the road now and we all wish them every kind of happiness.