I was awoken by the sound of birds. Not my alarm (which is the sound of the dawn chorus in the New Forest), but real birds outside my bedroom window. I lay there for an hour maybe just listening to the natural sounds.

Last night I’d opened the tiny window to let a bit of air into my cave like but beautiful bedroom. For a while before I slept I could hear (quite loudly) the sound of a nearby TV. Somebody was watching football.

The Spanish for “goal” is spelt very similarly to the English, being “gol”. However the pronunciation is a little different, being something like GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!

I did have a giggle to myself listening to the presenters. I had no idea what was going on (I couldn’t see it), but they sounded so much like teenagers with old-people voices.

It didn’t disrupt my sleep, and after the natures wake-up call, I did my usual things to get ready for the day and went in search of coffee and breakfast.

That I found in a bookshop-cum-cafe – and I loved it! I read a bit of El Hobbit while drinking my coffee and eating my cinnamon bun. Then I looked through the shop. It sold all sorts of nice things aside from books. But I didn’t buy anything!

From there I walked towards the castle, but I noticed an archway that led out of the town and onto a quiet path than ran along the side of the valley. The town towered over my right side, as did the castle as it slowly swung into view. And it does loom above you!

I really wanted to explore it, but it has become a hotel, so all I could do was look at them outside.

I could, however, go into the cathedral.

Inside, I sat quiet on the floor because the nave was fenced off and you had to pay to go in. There I was enjoying the quiet, only occasionally distracted by noises that sounded like they came from a film.

I did decide to pay the money and go in. It looked like an interesting building that had been extensively updated over the centuries.

I was given a speaker thing that would tell me what I was looking at when I went in, but first I was directed towards some VR headsets.

I had no idea what to expect, but it started with me following a bird flying through the gorges and valleys towards the town. At first I felt ill, but then I realised that I could look up, left, right, spin on my axis, or even down towards my feet. Other than the experience of VR, I don’t know what it was about because it didn’t cover anything if the history of the place.

Neither did the handheld guide that I’d been given. I wanted to be told that this bit was built by doing x and y and replaced z in the nth century because of whatever. I wanted the history of the place. The architecture is awesome and I love the history written in the stones. However, the guide just talked about saints and suchlike, paid for by such-and-such.

After the cathedral, I grabbed a few bits from the supermarket and decided to go for a walk in the woods. I wanted more nature!

So I follow the path up and out of the town into a wide valley full of green trees that sussurate in the wind (I love that word, it’s so onomatopoeic). They must be biggest crickets on the planet in the trees – they make quite a din! Actually, I will go so far as to say that they are intimidating. And they are giving me a headache!

Fleets of butterflies dance about, refusing to pose for the camera. Some of then are white with black spots, the largest are black with blotchy white stripes. Some were yellow and there are tiny blue ones. There are also ones that look like our tortoiseshell.

Somewhere, in the trees in front of me is the sound of a woodpecker hammering away. Little changes in tone and rhythm as they try to find their lunch!

There’s a cool breeze that breaks up the sunshine, and the occasional and very welcome drop of rain that doesn’t even wet the ground.

The path slowly climbs, the trees change from broadleaf and the land underneath from grass and sedge, that smells herby, to pine and pine needles. The air smells like the inside of a sauna, dry, but still aromatic.

When I at the top I have views across the valley to the castle and the cathedral. There are bells in the distance.

I walk back into the town across the bridge by the cathedral, enjoying it’s frame between the trees.

Once back in the town, I decide to look for coffee. At 4pm on a hot day, sensible people are indoors.. I, however am British and we go out in the afternoon sun!

An open cafe in the park is located, and I, with the help of a couple of girls, instruct the barman how to make an iced coffee!

While enjoying my five, I think the cathedral told stories written in stone; the forest told stories written in scent, birdsong, and changing trees.

How can life get better than a bit of culture, a bit of nature, finished by a coffee in the warm shade?