MADAM - Leaving Whiteshill church cemetery on completion of a graveside duty I decided to walk back along the old road from Whiteshill to Stroud via Callowell and Salmon Springs.

It was a sunny afternoon with a warm breeze.

The farm fields were purple with clover and its pleasing perfume, with a backcloth of the ridge of wickridge and juniper hills extending from the outstanding tall spired Painswick church.

There was not a whiff of barbecue to mar it.

The peace and beauty were heavenly, as all the cemetery residents well know: what better place to be buried than in sight of what must be one of the most beautiful views in our country.

I was reluctant to walk away from it but I was to descend another favourite field, from Callowell Cottage to Salmon Springs, where lies an ancient footway beside the old road.

Unfortunately, it is mainly covered by soil and grass but a short stretch is still visible at the Salmon Springs end.

It would be a nice gesture by the Green Party if they could organise a work party to expose this pathway in all it historic stoniness, so that it is listed as a feature of Stroud to be proud of.

Mrs Molly Roberts Stroud