~{nilheadimage~=143120~}
So, a little over two months into our three-month car hire agreement, Avis want the car back... Back at Heathrow, that is, where we picked it up. Calls to Avis customer service reveal some degree of confusion regarding this request. But no-one seems to have the authority to countermand it.

Ah well, we thought, we knew we'd have to swap the car over at some point. Let's just do it. But rather than tackle a long there-and-back drive in one day, why don't we make a little expedition of it, overnight in an Airbnb somewhere, and see something different?

So that's what we did.

We set out yesterday. Such beautiful weather... A baby-blue sky; a bright, low sun; fields highlighted with frost, and smudged with mist... Stunning.

~{nilimage~=143118~;dir~=H~;alt~=lunchbreak~;caption~=Sandwich stop en route to Heathrow~}
I'll just get the car swap stuff out of the way first, before turning to the pleasures of the day. The Avis folks at Heathrow were just as bewildered as our telephone interlocutors. "Why are you bringing your car back a month early?" "Err, because you told us to..."

But eventually the manager was called, a new car was located and issued, a half-tank of petrol was gifted by way of compensation, and (in theory at least) we now have access to this new car for longer than we're likely to need it (but you should never say such things these days, because you never, never know...) OK, I don't really love the car, as it lacks certain things that we've come to appreciate (eg, a satnav and a rear camera), but hey...

Armed with our new vehicle, we set off for Barton-le-Clay. This very pretty Bedfordshire village sits at the foot of the Barton Hills (part of the Chilterns). So it's really great for a post-road-trip afternoon walk.

~{nilimage~=143119~;dir~=H~;alt~=house1~;caption~=An abundance of pretty properties~}
~{nilimage~=143122~;dir~=H~;alt~=house2~}
~{nilimage~=143127~;dir~=H~;alt~=house3~}
~{nilimage~=143145~;dir~=H~;alt~=view1~;caption~=Fabulous views as you ascend, and then walk the ridge~}
~{nilimage~=143146~;dir~=H~;alt~=view2~}
~{nilimage~=143147~;dir~=H~;alt~=eagle~}
~{nilimage~=143121~;dir~=H~;alt~=view4~}
~{nilimage~=143148~;dir~=V~;alt~=sms~;caption~=The moon, the sun, and the shadow...~}
Back on the flatlands, we took a look at the church of ~{link~= https://bedfordshireparishchurches.co.uk/wp/barton/ ~;text~=St Nicholas~;target~=stnicholas~}. Most of it dates from the 13th and 14th centuries, and it reminded us a little of the ~{purplepost~=1005~;text~=Norfolk flint churches~;target~=norfolk~} we became so familiar with back in 2020.

~{nilimage~=143149~;dir~=V~;alt~=tower1~;caption~=The adorable chequerboard tower is of 15th-century vintage~}
~{nilimage~=143151~;dir~=H~;alt~=back~;caption~=The building and its churchyard are very picturesque~}
~{nilimage~=143123~;dir~=V~;alt~=blockedwindow~}
~{nilimage~=143150~;dir~=V~;alt~=tower2~}
~{nilimage~=143125~;dir~=V~;alt~=door~}
~{nilimage~=143124~;dir~=H~;alt~=graveyard&house1~}
~{nilimage~=143126~;dir~=H~;alt~=graveyard&house2~}
Walk over, you can just whizz your new car up another bit of hill for a quick view of the ~{link~= https://bedfordshirewalks.co.uk/sharpenhoe-clappers/ ~;text~=Sharpenhoe Clappers~;target~=clappers~}:

~{nilimage~=143152~;dir~=H~;alt~=clappers~}
Our Airbnb was a detached, self-contained little house at the bottom of the owners' garden. Super-cosy on a frosty night, especially with a bottle of wine, a decadently large helping of Stilton, and a binge-watch of ~{link~= https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/dec/19/the-girl-before-review-its-the-red-flags-that-make-this-thriller-such-fun ~;text~=The Girl Before~;target~=girlbefore~}.

~{nilimage~=143128~;dir~=H~;alt~=couch~}
~{nilimage~=143129~;dir~=H~;alt~=bed~}