Why I love New Year's Day

I've never really understood the 'drink yourself silly' aspect of new year celebrations. Actually, I've never really understood the need to 'celebrate' the changing of a diary date, to be honest.

What I do love though, is that everybody else does. They stay out far too late, getting far too drunk while I'm in bed, fast asleep. I'm a natural morning person, never able to stay up late. But that does mean I can wake up early, and enjoy the early morning when no-one else is around. New Year's Day is a perfect example of that.

We woke in the dark (though I must say my sleep was disturbed last night by the fireworks), and left the house just as it was getting light, for a drive around the Essex countryside. I'd planned a circuit route starting from Ongar, and Mikki laughed when I said the starting point for our journey was some 35 miles away! We got there in no time at all on the empty roads, though there was a heavy mist coming down. I popped into Ongar Church to take a look as it was signposted as being founded in 1080. It's one of those quaint Essex flint churches, with a weird octagonal spire.

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The main purpose of the drive was actually to hunt out some more village signs for my database, as well as checking out a mediaeval castle. I'd spotted two village signs by the time we'd got to Ongar, so had started the day well. We headed in a general north-west direction, taking in the villages of Fyfield, Willingale, Roxwell, Good Easter (yes really!) before getting to Pleshey. By this time the mist had thickened into a fog, and I'd checked out several old churches on the way too.

Pleshey Castle now consists of a moat and some fairly major earthworks and not much else. Check out the OS map for the village (use the Get-a-Map service and type in 'Pleshey' as the search term). The castle is in private hands and is open by appointment, and payment of a fee only. What I did see was a fairly large motte and bailey castle, surrounded by what is stilll a significant moat for a castle that's been derelict for over 400 years.

Having reached the main target of the day, we started to head for home - it was now 10:30 and the day was getting on, there was much more traffic noticable, even on the back roads by this time. We managed to stop for a few more village signs though - High Easter, Leaden Roding and Sheering were all spotted, and we even did some shopping in Harlow before getting home in time for lunch.

Highlights of the day? The two hares sitting in a field on the approach to Pleshey, the two roebuck deer wandering along the road on the other side of Pleshey, and the sheer delight of driving on empty roads through the London suburbs early in the morning. This is the only day of the year when the latter is possible!

So other than sleep in, what did you do?