Philip farm to Beit Guvrin on Israel National Trail: Day 26

A day of walking through mainly agricultural land, Tel Lakish, an ancient palace fortress was the most significant location I visited.

Green fields, the Israel National Trail follows the farm track in the middle.

The morning took me through bright, green fields of some grain crop and lucerne. As it was the weekend groups of people were out walking. Some Israelis seem to walk the Israel National Trail a weekend or a few days at a time with a group of friends, slowly covering the length of the country. I also met a Dutch couple "through hiking" from the north and looking forward to the desert section. There were also convoys of 4x4s on the tracks, paragliders in the air, and motor bikes and quad bikes out for a weekend ride. Vineyards were added to the agricultural scenery, some with netting to keep the birds off. Apparently they grow grapes for the table in this area. A sign I passed stated I was now entering a firing range which was a little offputing, but the waymark painted on the sign clearly showed I was on the right path. Given that my map also showed the military area was to my right I continued on my way.

Warning of a firing range, but note the Israel National Trail waymark

I turned off the trail at Tel Lakhish, and viewed the remains of a gate house and the palace foundations. An historically significant outpost of the Kingdom of Judah, it fell to the Assyrians in around 700 BC who claimed to carry off 200,000 people (presumably as slaves) and again to the Babylonians a hundred years or so later. 

Entrance to Tel Lakhish

I continued to the village of Beit Guvrin, arriving too late to visit the Roman ruins. The shop at the Petrol station was open so I enjoyed a sandwich and welcome coffee among a crowd of bikers in full leathers, adorned with various brand names and some expensive looking motor bikes.

After Beit Guvrin I followed the edge of a wooded area. Large cacti and the remains of stone walls among trees means, I have read, that before the 1948 war an Arab village would have stood here. As I climbed into an area of dense bushes, I passed a Bedouin tent. Two young children playing nearby, wearing jumpers with teddy bear motifs, said "hello" as I passed. Their sheep were already penned for the night behind some wire netting. A few pickups were parked beside them.

Nearby I saw my first wild iris, pale blue and smaller than those in a florist's shop. These and all the red anemones looked particularly attractive in the low evening sun.

A wild iris

I settled on a small, but more or less flat area, among the bushes to pitch my tent for the night. Churned up by cows' hooves the ground was a little uneven but I could find comfortable positions to lie in. As I write this in my tent, some creatures are calling to each other with something more like repeated wailing than a howling or barking. A sign said this area has striped hyenas, maybe it was those, although it did not sound like they were laughing (later I decided its was Jackals). I was more concerned about why cars were driving along a nearby dirt track in the dark. Earlier I saw a police car, blue lights flashing, stop a car on these tracks. I try and keep a low profile.