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Galanthus Galore

Galanthus Galore

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There were two firsts for us today; it was the first trip of the year and it was the first time that I had used my new camera. It wasn't warm but considering that it was February it wasn't anywhere near as cold as it could have been and the weather forecast was for sunny intervals which from my point of view was ideal. I didn't know whether what I wanted to photograph would look best in sunny or cloudy conditions so it looks as though I'd have the choice. Perfect!

We drove for an uneventful hour and ten minutes to the National Trust's Attingham Park just a few miles south-east of Shrewsbury. It was unfortunate that it was also half-term for the local schools so there were a LOT of parents with children. The National Trust staff told us that Attingham Park was the second in the list of most visited sites which we found surprising.

None of it, however, would affect why we were here.

The gardeners among you may recognise Galanthus as being the latin for Snowdrop, which they have here, and for those people who don't recognise the word 'Galore' it means 'in abundance'. They flower in February and this is what we came to photograph.

However not just those but THESE:

That's what I call a Snowdrop display.

After walking round the woods with the snowdrops we made our way over to the Walled Garden to see what that was like although we did not expect to see much at this time of year. Just before we entered the Walled Garden we saw this:

This is the Regency Bee House; a rather luxurious home for bee hives and one of only two such houses in the country. We went onward into the Walled Garden.

Very large but, as we suspected, there is virtually nothing in the way of plants yet; those pots on the left are covering Rhubarb plants in order to 'force' them i.e. make them grow taller than they otherwise would. There was also a separate walled area through an arch which was where the greenhouses were but again very little planting. We shall have to return in the summer.

We made our way out of the Walled Garden and decided it was time for lunch. The restaurant is in the Stables Courtyard area which still has some of the old stables which one can visit. You don't have to eat here unless, of course, you happen to be a horse.

There is also a shop and bookshop together with the inevitable toilets. We went into the Carriage House Cafe and liked the meals on offer and found ourselves a table. It has to be said that it was very busy with parents and children moving past nearly all of the time so if you want peace and quiet you'll be out of luck.

I chose a Fish Pie and Amanda had Sausage and Mash and they both turned out to be very tasty and of good quality. We would eat here again but perhaps we'd bring ear mufflers next time. laugh

After lunch we moved on to the house.

The Attingham Estate includes this mansion together with about 4000 acres of parkland including a Deer Park. We didn't visit the Deer Park this time but we did visit the house going in via the Entrance Hall.

The spaces between the pillars were originally open with the Grand Staircase beyond but John Nash, the architect, changed all that which explains why I thought it not as large or impressive as I'd imagined but I have to admit it's a bit better than ours. We don't for example have any trompe l'oeil panels in our hall but these are very good. The doorway off to the right takes us in to the Drawing Room.

The Drawing Room does have a rather impressive ceiling.

This next room is known as the Boudoir. It is circular with 7 doors (we counted them) and it also has an impressive ceiling. It was created for the 1st Lady Berwick as her own intimate space.

Then into the Inner Library with its Regency bookcases. The walls of the Inner Library are painted red; a popular Regency colour choice associated with strength and masculinity.

Around 1805-1807 John Nash, the English architect, included this rather grand staircase in his redevelopment scheme at Attingham as having removed the main staircase he needed a replacment.

One certainly couldn't miss it.

We now went down to the semi-basement which was the domain of the servants. The next picture showns the Servants Hall where they had their meals.

The rules that servants had to observe, which came from Lord Berwick, included:

"No servant is to absent themselves from the house at anytime or from meals on any pretence whotsoever without especial permission of the Steward, Housekeeper, Lady Berwick or myself."

So they are not allowed to skip a meal without permission which brings us to the Kitchen. Quite a large room with a lovely fire which was very welcome at this time of year.

Finally the Bell Room. I thought this to be quite extraordinary when there are so many bells, to demand attention from the servants, that they needed a room to themselves. These bells went around the four sides of the room and were divided into sections of which this was the Ground Floor.

That brought us to the end of our little trip, so early in the year, and back home we went to wait for the next one.

Moor and More

Moor and More

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August has been a dismal month. Cloudy and cool a lot of the time and you would never have guessed that it was supposed to be summer so on the very few occasions when the sun did appear we jumped at the chance to go out somewhere.

About 16 years ago around the time that this web site was started we ‘discovered’ Carding Mill Valley in the Long Mynd near Church Stretton and, having looked on the map, it was evident that there was a walking route shaped like a ‘Y’ where one could start at the bottom of the Y, walk up taking the left fork, where it divided, then walk across to the other arm of the ‘Y’ and walk back down to where one had started.

I’ve always wanted to do that walk but have never managed it until today. The weather forecast was clear skies for most, if not all, of the day. They were lying as usual. Although we had a very good amount of sun the sky was anything but cloudless. We set off for Church Stretton and were planning to come down into Church Stretton via the Burway. This is a very minor road which goes over the Long Mynd.

The picture below was taken on the way up and you may notice that on the right-hand side of the road the ground drops away suddenly. On the way up that drop is on our left and, although not vertical, the drop is very steep and you really wouldn’t want to drive off the edge. The road is only one car wide so if another car comes from the opposite direction one must find a passing place and, for us being on the left, we have to take great care squeezing past so as not to go off the edge.

We did meet a car coming the other way and we survived.

We eventually arrived at the top to be greeted by a large expanse of moor with heather scattered here and there not to mention the amazing view.

I stopped to take this next picture because somewhere down in the dip is Church Stretton and the heather looked wonderful.

As we progressed downward we could see the hills around Church Stretton and there was still plenty of heather in view.

As we descended we gradually lost the heather but the hills still looked pretty impressive. In the picture below the buildings in the trees at the end of that ridge is Church Stretton and, if you remember, we are planning to walk back up here not to mention down again.

We finally made it to Church Streeton and drove into the National Trust car park in Carding Mill Valley and went into their restaurant for lunch. We both had some Pea and Mint Soup, with bread, which was very tasty and very welcome. Afterwards I had some Bread Pudding and Amanda had a Chocolate Brownie which was followed by tea for her and coffe for me.

Now we walk! surprise

The picture below shows the start of the path, near the car park, up the valley.

In the picture below we have reached the banch in the ‘Y’ and are going left behind that tree and, we hope, we will be coming back down the path on the right.

When we got to that junction we stopped and looked back at the view in the picture below then headed further up the valley with its interlocking spurs (Geography) in the picture after that.

We finally arrived at the little waterfall. Here we go off to the right up a near vertical climb. It is rocky which makes it very easy because it’s like going up stone steps. We managed that without incident and continued along the valley until we reached the high moorland once again although not in a car this time.

We found a pond up here and Amanda apparently found something interesting to look at. Probably she was bending down for a rest but didn’t want to admit it.

We walked along the high ground until we found the start of the path down and you can see that we weren’t the only walkers about. You may be able to see Church Stretton in the distance.

As we get lower there is less heather around.

More interlocking spurs in the picture below and although we are losing the heather it is still in evidence.

Finally we arrive back at the junction of the two arms of the ‘Y’. Remember that little tree by the path at the bottom there?

You will have guessed that we made it back to the car otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this. August is not a good time to come to a place like this as the lower parts are very popular and the children are on holiday so everyone and his dog are there but we wanted to see the heather and, guess what, heather blooms in August.

Well it took me just 16 years to achieve my ambition but I finally made it. laughyes

March through the Arch

March through the Arch

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This is the arch that we are about to march through.

It was a lovely day and this is only a 40 minute drive from home so, having parked the car, here we are. We march through the arch and after a short while we turn and look back at the arch from the inside.

There's a nice flower border alongside the path and we can see that the arch is nothing more than a gateway in a wall between two towers. Admittedly the wall and towers have battlements; so is it a castle? Well, yes and no.

A little further along the path and we stop to admire this Laburnham tree and we notice some buildings ahead.

A little further along the path we round a bend and here we are.

This is Croft Castle near the village of Yarpole in Herefordshire. It may have 'castle' in its name but it's no longer a castle but a country mansion in the style of a castle. A castle was built on this site by the Croft family in the 11th centuiry but it has been considerably altered since. The outside walls date from the 15th century and there are four round towers at each corner which, although castle-like, are too slender to act as defensive structures. It is now owned by the National Trust.

There are 1500 acres of parkland. That is quite a lot of land and we didn't have time to explore it but we can always go back.

Next to the house is the Chapel of St. Michael, dating from the 13th century, which contains the tomb of Richard Croft[6] and his wife Eleanor .

We wandered round the outside until we were almost back where we started and then discovered the walled garden. It's not really that obvious and it would be a great loss to have missed it. For a walled garden it is huge. We can't remember the exact size but it must be around four acres. How something that size can feel tucked away I don't know; but it does.

There is topiary.

There is also a very large greenhouse.

And not content with those features there is a small vineyard.

An astonishing walled garden but now it's time to have a look inside methinks.

These are three of the main rooms.

I particularly liked this table where the top is comprised of pebbles sliced through and polished. Very geological and very attractive. I want one.

We really enjoyed that trip and will probably go again.

Little legs and Little Wheels

Little legs and Little Wheels

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We found ourselves with no builders here today and the weather forecast was for sun and clear skies all day so do we believe the weather forecast? Of course we do. So were we too trusting? Of course we were!

We decided to visit Powis Castle, a National Trust property about 30 miles north of us, and set off in bright sunshine. The journey was straight forward and we arrived about an hour later.

Having reached the entrance the first thing that became apparent were the Peafowl. There were numerous birds around and they ignored people completely to the extent that one could walk up to one of the birds and they would carry on doing whatever it was they were doing as if you weren't there.


In that last picture there are two youngsters with their mother – can you spot them? When their mother moved off on her long legs the young birds had to run like hell on their little legs to keep up. Rather cute.

This was our first view of the castle which is an end view and not along the length.

Just out of the picture to the left is the restaurant which is why there are people sitting at tables in the courtyard although there are tables and chairs inside.

The castle was apparently built as a medieval castle but by the Welsh not the Normans. It never became ruinous and has been modified over the centuries to the stately home it is today.

The interior is impressive but not spectacular. The rooms are large but not as grand as some. What we didn't like was how dark it all was. We understand that light will cause fabric colours to fade but as it's then not easy to appreciate them is it worth it? Photography is also prohibited anywhere inside the house which I think that the National Trust should make more obvious in their publicity but they don't.

I remember a particularly impressive table with an inlaid stone top which was near a window with the curtains open and so was brightly lit. That was because, of course, stone colours will not fade in the light. We don't have any desire to revisit the house interior but we will revisit the gardens.

As it was now near lunchtime we decided to pay the restaurant a visit. Amanda chose sausage and mash which she thought was a bit dry and I chose a vegetable and coconut curry which was very tasty. I enjoyed it very much but would have prefered some rice or bread to go with it. One can buy bread of course but at this time of day the restaurant is very busy and if I'd queued for bread my curry would have been cold by the time I returned to it.

So – on to the gardens.


The gardens are laid out as a series of terraces which descend to the flat ground that you can see right at the bottom. Plenty of leg work required to look round.

You may also notice how murky the weather is. It was like that at the start of the day and we hoped that the mist would burn off – but it didn't. You may also notice that cloud has started to appear although there is still plenty of sun.

We went down to the next terrace, the Top Terrace, to start looking around. There are plenty of interesting, unusual and colourful plants and some interesting topiary in these gardens.

Time to go down another level to the Aviary Terrace.


The brick facade features open arches with a relatively small space behind with bench seating. I have tried to find why this is called the 'Aviary Terrace' but failed. One has to assume that there may have been an aviary here at some stage but there isn't any evidence of one now.

There is a great variety of plants on this terrace but now down to the Orangery Terrace but  before we go there is a good view of the Orangery Terrace below.

Here we are on the Orangery Terrace having come down the steps you can see on the right of the picture below with the Orangery on the left.  The orangery would have been used for growing citrus fruit and protecting it during the winter months.


Inside the Orangery is Lady Amanda resting on a seat and outside is an abundance of flowering plants in a multitude of colours.

Further along this terrace, on one of the paths, there is plenty of topiary in the form of mega-hedges. I would not like to have to look after something like that especially that high.

We had now arrived at the lowest part of the garden where we saw this building.

This, apparently, is one of the National Trust's holiday cottages which you can rent for your holiday. I don't know any more than that but you could probably find out more on the National Trust's web site.

We wandered around a little more then decided we'd had enough and headed back to the car park. On the way we had this rather nice view of the castle and the terraces together with a variety of coloured foliage.

We weren't, however, quite finished yet. We drove all of two miles into the town of Welshpool nearby to a railway station on the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway to see if we could catch sight of a train. When we got there we discovered that a train was due in about 30 minutes so we settled down to wait.

Eventually there it was steaming into the station.

What a cutie and such little wheels! This is just one of Wales' narrow gauge railways which now has a track length of eight miles to run on and runs between Welshpool and Llanfair Caereinon. We hope to travel on it one day as it has some quite steep inclines and sharp curves to negotiate which should make an interesting journey.

You may notice now that it has clouded over making the sky white. So much for 'sunny all day'.

After slogging up all those hills the poor little thing needed a drink.

After the drink the locomotive ran around to the front of the train to haul it back home.

That was a rather nice end to a rather nice day.
 

Is there Much Wenlock?

Is there Much Wenlock?

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Is there Much Wenlock? There is actually Little Wenlock!

Confused? I'll explain. Little Wenlock is a village, a little south of the town of Wellington in Shropshire, and Much Wenlock is a small market town also in Shropshire. The 'Much' part indicates that it is larger than Little Wenlock. We stayed in Much Wenlock for three nights at the Talbot Inn in High Street. High Street is only one vehicle wide which may give you an idea of the size of the place.

It is a nice little inn with a courtyard accessed through the arch.



The accommodation was basic but comfortable with the bedroom and bathroom ensuite and the food was good.

Immediately opposite the Talbot Inn was Raynald's Mansion dating from the early 1400s. A very impressive building but privately owned and not open to the public.

Near the end of High Street is The George pub and next to that is an alley.

An alley in the Shropshire dialect is a 'shut'. The name, apparently, comes from old english.

Opposite the far end of High Street in Wilmore Street is the 16th century Guildhall another impressive timber-framed building with an interesting interior. The Guildhall is open to the public between April and October on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.



A little further along Wilmore Street is the church built in 1150 by the Cluniac monks of Wenlock Priory.

A little further along the same road we found this rather interesting old police station. Victorian I imagine.

The following day we drove to Church Stretton and into Carding Mill Valley owned by the National Trust. This valley forms part of the Long Mynd which is a heath and moorland plateau and is, itself, part of the Shropshire Hills. The Long Mynd geology is mostly Pre-Cambrian and the high ground is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

I realised at this point that I had left my camera back at the inn. Bother! (or something like that). So for this walk I had to use my smartphone camera.

We set off walking up the valley alongside the small stream.



You may have noticed that there is plenty of heather about. We reached the Lightspout Waterfall which may be  only 12 feet high but attractive nevertheless.

I'm sorry about the strange lady but she just wouldn't get out of the way. At this point we decided that we'd had enough and went back the same way to the car. Driving back to Much Wenlock we stopped en-route to try and get a view from Wenlock Edge.

It was tricky finding a place where trees were not completely obscuring the view and that was the best that we could do.

The following day we went to Ludlow where we've been twice before and there are plenty of pictures of that town already on the web site so I didn't take any more especially as it was dull and cloudy.

From Ludlow we went to Bishops Castle; a little town near the Welsh border and this time I remembered to take my camera.




It was a nice little town but we felt that it had an odd atmosphere. We later decided it was because there were so few people around. I don't know why that would have been as there were plenty of shops and it was only late afternoon. Perhaps they had wind of our visit.

The following, and last, day we went to Shrewsbury on the bus. This is Shropshire's county town and I had been here once before about 60 years ago but could remember nothing about it and Amanda had not been here before.

We both liked Shrewsbury and it had plenty of interesting buildings, many of them timber-framed, and many interesting streets. We got off the bus in the Square right near the Old Market Hall (Elizabethan); the stone building on the left in the next photograph.

This next view is a short way from the bus stop.

Shrewsbury has plenty of narrow alleyways or 'shuts' as they are known in the local dialect although in the last of these three pictures the alley is labelled 'Compasses Passage'. I suppose that alley may have been built or renamed at a date when the term 'shut' had fallen into disuse.



Those steps in the corner of the next picture are Bear Steps named supposedly after a pub called The Bear which no longer exists. These steps take you through the 15th century building, part of which is visible to the left of the steps, and into St Alkmund's Place shown in the second picture below.


The next photograph is Henry Tudor House, in Barracks Passage, built in the early 15th century.

We walked to Shrewsbury Castle and had a brief look from the outside. The original castle was Norman but very little of that remains and the current building, in red sandstone, looks much more modern so we didn't go in.

However we did see this lovely timber-framed building by the castle entrance but I haven't been able to find out anything about it.

Shrewsbury was our last day so after returning to Much Wenlock for the night we travelled back home, without incident, the next day.

 

Lynn – Day 1

Lynn – Day 1

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As someone, somewhere, had decided to award us a week of summer weather we decided we'd better make use of it before it disappears so we arranged to go to King's Lynn for four days.

So, on a hot sunny Wednesday, we set off for a 93 mile journey north to north-west Norfolk which took just over two hours and took us through Braintree, Sudbury, Bury St. Edmunds, Thetford, Mundford and Oxburgh. One wouldn't normally go through Oxburgh on the way from Mundford to King's Lynn but we chose the few miles detour because we wanted to see Oxburgh Hall. Built around 1482 Oxburgh Hall is a moated manor which was always intended as a family home and not a fortress as the crenellations are symbolic fortifications rather than actual.

The main entrance and gatehouse is on the opposite side of the view shown above and the house is arranged around a large open quadrangle where the next picture was taken showing the large impressive gatehouse.

The eyesore deckchairs have been provided by the National Trust who must have been desparate for visitors to notice them.

It is possible to go up onto the roof of the gatehouse if you don't mind the climb up the spiral stairway.



The rooms, as one might expect, are pretty impressive as this view of the West Drawing Room shows although one needs to ignore the strange lady at the far end.

The Library is equally impressive.

The Queen's Room is, as you'd expect, quite large.

But off to the left, out of the picture, is another small side chamber and in the floor of this chamber is a small trapdoor which, when closed, blends in with the tiled floor. However, when opened, this trapdoor gives access to the Priest Hole. Because of the Catholic faith of the Bedingfeld family, a Catholic priest may have had to hide within the small disguised room in the event of a raid.

The entrance is just large enough for a person to slip through and this is all that there is inside. I am sitting on one of two benches with the other showing to my left and the brick slope on the far side of the floor is the only way in and out. Calling it a room, even a small room, is stretching the imagination somewhat. Getting in, and out, is not easy and it reminded me of my caving days. When I came out Amanda went in. We both survived.

If the King's men (soldiers) turned up unannounced then any visiting priest would have had to get in here quickly and possibly stay there for a few days. There is no toilet and no light so don't even think about it but it was better than being dead.

On a lighter note there is a very impressive flower border in the grounds.

It was an interesting and enjoyable visit but now we must go onward to King's Lynn. We arrived in King's Lynn at our B&B at around mid-afternoon and settled in then decided to have an initial short exploration leaving tomorrow, Thursday, as our main exploration day for the town.

A short way from our B&B was a public park called The Walks and we knew that within the park was the 15th century Red Mount Chapel. It is unique and no other building like it can be found. It was built to contain a relic of the Virgin Mary but was also used by pilgrims on their way to Walsingham.

Built on instructions from the prior of Lynn the inner core is divided into 3 storeys and there is an additional cross-shaped ashlar building in Ancaster stone on top.

A strange place indeed which Pevsner described as one of the strangest Gothic churches in England.

Moving towards the river to the west end of The Walks we crossed the road into another small park known as Tower Gardens. In this park is the Greyfriars Tower which is all that is left of a Franciscan Monastery. Take no notice of the strange woman at the base of the tower she seems, somehow, to get into a lot of my photographs.


Henry VIII had all such monasteries demolished but the tower at Lynn was left untouched because it was considered to be a useful seamark by sailors entering the town and is still clearly visible on the town's skyline to this day.

You can see from this model just where the tower fitted in.

We moved further towards the river looking for the Tourist Information Centre so that we could get a free street plan of the town. We knew that it was located in the Customs House and eventually we spotted it.

Situated on the edge of Pur Fleet this building started life in 1683 as a merchant exchange but was bought by the Crown in 1717 for £800 and occupied by HM Customs and Excise until their move to a central office at Ipswich in 1989. It is now occupied by the local TIC. Pur Fleet runs into the River Great Ouse just behind the camera.

We'd had enough by this stage so having collected our free street plan of the town we headed back to our B&B. We'll be back in this area tomorrow.

 

What’s the rush?

What’s the rush?

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Well, I'm glad you asked me that because I can now tell you. It's the Greater Woodrush. smilies

Scrappy looking flower head init? That is not a good photograph. What it really needed was for the flower head to be sunlit but the background to be in deep shade. That would have shown it up nicely but not something I could arrange. smilies It is a woodland plant, often an indicator of ancient woodland, and not common in Essex. So  where was it?

That's in Danbury near Chelmsford. Have you noticed the white flowers beyond the sign? There were a lot more of them.

They are Wood Anemones so that must be good mustn't it? Well no it wasn't. We had gone to Blakes Wood to look at the Bluebells but because of our recent dreadful cold weather, lasting well into Spring, all the plants, including trees, are well behind. Wood Anemones should be over by now but they appear to be at about their best and Bluebells should be in their prime but all we could see were some leaves. Looks as though we'll have to back in a couple of weeks. On this visit, however, we did hear a Nightingale as soon as we stepped out of the car. That was nice!

That is not to say that there weren't some picturesque views to be had.


Those trees in the last picture should be showing an obvious green haze formed by the appearance of new leaves but there's nothing.

Spring is late this year. smilies