Friday, June 29, 2018

Scavenger Photo Hunt - June


Joining in once again with the Scavenger Photo Hunt organised by

The word prompts for June  are - yellow, starts with a 't',  lilac starts with a 'g', silver, own choice.

 Yellow - Yellow Loosestrife by the lake at Trentham Gardens in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire

Starts with a 't' - a tunnel next to the Knot Garden created by climbing plants and shrubs at Little Moreton Hall in Cheshire.



Lilac - Lilacs in May but not in June but I think I can spot a few wildflowers in the photo above that have a lilac hue. 

Starts with a 'g' - Greater Butterfly Orchid in the meadow at RSPB Coombes Valley

Silver - a new fairy at Trentham Gardens this one is called Dancing with Dandelions and she rotates in the breeze.


Own choice - Little Moreton Hall in Cheshire where we attended Piva's midsummer concert of Tudor Music.  We sat outside in the courtyard as the sun set and martins and swallows swooped and dived overhead.  It was quite magical.

 Follow the link below to find other bloggers taking part this month.

 http://livelovecraftme.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/mays-scavenger-photo-hunt-link-up-party.html

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

In the Meadow

On Saturday morning we visited the RSPB Reserve at Coombes Valley where we took a gentle meander through the meadow.  

I hadn't been feeling myself for a couple of days after falling in the garden trying to avoid stepping on next door's new puppy!  It had come through the hedge and was racing around our garden like a child in an adventure playground.  


The views across the valley from the steep meadow were wonderful.

The meadow was full of orchids 

Above are Greater Butterfly Orchids below an orchid we are not sure about. Marsh Orchid perhaps?

We also saw lots of little butterflies and moths

Skipper
Chimney sweeper moth

 It was cool and shady to linger awhile under the broad branches of the oak tree

It's good that I was feeling a lot better by the time of our next adventure which had been planned for some time and took us a bit further afield.  We have to plan our days around leaving a very elderly cat with back leg problems who needs lots of attention and medication twice a day.

We managed a round trip of six hours which was a little long to leave him but he coped.  I'll report on our visit in a future post but here is a little taster.
 


Mister Finch at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, two hours to get there, two hours there and two hours to get home but well worth the visit in such hot weather.
More of Mister Finch and two other wonderful exhibitions soon.

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Thimble Hall and All Saints' Parish Church, Youlgreave, Derbyshire

There is a small car park at the top of the hill as you enter the village of Youlgreave in Derbyshire and we decided to park there and walk down the hill into the centre as the road is quite narrow and traffic is sometimes heavy as drivers weave their way around parked cars and other obstructions.  Locals were waiting at bus stops along the way for the bus to Bakewell.  The people we passed had a ready smile and a 'Good Morning' for visitors.

We could see the tower of All Saints' Parish Church as we walked down into the village.  We did eventually walk as far as the church but first we had a smaller building to find.

 Opposite the old Co-operative Grocery shop which is now a Youth Hostel stands The Conduit or Water Fountain.

Almost hidden by the Conduit Head or water fountain was the building we were looking for....

Thimble Hall

Thimble Hall was built in the 18th Century.  It was a one up one down home with a ladder to the upper room.  It was thought that a family of eight lived there at one time.  It was last lived in as a family home in the 1930s and has been used since then as an Antiques shop, a Butcher's shop and also as a Cobbler's shop.  It is a Grade II listed building.

 Apparently, according to one source I read on line, Thimble Hall is in the Guinness Book of World Records as being the smallest detached house at 11ft 10ins by 10ft 3ins and 12ft 2ins high.  It was sold at auction in 1999 with a guide price of £15,000 but it sold for £39,500 apparently bought by an ice cream maker from Chesterfield.  Sadly it seems to stand empty at the moment although a lady was watering the plants on the side.

The Conduit Head is also a Grade II listed building made of  grit stone ashlar and erected in 1829 by the Youlgreave Friendly Society of Women.  Before this water reservoir was built families had to draw water from the nearby River Bradford.

From Thimble Hall and Conduit Head we walked along Church Street, past The Old Bakery, now a B&B establishment towards the church.


The Parish Church of All Saints' is, according to their guide book, one of the oldest and largest medieval churches in the Peak District.  We had visited the churchyard before, a few years ago, looking for some of Paul's ancestors but hadn't been inside.  Luckily we found the building open.

The interior is mostly Norman with the oldest parts in the nave dating from between 1150 and 1170. There is a Tudor roof and the usual Victorian restoration done between 1869 and 1871,  the stained glass in the east window dates from this time. The Gothic style chancel dates from the 14th century with 15th century additions. 

The glass in the east window was designed by Edward Burne Jones and made in the William Morris workshops.  The table tomb in the centre of the chancel is a memorial to Thomas Cockayne a member of a prominent local family of the time.


 He died in 1488 in a fight with Thomas Burdett of Pooley Park in Warwickshire  as they were one their way to Polesworth church.  The fight was apparently about a family marriage settlement.  It is quite a small effigy, even though he was a grown man,  done this way because he predeceased his father.

Above is the effigy from the 14th century which is thought to be of Sir John Rossington, he lies with his head on a pillow with a dog at his feet. He holds a heart in his hands.

Looking back from the chancel to the nave.

In the north aisle is a Jacobean memorial to Roger Rooe of nearby Alport who died in 1613 and also to his wife and their eight children.

The Norman font which belonged originally to Elton church and was moved to its present place in the 19th century.

Thought to be a 17th century burial slab this figure was moved inside the church for safe keeping.

 A little part of the village school at the edge of the churchyard.

We liked the look of this old shop front opposite the church.  The property is up for sale by auction, just like Thimble Hall was.  I wonder who will buy it and what they will do with the building perhaps a family home, an art and craft gallery or a tea shop?  Who knows.

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

A Short but Lovely Walk

We went for a short walk around Westport Lake this morning.  There was a slightly cool breeze which was refreshing after such a warm night.

We decided to walk around the wildflower meadow before stopping for morning coffee at the visitor centre.

We spotted orchids in the grass and there were lots of bright blue damselflies flitting about but all too quick to capture with a camera.

The field was full of Yellow Rattle and Buttercups.
 
The bees loved the orchids. 

From the meadow we walked around the smaller lake where there were lots of young coots.

Many geese too including Greylags.  A Greylag here with a male Embden or Bremen goose.

Young long-tailed tits were fluttering around in the bushes trying to catch insects.
A Speckled Wood Butterfly - butterflies don't usually stay still long enough for me to focus on them with the camera let alone take a photo.


More orchids near the fence on the larger lake.

Leaves of a Lime Tree so pretty in the sunlight.


A friendly robin, mouth full of insects was presumably off to feed its young.


Lovely markings on this rock dove or feral pigeon which had its beady eye on me. 

Another beady eye can you see what it is?
 

 Joy of joys - a little bunny.  We rarely see them now so it was a delight that this one came out of its hiding place to sniff the air.

As well as orchids there were many beautiful foxgloves around the lake and in the woodlands too