Back to Day One

After telling you about the last day of our holiday first, I'll now take you back to the beginning.   We set out about 8a.m. and drove through Stone, Eccleshall and down through Telford and  Bridgnorth, stopping for breakfast on the way to Kidderminster.  We  joined the M5 as far as Weston-Super-Mare which was our first real stop and leg stretch.  I wasn't sure what to expect as I'd never been before but was pleasantly surprised.

There was a lot of work going on along the front and of course, around the pier, which was being rebuilt after being destroyed by fire in 2008.

Weston has everything that you would expect a seaside town to have like a big wheel

vast beaches to walk along

a place of entertainment and a retreat from windy weather

and donkeys,  the real ones above and another kind as seen below....

we found the one above in the entrance to a coffee shop and the one below....

in the Museum.  I'm guessing that there would be more around the town but these were the only two we spotted.

It was time to move on to find our accommodation for the night - the next couple of days we spent exploring the Somerset coast from Watchett to Porlock and beyond.  I'll be back with more in the next post.

Back Home

We've had a wondeful week away mooching around Somerset and Dorset and I've lots of photos to sort through and share with you but I thought I'd start, rather strangely, with the end of our holiday and our journey home.We spent the morning in Stratford-upon-Avon - I'll tell you more about this in a later post - then we moved on to Evesham.

As it is the 'Heritage Open Days' weekend we were lucky to be able to look around The Almonry Museum  and Heritage Centre in the town for free.  It was such a wonderful place - beautiful from the outside and fascinating within.

The Almonry is one of the last remaining buildings associated with Evesham Abbey and has many artifacts relating to the history of the abbey itself.  The inside is a quirky, warren of small rooms with displays relating to the history of the town and its people.

It has old fashioned cases of fossils and ancient tools alongside modern audio visual displays about The Battle of Evesham, memories of the town during the two world wars, Victorian room settings and costume and tools from the industries which made the town prosper.

Round the back is a lovely, tranquil garden in which to sit and enjoy looking at the building.

After walking around the town and discovering the Abbey gardens with its two churches and bell tower - also buildings remaing after the Dissolution of the Abbey -  we bought some damsons from the market - now as well as catching up with laundry after the holiday I have to make jam as well!

Here is a link to The Almonry Museum's Website - if you click on gallery you can see inside the building. I'll be looking in to catch up with what you have all been doing whilst I've been away later on!

Acton Scott Historic Working Farm

Just a short drive away from Ludlow is the Acton Scott Historic Working Farm.  Just off the main Shrewsbury road  between Church Stretton and Craven Arms it is reached by driving down quite a narrow road but once there you will find ample parking and a wonderful view of the Shropshire hills from the car park.

Used by BBC2 as a location for its series called 'Victorian Farm' - which I had seen - and  'Ben Fogle's Escape in Time' - which I hadn't.  As we walked around we could hear people saying every now and again- oh here's where they - 'made the bricks', 'sheared the sheep', 'mowed the hay' and etc.  It did all seem very familiar!

So, here is the oven where the bricks were made

and above is the black barn skills workshop where all sorts of rural crafts can be tried.

This is the inside of a shepherd's hut with a bench and table at one side and a hard wooden bed at the other.

The Bailiff's garden was very popular, as was his cottage where the lady of the house was making drop scones in the kitchen.   Unfortunately we'd just missed the butter making demonstration in the dairy.

In the photo below you can see the wagon and horses just going by the bailiff's cottage.

 

Through the dairy is the actual farm yard showing the pig sties; round the back of which is the blacksmith's forge.

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From the Lawn Field at the back of the farm yard you can see the Acton family's house.  The red brick looked lovely in the bright sun light.

It was time for afternoon tea which was available in the School House Cafe.  By this time it was 4pm. and as the cafe closed at 4.30p.m. we had the place more or less to ourselves.

There was plenty to chose from.  Paul's coffee and walnut cake was apparently very tasty but I was slightly disappointed with my piece of carrot cake as it had a burnt bottom!

I forgot to mention that whilst crossing what is known as The Patch we had watched some children learning how to herd the sheep.

Of course we saw many other animals, livestock and poultry - and you could hear the donkey from quite a distance.  We had a lovely afternoon wandering around the farm.  It is well work a visit.

Next week we are off to the coast for a few days - see you when we return!

Ludlow Castle

What is it that makes wandering around historic ruins on a lovely sunny day so appealing?

 It could be an old abbey or priory, an old house or a castle!  At Ludlow Castle there are plenty of ruins to wander around, plenty of nooks and crannies to get lost amongst and plenty of places to sit and stare!

 I love just sitting against the warm stone and feeling both past and present all around me

Here is the history
The castle dates from Norman times, one of many built along the Welsh marches for the defence of England against the Welsh.  It was first owned by the de Lacey family and then the Mortimers. In 1327 Roger Mortimer helped Queen Isabella depose her husband Edward II.  The castle passed from the last Mortimer to Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York who lost and then won back ownership during the Wars of the Roses. In 1459 Richard's wife Cecily and his two younger sons, George, Duke of Clarence and Richard, Duke of Gloucester were captured there. Richard of York's son Edward IV sent his two sons Edward and Richard to live at the Castle.  It was from here after Edward's death in 1483 that both Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III) and Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers  - both uncles of the new young King - vied to be the first to return him to London for his coronation. 

Henry VII's eldest son Prince Arthur and his bride Katherine of Aragon stayed at the castle after their wedding in 1501 but Arthur died there in 1502 and Katherine married his brother Henry.  Their daughter, Mary Tudor, later Mary I, also spent some time living at the castle.  During the English Civil Wars Ludlow was a Royalist stronghold until 1646 when,under siege by Parliamentarian forces, it was finally surrendered.

Above is the Norman or Round Chapel in the inner ward.

Above is the door to the North Range

The River Teme as viewed from an upper window in the North range.

A window seat overlooking the round chapel and below one of the many spiral staircases.

Below is another view of the Keep and the Great Tower

After our lunch in the Castle Tea rooms it was time to move on to our next destination.

 I'll be back with more about the Acton Scott Victorian Farm later!

At Ludlow

Ludlow, nestling  in the Shropshire Hills,  is a lovely historic town with some super shops and cafes and a wonderful market.  If any of you watched 'Countryfile' on BBC1 last night you will recognize the market from the photo below.

Ludlow is well known as a 'foodie' town; it's shops and markets are full of wonderful, local produce and there is a modern food centre on the Shrewsbury road on the outskirts of the town.  The building at the top left of the photograph  houses the Ludlow Information Centre and Museum.  We did have a browse around - it's free admission - and found it was a very interesting local museum with a super geology collection.

When we first arrived  we stopped for coffee on Church Street before setting off to look at some of the buildings around the town.  Ludlow is noted for its timber framed buildings some of which we managed to photograph.

The Feathers is probably the most well-known of these lovely buildings - below are some more

De Grey's tea rooms and town house on Broad Street - further down the street we found the lovely building below

and the wool shop, too!

We also had a wander around the Antique and Flea market in the  Ludlow College building before heading towards our main goal -  the castle.

 We had a good look around here and had lunch in the wonderful Castle Tea Rooms.  I think the castle deserves a post of its own so I'll be back with more.

Lovely Day

Yesterday was my birthday and what could be nicer than to spend your birthday

in a lovely historic town with gorgeous shops

Wandering around some historic ruins and

visiting an interesting museum?

That's  exactly what I did yesterday  - I'll be back to tell you more later.
In the meantime thank you everyone for my lovely cards, letters, e-mails, presents, flowers, food and 'phone calls - and a special thank-you to the sun for shining for most of the day!

Autumnal August

Yesterday morning we walked in the Oakwood at Trentham.  There was a cool breeze whispering in the trees and rippling through the ferns.  

The air was damp and the ground beneath our feet was soft and  soggy

As we walked there were definite signs of Autumn - leaves tinged with yellow and so many species of fungi.

As we walked we saw evidence of deer, tracks, droppings and antler marked tree trunks;  we followed their tracks for awhile whilst the buzzards and peregrines called overhead.

 Their mournful cries seemed to match the cool, dim, dankness of the day.  Autumn is creeping in early this year.