Moon Daisies

2011-09-03T10:53:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, just to let you know Ive moved to HERE
I hope you`ll all pop over to visit me, I`ll put the kettle on just in casex

A walk amongst the heather.

2011-08-24T07:49:00.001-07:00

Hi, its a long time since Ive been here isnt it, well you know how it is, life takes over, so many things to do, so many balls to keep in the air, but I thought it would be nice to get back to blogging some of the things I get upto, so I thought I`d share our lovely walk on Dartmoor today.

We drove upto Haytor, it was lovely and sunny when we left home, but the dark cloud drifted in when we got there, it didnt rain, but made for some very moody photos...on the green were a small herd of Belted Galloway cattle, you could hear them tearing the grass as they grazed, and there was a bit of pushing and shoving amongst one or two of them. The gorse and heather was absolutely beautiful, it seemed to shine it was so bright.

We walked round to the quarry in the warm sun, the clouds like galleons in full sail on the horizon, and by our feet butterflies flitting amongst the purple heather, and the sound of martins chittering above our heads.

I spotted these Dungbonnets on a very crispy cowpat, quite the biggest Ive seen, and very shiny.

The quarry was very pretty with heather growing over the grey granite rocks, and the waterlilies in flower on the lake.

It seems to me that Autumn is just round the corner, it no longer feels like summer anymore, and thats probably because we`ve had a very poor one this year, but I dont mind, I love Autumn, and I cant wait for the golden leaves, berries and all the things that that entails.

We left the peace of the quarry and walked down to the granite tramway, where the granite used to be taken on the carts down to Teignmouth and shipped away, this was one of the junctions.

The moor was certainly magical today with the heather like a purple carpet, flecked with the yellow gorse, and on the far hills the cloud shadows chasing each other...

We also saw lots of ponies too, this little fellow was very shy and kept hiding behind his mother, but I managed to snap him evenually.

A damp morning in Totnes.

2010-08-21T10:57:00.000-07:00

Today we woke to grey skies and mizzle again, but having had to stay in yesterday, we were determined to get out and about, so drove over to Totnes
.
First port of call as always Anne of Cleves tea rooms, and what delights in the window, lovely strawberry topped buns, but we were very restrained and had our usual coffee and scones...

We were lucky enough to find the market on in the square, albeit just setting up, probably delayed because of the rain

the best market is on a Friday, but its always worth having a look...

Theres always this nice plant one, which has some lovely perennials..

and a few specialist ones, this one I noticed also selling chilli and garlic chutney `with a bit of an afterburn` it said....yes I can imagine..

I was delighted to find in a box marked `50p each` at the back of the market, the most wonderful collection of vintage things, tins, glass and pottery, it certainly made my day.

So clutching my bags of treasure we headed on up to the `narrows` where the street is very tiny, and the lovely old shop buildings are all crammed in together

We popped in here, one of my favourite shops...

to drool over all the gorgeous Cath Kidson things, so much prettiness, and lots of other pretty unusual things too.

When we came out, I noticed across the road a new shop, painted the nicest sea side blue

and inside were the loveliest driftwood mirrors, pale french grey chests, shell hangings, and signs with `Gone to the Beach` and such like on...

We decided to walk up to the castle, which dominates the hillside at the top of the town

not to walk round it, but its very pretty around the bottom, the houses are very quaint,, and the gardens always gay with flowers

theres a nice little seated square, which is shady in the summer

and the tree growing in the middle was very pretty hung with large white berries

I had to look it up when I got home, as I wasnt sure what it was, and its a Kashmir Rowan, so now we know...

We headed back down the hill, a slight mizzle in the air..
and popped into St Marys church, the lovely red sandstone tower has just been renovated

Its lovely and large and airy inside, with a fine roodscreen, which unfortunately was defaced a long long while ago

and has a memorial that is very impressive

I loved this pretty dainty stained glass window

and I thought the ladies who quilted this, very talented, its beautifully done

When we left the church, it started to rain really heavily so we headed home, but it was a nice morning out, and look at the lovely treasures I found, very worth it.

An enchanting town...

2010-08-20T05:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we headed over to Topsham, a lovely little town beside the river Exe. It was all decorated up with bunting ready for the carnival at the weekend.

As well as having some beautiful old buildings, it has a wonderful collection of really interesting shops too, I loved this one, and especially the gorgeous wire heart hanging outside.

This is the doctors surgery, well you wouldnt mind going to vist him in there would you

This charming little courtyard is at the back of a kitchen shop called `Cooks Aweigh`

It was full of the most delicious tin stars, metal planters, fabric hearts, and everything for the kitchen you never knew you needed....
after ohhing and ahhing at the delights of the shop, we crossed the road to visit St Margarets church..

It had these two handsome fellows guarding the arched front door

Inside it had that lovely old musty churchy smell I love

It had a wonderful carved vaulted ceiling..

and a beautiful gold and green Altar..

There was a beautiful tapestry kneeler running the whole width of the altar, stitched with a river scene, depicting all the various estuary birds, shelduck, avocets, redshanks, and swans..

presumably because the town lies beside the river..

It was also repeated on this lovely little elegant chair sitting beside the altar, how clever some people are..

Having enjoyed the peace of the church, we decided to walk through the churchyard to the steps at the back which lead down to the river, noting this lovely turrety window on a house opposite

The churchyard is full of beautiful old trees and stately firs, and lovely old crypts like this one

Theres also this wonderful painting on an old building in the graveyard, which depicts the fishing history of the town.

The view over the wall at the back of the church, is fabulous, looking over the reedbeds to the rolling hills in the distance..

The tide was low, and you could hear the fluting calls of the waders drifting over the water..

We walked down the steps and followed the windy road beside the sluggish river, theres some lovely old pubs and resturants in Topsham, this one has just been redecorated, I loved the pretty green theyd used.

We cut up through the narrow little back streets, where the houses jostle together, and found this beautiful ice cream pink house

It was so perfect, even down to the pink and white flowers in the hanging baskets

and next door `Shell House` with the wonderful white shell above the door

A lot of the houses are in the Dutch style as they date from the time when Topsham was an important cotton place.

Some of the houses running down to the river are huge, like this beautiful rambling one..

and high above flying over the gables a magic mermaid..

Leading off from the road were lots of little slipways..

this one was covered in a lovely autumnal coloured creeper

and from the bottom were lovely views down the river, and back across the gardens where samphire grew in great bunches from the garden walls

We carried on down the road, noting more signs of Autumn in the old mans beard woven round the pale blue railings of the museum fence

and the golden rod growing in the walled garden beside the road, where we found a lovely little furry friend

The road evenually finishes at the river, which spread out in a silvery grey expanse

Godwits were strung along the tidal edge like a feathered necklace..

and running beside the thick seaweed strewn mud, was a little path..

that you can trit trot...trit trot down (not over the bridge) but round the corner, and look right back down the river as it glides between the salty marshes, till it spills out into the sea at Dawlish

Having breathed deeply of the briny irish soft air, we headed back, down another little windy road, where there were houses with pretty french grey shutters...

and wee cotts with gardens by their front steps

and dainty ones with almond green doors and windows, and starfish in their windows

past old long disused iron pumps...

To the heart of town, with all its delights, what a truely enchanting place it is...

Moor Delights.

2010-08-18T11:16:00.001-07:00

This morning at breakfast Pete said `lets go to Dartmoor` so we did....we havent been for a while, and although the weather was supposed to be `mixed` we didnt mind, Dartmoor is beautiful in all her moods. The heather was beautiful, like an amethyst carpet covering the moor, and softening the huge grey granite boulders littering it.

We stopped for a coffee with a lovely view across the moor, the sky was darkening all the time, then suddenly it rained a hard sharp downpour, with sleety bits in, and as suddenly as it had started it stopped, and the clouds moved on to rain again in the distance.

We drove on, with the sky like a huge black canopy, in the distance we could see rain falling in the valleys like a fine gauzy curtain, then the sun would break through, and highlight the rolling hillsides only to be swallowed again by the lowering cloud..

We stopped at Kings tor, where there was enough blue sky `to make a sailors collar` and took some photos.

This lovely dun coloured mare and her foal crossed the road to graze on the roadside, we saw lots dotted across the moor, morosely standing with their backs to the rain as it fell....

little streams rushed and bubbled over the granite boulders, the edges starred with tiny yellow flowers and tufty grasses...

and everywhere across the moor the gorse is flowering in bright patches of golden yellow

We decided to travel on to Vixen tor before lunch, the sky ever dramatic

She stood out against the dark background as stately as ever

and so to lunch and back along the road which ran like a black shiny ribbon across the moor, with banks of curly ferns and mountain ash covered in bright orange berries, and all the time a feeling that the summer is slipping away and Autumn is round the corner

at Prince town we went to our favourite cafe which is homely and all the dishes are home made, and had plates of egg and chips and mugs of strong tea, while the rain hammered down outside, and the windows misted up making us feel very cosy inside..

When we left the cafe the sun was shining again, so we wandered around the town, popped into the Visitors centre for leaflets

we also called into the craft centre

where there were some very beautiful things

made by some very talented people

And so we headed home, we stopped at Combestone tor on the way back, it has fabulous views down into the valley, and the slopes were covered in golden gorse

and the tor itself has some wonderful sculptured rocks

Its a very accessible tor, as it stands right beside the road, and a great favourite with everyone

We decided to carry on to Ashburton and as we drove down the hill, I had to stop and take a photo of this sheep who was laying full stretch on top of this grassy bank asleep, I think I woke him up...

Ashburton is a lovely old stannery town, nestling amongst the rolling hills, it is full of gorgeous art and crafty shops, and delightful vintage ones, and the houses are very old and regal

This lovely little stream meanders lazily through the heart of the town, lapping at the ancient walls, where the buddjela nods its purple heads

This lovely old building called The Card house, was once a gaming house, and the slate hung front is covered with different suits of a pack of cards

I was delighted to come across this fantastic Antique reclaimation emporium, it was filled with the most beautiful furniture, lamps and the most amazing chandeliers, what an aladdins cave to be sure, find it here

This wonderful medieval granite arched doorway used to be part of The Mermaid Inn, where General Fairfax the Civil War Roundhead leader stayed, I really enjoyed walking round this fascinating little town, and it was a really enjoyable day despite the weather...

and also because of these lovely treasures I found in a charity shop in Prince town, it was one of those that you just know you`re going to find something interesting in, not smart and bright, but a bit down trodden and dark, but crammed full of unexpected things, and all for the sum of £2.35 what a bargain....made my day, and those dear little tiny glass candlesticks, to die for..

A Peaceful walk..

2010-08-11T07:23:00.000-07:00

We decided to go out for a walk today, I really needed the peace of the countryside, I`ve been off work with stress, due to some very evil minded people at work, and I wanted to go somewhere where there were no other human beings....so we drove over to Berry Pomeroy

It was lovely and quiet, just the sound of the wind ruffling the sycamore leaves, and the cooing of a pigeon from the wood. We walked down the little path, where the ferns and great clumps of mint reared up at us in all their summer glory.

Down to the pond, which looked beautiful in the morning sun...

Purple Loosestrife fringed the banks..

and Meadow sweet perfumed the air with its sweet scent..

The Bulrushes were starting to get their lovely dark heads
.
Their leaves were covered in raindrops like hundreds of little shimmering diamonds

Having enjoyed the peaceful solitude of the pond, we took the little windy road beside the wood, the castle watched us broodingly from the hill...

I was amazed how overgrown everywhere was, the hedge was so high it was hard to look over, but I managed to find a hole and was suprised that I couldnt see the little stream that runs across the meadow, because the grasses and flowers had all grown so much since the spring, but I could hear its merry tinkling sound as it wound its way pass the graceful Alders that guarded the banks.

Evenually we came to the lovely little house...

The garden was pretty with pink and orange roses, and there was a wig wam of scarlet flowered beans in the vegetable patch, and a huge Gunnera down the bottom of the garden

In the back garden a man in a vest was cutting the grass, the fumes of the mower hung in the air,
I love the little lean to at the back, I would stand pots of red geraniums on shelves and hang wind chimes by the door...ah if I only owned such a house...

Wistfully I walked on, with lovely views of the undulating Devon hills, rolling into the distance

till the path wound into the wood..

where sunlight dappled the ground and beechmast made a crunchy carpet

it warmed the ferns growing luxariantly on the banks

and highlighted the `traffic light` berries of the Lords and Ladies

Between the branches of the trees we had glimpses of Jersey cows on the hillside, and high above in the windy blue sky, we could hear the mewling cry of a buzzard as it circled..

Evenually the path led to a gate and then down the hillside, where a little stream meandered over mossy stones, and beneath a thicket of Hazel trees.

On a fallen log beneath these trees, was the debris of an old feast I fancy, left perhaps by a mouse, or squirrel.....

A few yards away from the stream, I was delighted to see this lovely old apple orchard, at first I thought it was one of the traditional Devon cider apple orchards, but I dont think it was, but the trees were lovely, gnarled and mossy covered and full of fruit

Behind the orchard was some lovely old farm buildings

A lovely old barn, and low building where there were feeding stalls..

It was a lovely tranquil spot, surrounded by woods, with sheep in a field knee deep in grass

and blackberries ripening in the hedge..

and the little murmuring stream, studded with watercress, and danced over by butterflies, and vibrant blue dragonflies

The path took us on through another gate, where it told us that this was the hamlet of Netherton, there was a lovely rambling old grey stoned house with various old farm buildings dotted about...

and in the meadow at the back, a set of Bee hives...

We decided to turn back at this point, having really enjoyed the beauty of the countryside, and indeed it was certainly balm for my soul, and much needed...

2010-07-27T06:43:00.001-07:00

Today we headed out to Totnes, a delightful `hippy` alternative sort of town, one of my firm favourites. We always walk past this lovely little cafe from the car park, and I always think how appealing it looks.

Our first port of call is always the Anne of Cleves, a traditional little tea room.

It has all the obligatory requirements of a tea room, pastel walls, dark beams, pretty hanging plates and copper kettles.

and a scrumptious display of lovely cakes and pastries in the window...so after mugs of coffee and freshly baked scones, we felt able to continue on our way

Its been humid again today, so it was a bit of a huff and puff up the hill and under the East Gate Arch at the top

Totnes is full of unusual shops, which is why it is so charming..

This is one of my favourites, and has some lovely vintage furniture, baskets and knick knacks

We came across this fabulous shop Im standing outside, which had the most beautiful bags made out of saris, and inside it was an aladdins cave of sari hangings, quilt covers and fine shawls all beautifully beaded and embroidered, I would have loved to have taken a photo, but didnt like too

At the top of the town, is another of my favourites, this Indian shop with lovely embroided clothes, bells, incense fabulous and so hippy!

Even the fish and chip shop is decorated in a novel way, havent tried the chippies though..
The footpath evenually runs into a little square, where there are nice houses, this one has the traditional slate hung front.

and I loved the colour of this one with the gay window baskets..

and this very beautiful character house

This part of the town is called `the narrows` and leechwell lane runs down the hill between high walls where ivy flaps and brambles grow and tiny ferns grow in crevices...there used to be a Leper hospital in the 12th century on the outskirts of Totnes, and it is a popular belief that lepers would walk this lane to St. Marys church.

The Leechwells a set of three springs, are half way along the lane, and it was believed the lepers would come here to be cured...indeed the town folk would come here too, to be cured of any ailments. The springs flowed into the troughs which were known as Toad, Long Crippler and Snake, and even today the springs are revered by the New Age followers who hang ribbons and gifts about the springs.

Having enjoyed the coolness of the twisty little lane, and the peace of the Leechwells, we walked back to the market square, where we were delighted to see a display of dancing. On Tuesdays in the summer, the market has an Elizabethan theme, and the stall holders all dress in the appropiate dress, we were pleased to have seen the dancing, and their lovely costumes.

We walked back down the hill under the Butterwalk.

this is where there would have orginally been market stalls

across the street was this lovely ice cream pink house with wonderful faces adorning it

We decided to walk down by the Guildhall, its at the back of the main street and nice and peaceful, I thought the pink petunias in the hanging baskets were a lovely contrast to the grey slate and stone of the Guildhall.

Having enjoyed the town, we walked down to the river and walked along the little wooded path

Himalayian balsalm

and purple loosestrife ran like a pink ribbon along the edge of the river, and meadowsweet filled the air with its sweet perfume

wrens called shrilly from the trees, and ducks and moorhens flapped about in the river, we walked down to the weir, and sat on the bench enjoying the sound of the rushing water a perfect end to a lovely day.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

2010-07-26T06:09:00.000-07:00

Hello again, its been a while, but you know how it is, busy, busy busy....we`re on holiday at the moment, so today we drove over to Shaldon as it was a lovely sunny day.

We parked on the Ness carpark, and took the windy road to the village, theres a lovely little hotel at the top of the road called The Ness, and the sign is gorgeous with a smugglers scene and full moon.

It also has this lovely extract from John Masefields poem `Sea Fever` inscribed on the wall, such a lovely idea.

Shaldon is a lovely jewel of a village filled with ice cream coloured houses with tiny gardens full of cottage flowers, this old rowing boat filled with summer flowers is so typical of the delights the village holds.

In the river, men were chest deep, fishing for the Bass or `flaties` that are so good to catch here.

Across the water on the far shore, Teignmouth was waking to another day of cream teas, fish and chips, buckets and spades and paddling in the sea.

Shaldon is a traditional little village, with a green, bakery, local store and one or two fancy little shops. The gems in its crown are the lovely houses, all so pretty and individual.

With pretty gardens full of summery flowers and waving grasses.

I love all the pretty tiles this one has on the wall.

Of course no village would be complete without a pub, and The Ferry Boat had some wonderful hanging baskets.

It was lovely and peaceful in the village, not too busy and the sun was hot on our faces. We followed the path beside the river beach, with glimpses of snowy houses behind the garden walls

and down by the river some rather grander ones, with smart front doors.

We walked beside the river with lovely views to the Moor in the distance, and little boats bobbing on the turning tide, terns screeched and dived for sand eels, and gulls wheeled overhead, it was a delightful walk.

After coffee and scones back at the car, we trundled over to Teignmouth.

We parked up and walked along the front, with lovely views back to Shaldon, and the ness.

There were gay coloured lights strung between the lamp posts, and fishy motifs on the posts.

and the walled gardens were full of summer flowers.

There was an intriguing exhibition on too, called Salvage art, with lots of art works made of recycled materials

some were very flamboyant..

some cute..
I loved this one of mosaic glass.

and this spider had a crushed can body..

this was another of my favourites, I loved the bath tub body, and pretty sunlit sails.

We decided to have a walk round the Pier, I love Piers, they`re lovely traditional seaside things, this one was quite rickety, there were nice views across to the beach, where a sailing club were just launching their little white sailed yachts.

A Spring walk at Berry Pomeroy.

2010-03-21T07:59:00.000-07:00

We went out early this morning, as it was a lovely spring day, and tomorrow promises to be wet, so they say, so we wanted to make the most of it. It was lovely bowling along the deep Devon lanes, the banks quilted with Primroses, and the old gold catkins dancing in the breeze. We drove to Berry Pomeroy, and parked up in the car park to have a hot coffee from the flask, and a delicious lemon curd muffin, with the castle hiding behind the bare trees, and the birds singing all around.

Much refreshed, we donned walking boots, as it was very muddy underfoot, having had two days of heavy rain and walked round to the castle which looked mysterious and brooding in the early morning light, it was lovely and peaceful, nobody about, just the sound of the Jackdaws calling as they flapped around the ramparts looking for places to nest.

The Wishing tree was standing very stately by the tower, with gay ribbons tied to her branches.
.

and in the mossy hollows beneath, Navelwort had taken up residence

We walked down to Margarets tower, where the bank was bright with golden daffodils.

and at the foot of the wall primroses and Lords and Ladies

We peered through the slit in the tower wall, into the dark gloom of the chamber, wondering what sad echoes still haunt it from its sad past...

We took the steep winding path away from the Castle, down to the Mill pond, the sharp green pines piercing the lovely blue sky

I was pleased to see some Canada geese dibbling about on the edge of the pond, probably the adults that had young here last year.

Meanwhile the castle dominated the hill, keeping a watchful eye on us.

As we walked round the pond, where reeds had started to show through in vivid green, Pete spotted a toad in the water, then another and another, till we came across this mass of breeding toads, like a living football, we were amazed we`ve never seen the like before..he plucked a stick from the ground and gently twiddled them round, and they all clung on and waved their legs in a most bizarre fashion...

On a more normal note, I was thrilled to see this lovely clump of Kingcups or Marsh Marigolds just coming out

they were a lovely splash of gold against the rather muted colours of the pond

We decided to follow the little winding road they led away from the pond, we`d never investigated it before, and it was very picturesque.

The Hazel catkins have darkened now, to old gold and were lit by the morning sunshine

and there was a lovely little stream that rushed and gurgled across the meadow

and on the other side of the road, Celandines starred the bank

and Red Dead Nettles were a splash of colour against the new green leaves

it was a lovely little wood that ran beside us, and clumps of Snowdrops lit ground beneath the bare trees

Evenually we came across this lovely old house, nestled beside the road with stunning views across the meadows up to the dun coloured woods, there was a light shining in the kitchen window, where nuts had been hung for the birds, and blue tits were flitting backwards and forwards, and a squirrel darted off across the lawn when it saw us coming

There was a little wild garden planted ontop of the wall beside the road, and the pretty pink and purple flowers of Lungwort were tangled up with the ivy streamers..I certainly envied them their lovely house and tranquil spot

We walked on, the sun warm on our faces and birdsong all around, glancing back it was so pretty with the woods hemming in the green meadows and up on the hill a pony grazing on the dewy grass

the path evenually ran past this old disused building, which appeared to have been a Sawmill, we could see the wheelpit which would have driven the saw inside, it had been carefully boarded up, but for what purpose I dont know

as the path was becoming increasingly muddy, and was winding into the woods, we decided to turn back, on the way we stopped at the pond again, to see how the toad situation was coming along, Pete managed to scoop up this rather handsome chap who sat very morosely on his hand, with his warty old back, then he popped him back to go awooing...

Instead of heading straight back to the carpark, we took another little road past the kissing gate,
where there were nice mossy walls.

and trees with ferny coats danced in the Spring sunshine

and dainty snowdrops nodded on the banks

and chocolate box pretty cottages under beetling thatch were waking to a lovely morning..the road is part of the John Musgrave trial which runs all the way on to Totnes, or back to Torquay, I said to Pete it would be nice to walk the length of it in the summer, theres lots of pubs and tearooms on the way, so plenty of places to rest.

We walked back up the steep hill to the castle, there was a lovely smell of woodsmoke in the air

it was coming from the chimney of the little tea room there, which was opening for the day, although the castle doesnt open till April, a lovely spot for tea and cake, and it was time for our lunch, so we headed home having had an enchanting walk.

Houndtor.

2010-03-05T13:44:00.001-08:00

We took a trip out to Houndtor on Dartmoor today, it was a lovely morning with the promise of Spring round the corner, the sky was clear and forget me not blue, and the air was chill with frost

Houndtor is a lovely tor, with interesting stacks, it was the inspiration for Arthur Conan Doyles `The Hound of the Baskervilles` and is steeped in ghost lore and evil doings, but today it was a lovely peaceful place to be, with the sun warming the granite, and the air filled with birdsong

From the top of the tor we could see for miles, across the wooded valleys, and the farmhouses dotted across the moor, to the far shoulder of the moor purple in the distance.

We followed the winding path down the other side, the ground hard as iron, between the crispy ginger bracken, till we arrived at the Medieval village at the foot of the tor.

Its quite a large settlement, with clear outlines of the houses, and perhaps places they kept their animals, I was intrigued to see their little fireplaces..

a great necessity in a cold Dartmoor winter...I pondered on what life would have been like for these people living in such a remote place, and what hardships they must have endured.

We walked on to Greator Rocks, the sun warm on our faces...

on the far side, facing over the valley, high above is a Ravens nest, Pete noticed it a couple of years ago, and every year they come back and nest there, the female was sitting on the eggs, we could just see her black glossy head, keeping watch for any danger.

We walked back round the tor, noting the birch in the valley had a lovely haze of purple buds, set against the stately row of green conifers.

I love the muted colours of the moor in winter, greys, gingers and browns, set against the livid sky.

Looking back at Houndtor in the distance, it resembled some prehistoric beast, strung out across the horizon.

The moor isnt heavily populated with trees, apart from the valleys, which are filled with mixed woods, but every so often you come across a lovely shiny holly, or as in this case a magical hawthorn, holding her branches up to the windy blue heavens.

Pete noticed beside the path, this Dartmoor letterbox, the stone was completely obscuring the box, but Ive moved it to take the photo, it had a lovely stamp in of Greator Rocks, so much better than the childrens boxes of Disney figures.

Some of the rock stacks on Houndtor resemble famous people too, well you can see this is Elvis cant you?....

After a nice hot coffee from the flask, in the car park, we drove down the road to this sad little grave...it sits beside the road at crossroads, and belongs to Kitty Jay who was a servant girl in the 18th century, and worked at a local farm. Unfortunately she caught the eye of the farmers son, and fell pregnant, whereupon she was thrown out, and because she had no hopes of finding more work, hung herself in one of the barns. In those days suicides werent allowed to be buried in consecrated ground, so were buried at a crossroads, to ensure that the restless souls of the departed couldnt return to haunt the the living. Theres some mystery about the grave in that theres always flowers placed on it, no one knows who does it, but Ive never been when there hasnt been any.

As we drove home across the moor, we noticed a huge plume of smoke rising some way away, so we decided to investigate..its quite common in a hot summer, for the gorse to catch alight, but not often at this time of the year.

As we got closer we realised they were swaling, burning the gorse and scrub, in order to thin out old vegetation to allow new grass shoots to grow and provide grazing for the livestock, its something thats regulated, and can only be done at certains times of the year.

We still havent seen any lambkins on the moor, but saw lots of ponies today, some in foal

and this lovely white one was rolling on its back waving its legs in the air as we drove up, but quickly got to its hooves when it saw us watching.

A walk round the lake..

2010-02-28T04:32:00.001-08:00

On my first day off this week, although I had lots of outstanding things I needed to catch up on, we decided to go for a walk first, to blow the cobwebs away, so we headed over to Decoy park, where the woods hunched greyly over the wind ruffled water, and the birds were pleased to see us..

The Coots formed a small posse to take the bread, and the black headed gulls lurked in the background, I noticed they`re getting their black hoods again

We set off on the path around the lake, the air filled with birdsong, and the odd robin flitted across our path. The chestnut palings pierced the water like a row of teeth, and the reeds rustled dryly in the breeze.

Amongst the leaf litter, beneath the trees were patches of snowdrops, like tiny white candles..

and in the hedgerows, golden catkins danced

shaking their golden tails in the wind..

It was lovely and peaceful, with everyone at work and the children at school. We came to this little babbling brook which gurgled between the ferny banks, Pete scattered crumbs on the bridge

and in an instance a little robin flew down ready for his breakfast.

We walked on, noting the rather splendid wooden seat..

and the gnarled tree dancing by itself..

till we reached the sweeping Beech walk, where last years leaves lit up the gloom of the wood

at the base of a tree was a fairys bathing pool, mossy lined and hung with leafy towels for drying

The little waterfall at the head of the path gushed noisely over the smooth boulders, we`ve had a lot of rain recently, so the rivers and streams up on the moors are swollen, and pouring their icy waters down all the waterways..

The path leading to the higher wood was thick with mud, and scattered with leaf confetti..I noted some of the trees chose mossy green coats to keep warm..

I love Ivy, its one of my favourite plants, so I was pleased to see this lovely red pointy one..

and further along, another reddish one with more rounded leaves, I think they look so pretty growing around the trunks of tree..

other adornments the trees picked for their winter wear were a nice frilly fungi coat

and a rather grand bracket fungi like a small stage

The path wound downhill till we arrived at the Magazine pond edged by dense twiggy shrubs and overhung by skeletal trees, the water reflected the grey overcast sky..

but even so....there were signs of Spring...a honeysuckle breaking into small leaf..

and sharp buds on a nearby tree...

and of course there was a patch of gorse in flower...isnt there always..it was a lovely walk, a good start to my days off.

A trip to Occombe.

2010-02-26T06:03:00.001-08:00

Hello again, its a while since I`ve been here, winter hibernation maybe, I hope you and your families are all keeping well, and looking forward to Spring as I am. As we woke to lovely sunshine for once, we decided to go to Occombe farm, it has a lovely organic farm shop, tea room and walks.

After delicious coffee and fruit scones, we braved the sharp northerly wind which cut across the fields.

The sky was the prettiest forget me not blue, and in the hedgerow the ash was knotty with buds.

Fortunately theres some well made paths, as the ground was very wet after yesterdays rain, and thick with red mud. We stopped to admire the geese which were pottering around their little pond, they seemed to have an interesting pond-mate...

A nice shiny prehistoric creature, probably left over from an exhibition last year

Across from the pond is this lovely unusual seat carved and twisted and covered in a twining leafy pattern, ideal for resting on a hot summers day.

Down the bottom of the field is a grand hen house, and all the occupants were out and trotting about, with the cock, cock-a-doodle-doing every so often. Behind, the lovely Devon hills roll, with slashes of red fields breaking up the dun colours of winter.

In the centre of the grass is a rather nice sculpture, theres always something interesting to see

We followed the winding path down to the entrance to the wood, the wind tugging at our hair, enjoying the skeletal beauty of the trees, and the yellow catkins dancing in the hedges.

In the wood someone has used their imagination and commissioned some paintings of the views which adds to the delight of walking around

They are beautifully done, and show the area as it would appear in another season.

We followed the boardwalk through the wood with birdsong all around, the trees held their bare smooth branches to the windy sky, some cloaked in shiny green ivy, and this rather magnificent oak....

had a ferny handkerchief in his top pocket

We stopped at the bird hide, where theres always nuts and seeds on hangers for the birds, only to discover this rather naughty squirrel dangling from one of them, obviously enjoying the nuts too, when he jumped down blue tits and great tits flew in like bright jewels amongst the beige twiggy bushes, and also this rather nice Nuthatch

We walked on, the sun shining warmly on our faces..

Past little streams that gurgled icily beneath the mossy clad tree trunks

Down little winding paths dappled by the morning sun

where some of the trees were made of silver...

and others wore green mantles...

and the odd one sported fancy crimson fungi.. the wind moaned and sighed amongst the tree tops, lifting the leaves of the ivies..

and some trees danced to the tune...

Just before we left the wood, we came across this rather nice stream..

where the residents were having a early morning paddle, it was an enchanted place to be, so lovely and peaceful...

and when we walked through the gate into the open again, I was delighted to see in the hedge, the first Pussy willows breaking out silver along the branches.

An early morning walk.

2009-08-09T14:42:00.001-07:00

We woke to a beautiful sunny morning today, so decided to go for a walk before everyone else was up and about. We headed out to Decoy park, where it was lovely and peaceful.

I took some bread to feed the ducks, and this beautiful swan glided up..

with her four cygnets, no doubt the same ones we saw earlier in the year, my how they`d grown

On the fence I noticed the black headed gulls were beginning to lose their black hoods..

It was a lovely still morning, the water was like a sheet of glass, the water lilies like green plates

As we stood admiring the view, there was some very high pitched tweeting, and these baby moorhens swam out from among the reeds, following their mother.

we carried on along the windy path, where glossy ferns on the banks were shiny with the morning sunshine

The Lords and Ladies or Cuckoo Pint, have lost their little hoods, and sport bright orange berries, like traffic lights.

The sun filtered through the trees, and the air was filled with the sweet smell of leaves, and damp earth. In the distance we could hear church bells ringing, breaking the peace of the morning.

Evenually we reached Beech walk, where the beautiful trees made a green tunnel to walk along

As we walked, we could hear a Woodpecker drumming in the treetops, and squirrels scampered up and down the branches. As we reached the little brook that bubbled and gurgled over the stones, we noticed a wasps nest in the bank, we didnt hang around, as they were flying backwards and forwards to their nest.

The wood was lovely and quiet, there were few people about, and the birds were silent and shy, as they`d finished nesting, and were going through their moult.

Evenually we came to the Magazine Pond, where the sun sparkled on the water, and the purple loosestrife pierced the undergrowth

I was pleased to see the new bulrushes, tall and chocolate brown..keeping guard around the pond. In the water the roach were swimming around in a large shoal, some leaping on the surface.

In the hedgerows, the blackberry bushes are heavy with their fruit, its a really good year for them

and above the Hawthorn hung with bright red berries.

Some of the umbelliers were reduced to crispy skeletons, hung with gold pennies..

Everywhere, there were signs that the year was getting on, and Autumns just round the corner...

The wood is full of Hazels, and they were festooned with bunches of nuts..

and crisp rosy apples, a feast for the wasps no doubt..

The path briefly leaves the wood, and comes out on to a playing field, in the distance the houses sat and slumbered on this lazy Sunday morning...

Back in the wood, I was delighted to see the path littered with damsons, like a handful of golden gems thrown down, I dont think I`ve ever seen wild damsons before.

The path comes out again by the lake, where the flowers are lacey amongst the grasses..

and butterflies sun themselves..

The swan family had settled themselves in grasses to preen and soak up the sun.

It was a lovely peaceful walk and a good start to the day.

Anniversary walk.

2009-08-07T15:22:00.001-07:00

Today was our fifteenth wedding Anniversary, so as the sun had finally got its hat on, we headed up to Dartmoor.

It was so nice to be out on the moor again, after weeks of grey skies and rain. The moor was looking lovely too, with the heather just beginning to flower, and the gorse lovely and yellow. We stopped at Huccaby bridge for a coffee and scone, it was lovely sitting in the car listening to the water gurgling over the huge grey boulders, and enjoying the golden sunshine.

After we`d finished our break, we drove alittle further up the road, where theres a lovely quaint little church, which I`ve always wanted to visit, but for some reason never have.

Its very tiny, and surrounded by trees, and in the middle of nowhere really...

At one end, there is a rather nice little bell tower, topped with a very pretty cross.

Inside there were two very nice ladies dressing the church for a wedding. They told us that originally the church was also a school, hence this rather nice granite fireplace.

Its quite a plain church, with mostly plain watery glass, but above the altar was a rather nice stained glass one...

The ladies also pointed out, that the wooden seats had inkwells along the backs, which they were using to put posies of flowers in...
and the backs of the seats, tilted up to make a desk, how neat is that...it was a fascinating visit, and I`m so glad we bothered to pop in.

We drove on to Barnhill for a walk. The moor was beautiful, everywhere lush and green.
All the recent rain left bubbling streams everywhere..
We followed the leat, which ran crystal clear, and peaty brown over the smooth pebbles beneath
there was a nice granite slab thrown across it for a little bridge..

Evenually we came across this very impressive stone, which was a Wheelwrights stone, nearby is the remains of a Blacksmiths shop, the stone was used in this position.

It always amazes me that these buildings are in such remote places, it must have been a very lonely life on the moor.

We walked on, I was pleased to see some foxgloves or `Cowflops` as theyre known on the moor, were still in flower, as I`d noticed most had gone to seed.

We were pleased to see some lovely dartmoor ponies too, and in the distance the dark stack of Vixen Tor which legend says is supposed to be the home of Vixana, a witch who lured travellers to their death by conjuring up a mist so they wandered into the mire.

Evenually we came to the Beckamoor cross, or Windy Post as its known, it was a way marker for the Abbots way, and sits in its lonely wind swept place on the moor surrounded by the beautiful sweeping countryside, with sheep and ponies for company.

The leat runs beside the Windy Post, and there is a hole in one of the granite stones across it, this is a `bulls-eye` or inch hole, which regulates the amount of water allowed to the nearby farm.

Its one of my favourite crosses, and a lovely part of the moor.

It was nice to actually see cloud shadows drifting across the hills...

We took the path back up the hill, you get wonderful views across to Cornwall from here, there were some more ponies grazing..

someone was having a lay in I think....

When he saw us watching he scrambled to his hooves and trotted off in a very embarrassed fashion

the hillside was covered in lovely clumps of gorse and heather, Custard and Jam as its known on the moor.

and magical granite rocks..

and high above in the windy blue sky, the white clouds drifted, like galleons in full sail...it was a lovely walk, and such a treat after being stuck in the house for so long. We drove on to Prince town for some lunch, and popped into the new art centre there, which had some lovely things in.

We also walked down to the main gate of the prison, which looks a very bleak place in the cold winter months.

but on a more cheerful note, there was this lovely bank of Rosebay Willowherb, which I think always epitomises high summer. It was a lovely day out, and as we travelled home I had the comforting thought, that we would be going out for a meal, so no cooking for me today!

First day of my holiday.

2009-08-02T07:06:00.000-07:00

Well, at last I`m back to blogging, we`ve had awful wet, windy weather for weeks, so much for the `barbecue summer` they promised us, so we havent really done anything of great interest, plus with working full time, and fitting all the chores in, it certainly takes its toll....fortunately I`m on holiday now for a week for so, so perhaps I`ll be able to relax and find more time.

Yesterday, we went over to Trago, a huge store out of town, which sells everything from furniture to clothes and everything else you can think of. They built a new garden centre, which was opened at Easter, but they hadnt finished laying out the gardens, but fortunately, we were able to look around it when we popped in. It is all themed, and is really excellent...

railway siding....

a lovely old barge, covered in flowers..

Three pretty cottage gardens...

A rather nice Japanese garden, complete with Acers.

a classic Roman courtyard..

there was a nice boardwalk over a lake area, where the water lilies were very pretty..

They had also recreated a large stone walkway, sprouting ferns and the like, which is very Devon

and at the end the path was lined with masses of wild flowers, which you could buy the seed for in the nursery, so lovely

the path then led back to the classic Italian garden where there were some lovely white Agapanthas

I really enjoyed walking round it, especially as we had the place to ourselves as it was so early, it was a good start to my holiday, even though the sky was grey and leaden as usual, and I also bought some nice plants, so a real bonus..

A bit of a wander...

2009-07-12T11:08:00.000-07:00

Well, today dawned brighter than it did yesterday, it was continuous rain all day, very grim. I was back to work, the gardens on the sea front were looking nice.

The beds in the Princess gardens were looking pretty too..

especially as is was Sunday, and nobody much about.

At lunch time, I went for a walk although the cloud had built up abit by then, and looked a little threatening in places. In the park, the grasses round the pond had beautiful golden heads..

There were lots of different flowers out

It seems to change every time I go over..

The day-lilies shook their peachy skirts out over the hazy lavender..

and the Echinacea stuck their noses in the air, and refused to look at anyone..

but the poppies were dainty flouncy ladies, my favourites.

I walked across the park to the other little pond, the Sea Holly in the borders was so pretty, such a lovely misty blue, and covered in bees.

On the pond, were one or two sweet little fluffy ducklings..

I was amazed to see a little Moorhen building a nest on the island, she carried a bunch of leaves in her beak to add to her nest, abit late in the year I would have thought..

There were some lovely flowers here too..mallows and lavender

the lovely plum coloured Heuchera

and a nice formal bed, just as I was admiring this, there was the gentle patter of raindrops, so I headed back for a nice hot mug of tea.

`The Beach`

2009-07-10T06:32:00.001-07:00

Well, today I finally got round to making my `Beach` as you can see the tides out, but it has left a rock pool!....lol...I was quite pleased with it though, its right outside my back door, so nice and handy to gaze upon, not much room for a deckchair obviously, but you cant have everything in life....

it was nice to have somewhere to display my `treasure` that I`ve found on the different beaches we`ve been to recently...especially, that rather nice white `Hag stone` and the lovely big razor shell I found yesterday.

We went to Meadfoot beach earlier in the week to get a bucket of sand

It was lovely and hot down there, and on the horizon were lots of tankers..

The tide was out, so there were lots of exposed rocks and boulders on the beach

and lots of periwinkles on the stones, must have been a bit hot on their roofs!

and some rather dramatic sea-weedy rocks

Pete had taken the fishing net down, so we had a bit of a poke amongst the rock pools, found a very large prawn, but popped him back, then collected the sand and went home for salad!

Teignmouth

2009-07-09T13:11:00.001-07:00

We headed out to Teignmouth today, we didnt go till about lunch time, I made up some rolls, and a flask to have on the beach. It was a lovely day, but down on the beach the wind was very strong, although not cold. Unfortunately the tides were all wrong, so the fishing wasnt so very successful, so we packed that up, and had a bite to eat and drink, and took the spinning rod out.

When the tide dropped, it exposed a long spit of sand which was ideal for spinning off, from there we had lovely views across to Shaldon.

The fondant pink, cream and blue houses looked pretty set against the wooded hills.

Looking back down the spit, the houses on the sea front looked rather grand too, Teignmouth is a very pretty elegant sort of resort, not too spoilt.

Being virtually `out to sea` I had a nice view of the pier too, I love all the old fasioned sea side things, pity they dont still do Punch and Judy shows.

The Ness also looked lovely in the afternoon sunshine, the rolling fields bathed in the golden sunlight.

I walked up to the top of the spit, where the waves were snapping and lapping at the gravelly tip. I looked for `treasure` and found some nice stones, green glass and a fabulous razor shell, which will be perfect for my `beach`.

We walked back to the beach, where the receding tide had left the beach with lots of rock pools, and seaweed strewn rocks.

The gulls were rootling amongst the weed for sand eels and tit bits, it was lovely to see this years baby gulls enjoying the water, and investigating everything.

We wandered down to The Point, where Pete had a bit of a spin. This is the river Teign which seperates Shaldon from Teignmouth. It was flowing quite fast.

The little ferry was sailing backwards and forwards delivering people to the sandy beach.

We didnt catch anything today, except rather a lot of weed, but it was a very weedy beach, so thats hardly suprising, and it didnt matter, it was lovely to be in the salty air, with the wind ruffling our hair, and the sun shining down, and being together....

Battery Green

2009-07-08T11:52:00.001-07:00

Today, we decided to go back to Brixham to do a little fishing, but somewhere different, Battery Green gardens, this is a very pretty spot, and was used during World War II as a defence position. We parked by the harbour, where the sea was ruffled by the stiff breeze and the little yachts bobbed up and down.

The flowers in the laboratory gardens were lovely, a really dark Buddleja, and lots of frothy fennel

I love the flowers on this, mine is just coming out in the garden, and the bees and hover flies love it too.

We followed the path up the steps, its part of the South West Coast path..

The path was edged with Buddleja here too..

It wound through little tunnels of trees...

till we came to a nice natural rocky platform to set up camp..

it had all the necessary requirements, lovely views across to Paignton and Torquay..

Interesting plants....

and nice little hidey holes..

The wind was quite brisk, although not cold, but it made the sea quite choppy, which I found hard to spin in, so I left Pete fishing and scrambled over the rocks, to a more sheltered piece behind him. The tide was dropping, and revealing lovely clumps of seaweed, and little limpets, stuck to the rocks...

It was a nice little spot, the sun was warm, and it was peaceful, and the harbour was starting to get busy with yachts, trawlers and the ferry tacking backwards and forwards. I was quietly spinning away, minding my own business, when I felt a fish on the line, so I whipped it out, and it was a little Pollack, so small, it wasnt as big as my spinner...lol I hadnt even hooked him either, I think he must have had an `Elvis` type lip and it just caught it, as he fell off onto the rocks when I wound him in, he was fine though, and Pete having heard me yell came and popped him back into the sea, such excitement!

Needless to say, Pete was catching something more worthwhile, some lovely Wrasse, they were such lovely colours, but of course they went back in again.

I stopped and had a coffee, and watched Pete fish, and enjoyed the views, when suddenly we saw a seal, he swam all round the rocks, right beneath us, then round to the side I`d been fishing in, he kept popping his head up to look at us, then swimming off, I couldnt manage to take a picture, but I did get him on video, which I`ll put at the end.

I decided to go for a walk, theres another little cove, Fishcombe across from where we were fishing, so I headed for that..

Theres lots of old war time look outs on the green..

I noticed the crocosmia was coming into flower...

there were lots of brambles, and a pretty Meadow Brown was sunning itself

Fishcombe is a lovely little tiny cove, it only has a small beach, but theres a nice little beach shop, which sells buckets and spades, teas and ice creams, and its surrounded by a lovely wood, so an ideal spot for all manner of things, we had a nice morning, although we were only there for a handful of hours....but it was so nice to see the seal and enjoy being outside.

Gone Spinning.

2009-07-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

Well, we did go to Brixham spinning this afternoon. The weather was lovely, blue skies and golden sunshine.

Brixham looked pretty in the sunshine, the little pastel coloured houses set against the hills, and the harbour full of gleaming white yachts.

We were heading for the breakwater, which is about half a mile long, and a favourite place to fish

there were some lovely clumps of Samphire growing amongst the rocks on the breakwater

we evenually found a nice little spot, with plenty of room to fish, and picnic..

we had nice views from our platform across the harbour..

we hadnt been there long, when the water started to `boil` in different places in the harbour with mackerel shoaling to feed, it was incredible to watch, as they chased the sand eels all around. It happened on and off all afternoon.

I got my spinning rod out, and Pete refreshed my memory on the finer points of using it lol..and ta dah....I caught this lovely little mackerel, he was the most lovely greeny colour, and after admiring him, he was gently put back to swim another day!

Pete did some spinning as well as float fishing. He caught a couple of mackerels....

and this rather nice little fellow...a rockling..he went back in too..

It was a lovely spot, so peaceful....I sat on the steps and cooled my toes in the water..

sitting down so close to the water I had a lovely view down the breakwater, with weedy ropes disappearing into the crystal clear water, where I could see another world of seaweed forests, and little tiny fish darting about...

Right at the end of the breakwater, I could see the little white lighthouse...

and beside the steps little rafts of bladderwrack gently floated..

at the end of the afternoon, we had a bit of competition...this cheeky cormorant, who busily dived infront of us and came up with a fish....glad I didnt catch him when I was spinning!

A day in Dawlish,

2009-06-30T11:14:00.000-07:00

My first day off today, so we wasted no time in getting out and about. We drove over to Dawlish, which is a lovely little town beside the sea. To get to Coryton beach you have to cross a bridge over the railway line. Its not a huge beach, and the sand of course is red. The railway line runs behind the beach, and is a very busy line, bringing all the holidaymakers in.

The beach is also backed by these soaring redstone cliffs, topped with shrubs and trees..

Some had these wonderful patterns on which the gulls were using as nest sites. We could hear the babies whistling and fluting above our heads.

It was another one of those days that was a bit cloudy, but very humid. We had a coffee from the flask, then I left Pete to his fishing, and I went to explore.

Theres a nice old stone pier at the other end of the beach, so I wandered down the shore, looking for stones and shells and other treasure to the accompaniment of trains rattling along the track, I gave a wave to one and he tooted back lol...very railway children.

There was lots of seaweed by the old pier, all sorts, thick, thin, red, green, it smelt very strong, but I quite like the salty smell of it, I`ve never eaten it, but I would imagine I`d quite like it, but I wasnt going to have a nibble of that!

On the way back I found a nice spider crab shell which will go towards my `beach` just as I was putting it in my collecting bag, Pete gave a shout and pointed out to sea, and there was the most amazing pod of dolphins, there must have been about twenty of them, covering a huge area of the sea, porpoising in and out of the water, I was thrilled, at least I didnt miss them this time...I tried to get a picture, but it was very difficult, as they were quite a long way out, and moving all the time...

I walked on to the top of the beach, where there is a little cafe that sells, sandwiches and ice creams and teas, theres also a nice set of colourful beach huts.
at the end is this rather pointed redstone rock, with tufts of thrift growing out of it, and at the base some nice grey stone seats, not very comfy I should imagine..

round the corner is Boat cove, filled with little red blue and white boats, theres also a couple of old rusty winches, a relic of past times. The railway track at Dawlish is one of the closest rails to the sea in the country. In the winter the waves roar and crash over the track, and frequently close the line due to the salt. The rail journey from Exeter to Torbay is classed as one of the most pictuesque in the country.

I decided to walk back as it was time for a little lunch, the view back down the coast was really nice, with the rolling red hills and the little stacks in the water.

theres another little pier at this end of the beach too, I had a little walk down it, I could see lots of little fish and sand eels under the crystal clear water, I quite fancied doing a little spinning, but its a while since I have, and as there were a few people sitting at the cafe enjoying an icey, I didnt feel inclined to make a fool of myself!

After some nice salad rolls, mug of tea and abit of a sunbathe, I left Pete catching seaweed lol and decided to walk into town.

Dawlish is a very pretty little town, with lots of Georgian and Regency houses, painted in lovely shades of lemon, blue, pink and cream. It was a favourite haunt of Charles Dickens and Jane Austin, and its easy to see why...Theres a park in the middle called The lawn, filled with beautiful trees and flowerbeds. Running through the lawn is a river called The brook, strung with coloured lights and where the black swans live that Dawlish is famous for.

These two were feeding on the grass, they are so beautiful and graceful, and this year they`ve had three cynets..

which were all very busy feeding under the water, so I couldnt get a picture of their faces!

The Brook is also home to lots of other birds, whistling ducks, mandarins, pom pom headed ducks, and these rather grand chappies...

I followed the path to the top of the town, noting this beautiful thatched house, dont you love the gothic windows..

I came across a nice little bakery as well, so popped in for some cakes for our picnic. The bottom of town is more devoted to the holidaymakers, with amusements, trinket shops and fish and chips. The gardens are all kept in lovely order

and are very traditional sea side gardens which I love.

Evenually, the brook runs under the road and out into the sea

I made my way back to the beach, stopping to wave to another train, who merrily waved back, clutching my bag of cakes, having had a lovely day at the seaside.

A sunny walk.

2009-06-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

It was very misty this morning when I walked to work, and very humid, but by lunch time it had brightened up to a lovely golden day. I went for a walk over to the park..

The flowers along the road are looking lovely now.

The Hebe in the park was out, mine in the garden are coming into flower too.

Last time I came, the gardeners were just planting up the beds, its always interesting to see what combinations they choose, Bergonias this time, they`ll be nice when they grow abit.

I was suprised how quiet the park was, especially on such a nice day, but it was nice to have a bit of peace...

this little moorhen kept me company, chugging around the pond.

I thought the `lambs ears` were very pretty..

the main beds have been planted in bright orange Geraniums, with marigolds and canna lilies around the edge..

I walked across the park to the other pond, which was full of the quacks of ducks, and these cream and pink flowers together were really pretty.

this Moses in the Bulrushes was such a pretty blue..

I decided to walk over to Corbyn Head to look over the bay, the little pavilion on the bowling green was looking very pretty hung with bunting, and the bed infront had been planted up with begonias.

It was high tide, so not much red sandy beach. All the beach huts have been brought out of storage now, and there were people in deck chairs enjoying the sun.

It was nice standing on the headland, looking out over the bay, which was very pretty in the sunshine. There was also a nice little breeze, which cooled me down.

I decided to go and get an ice-cream, theres a little shop by the beach, I wanted one of those tubs, where you get a little plastic or sometimes wooden spoon, nice and old fashioned...

and I tried not to notice that awful balloon was up.......

A bit of a buzz.....

2009-06-24T14:36:00.001-07:00

Today has been a beautiful day, and this afternoon I sat in the garden and read my book..it was very peaceful till suddenly I heard this loud buzzing sound...and

this rather splendid fellow dropped in to visit...hes a Rose Chafer, and a lovely shiny green colour
he pootled about the flower for ages, theyre supposed to eat roses, so I dont know why he was in my garden, as I dont have any, but I`m glad he did, then he buzzed off!

This is my drift-log I lugged back from the beach yesterday, and some of the stones, shells and my hag stone I collected..

It has a lovely pattern at the top, I`m going to get some sand, and make a `beach` in a terracotta container I have, decorated with shells and stones. The ball of rice krispies on the top of the log is one of those egg cases of the whelk, strange eh..

Tonight, I was thrilled to see the first day moon, so thin and silver peeping out from behind the chimney.

Dawlish Warren.

2009-06-23T13:30:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, we decided to go to Dawlish Warren, as we havent been for a while, its beside the sea, and theres a nature reserve.

Beside the car park is heathland, and I was amazed to see Evening Primroses in flower..

they emit a lovely perfume in the evening which attracts moths.

The beach is really nice here, very flat, so ideal for bathing with children, the tide was out, and the waves lazily lapped at the groynes..

there was a nice row of beach huts too...

We walked along the boardwalk, back to the reserve..

it was quite a sandy little path that wound through the reserve, which was open, with woodland, and bramble patches. The grass was filled with flowers, lovely yellow rattle..

and the little pink stars of Common Centaury, I`ve never seen this before..

and lots of butterflies flitting from place to place, this Small Skipper stayed long enough to have its photo taken..

a real treat to see, were the beautiful orchids amongst the grasses

.
there were lovely little waterways, fringed with reeds and willows

and a nice little family of Canada geese having their breakfast

it was so nice to see so many different flowers..the lovely little purple Self Heal.

Meadow Sweet, which certainly lives up to its name, as it has a lovely perfume..it was strewn on floors in days gone by, to sweeten the atmosphere!

Purple Loosestrife.

and Ladys Bedstraw, this was used as bedding in the middle ages..

Evenually we came to the end of the reserve, and climbed the dunes down to the beach.

there were the most amazing old posts sticking out of the sand, like ribs of a skeleton

they were beautifully worn and smooth...

some nearer the tide-line were draped in green sea-weed, and covered in mussels and barnacles, there was an old lobster pot caught up against it...it was like a sea side sculpture.

it was lovely on the beach, hot, although there was cloud about, the sea was still going out, so there was a huge expanse of red sand...

it had a very pretty pattern...

we walked to the end of the point, where the river Exe glides into the sea, seperating Dawlish from Exmouth across the water. It looked very pretty with its georgian houses in pretty pastel pinks, blues and creams...

I did a bit of beach combing, and found some pretty stones, shells and a nice hag stone...also not so much drift wood as a drift log!....well a small post really..it was so lovely I had to have it, so I put it in my `collecting` bag and heaved it back along the two miles of beach to the car park lol

We had a `tourist` lunch of chips, sitting looking over the sea, with the beady eyed gulls watching every mouthful, it made a pleasant change, then walked down to this rather wonderful rock formation known as the Langstone..

its red sandstone, and quite amazing with arches and twisty bits..

it would be inaccesible when the tide was in, the sea would swirl and fill all the little caves..

on the inside walls of the rock, were some wonderful Beadlet Anemones, they had their front doors firmly shut, but would wave their tentacles when the tide returned..

I was fascinated by this wonderful rock pool, I dont know if it was especially built for the purpose, or was used as something else and has reverted into one, but when the tide comes in, it obviously fills it, then recedes and leaves all the residents stranded till next time...

we decided to walk back, as the tide was beginning to come in, and would soon cut us off, but all in all, it was an interesting day.

A day in Dorset.

2009-06-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

Today, we decided to take a trip to Dorset, its one of my favourite counties, with lovely countryside. The drive along the old coast road, was like being on a switch-back ride, up and down the hills, with stunning views across the fields, woods and out to the coast. Honeysuckle and dog roses choked the hedges, and wild flowers nodded on the banks. Evenually, we arrived at our destination, West Bexington, a lovely little village beside chesil beach, which is a huge shingle bank which runs for eighteen miles. From the beach, you can see right up the coast to Portland, which looms a dark shape on the horizon. We set up camp on the shingle, there were already several fishermen down their, all set up with their bivvys.

After a coffee break, I left Pete to fish, and I set off to explore the surroundings.

I followed the little shingle path that runs beside the shingle bank

The shingle was very pretty, decorated with mallows and wild parsnip

There were also lovely clumps of greeny-blue sea kale

some were covered in seed pods like little gooseberries...

I was hoping to see some Horned Poppies too, as you dont always see them on every beach, and I certainly wasnt disappointed, as they were growing everywhere, they have a wonderful long seed pod in the Autumn, up to twelve inches long..

Sea-bindweed, grew like a pretty pink and white trumpeted carpet over the shingle.

and spiky teasels guarded the pathside.

On the other side of the path were lovely views across the fields, a group of crows were morosely squawking to each other from posts.

There were also lush green reedbeds, which rustled in the gentle breeze, and where Sedge warblers kept up their insistent chatter. In the distance I could see Swyre, a tiny village of white painted houses, set amongst the fields.

I crunched on along the little winding path, it was very warm although the sun was hidden by the cloud cover, and the odd skylark rose into the air and sang. The murmur of the sea rose above the huge shoulder of the shingle bank, although I couldnt see it.

There were lots of bees and butterflies around the flowers..

it was an enchanting place...

suddenly I spotted the end of what looked like a log of wood...so I climbed to the top of the shingle bank only to discover it was a ships mast...I was totally amazed, it was enormous...and so forlorn, I wondered how it came to be laying their, and what happened to the ship and crew...I guess I`ll never know...

I slipped and slithered down the shingle bank, and walked on, in the distance I could see Golden Cap, one of the highest cliffs along the Jurrasic coast, it was misty, and looked as though it wore a gauzy veil.

the edges of the path were softened by grasses, beige, white and silvery..

I decided to walk back, it was definately time for a mug of tea, and I`d been gone nearly two hours, so I headed back, I noticed on the far hill in the distance, The Knoll which was an old customs look out post. When I got back to camp, Pete said he`d seen a pod of dolphins chasing fish..trust me to miss it..

We had a picnic lunch, and mugs of tea, it was lovely and peaceful listening to the suck and boom of the sea, and the cry of the gulls overhead, much refreshed I decided to have a walk in the opposite direction, to see what delights that would hold...there was a pretty row of chalets set back from the path.

I thought the blue and white one was very pretty, what a lovely peaceful spot to have a house, and very wild in the winter, when storms rage along the coast line.

This path is part of the South west coast path, it runs for hundreds of miles along the coast-line. There were lovely grey boulders amongst the shingle, covered in lichens..

and hedges of Hawkweed...

and also the lovely little restharrow, with its dainty pink flowers

the clouds were beginning to break up, and the sun shone through, it was very hot..

the stones down this end of the beach were much bigger, so I collected some pretty blueish ones, there were lots of shells and driftwood, and a nest of fish eggs like rice krispies all stuck together

I also noticed this stone, which had been quarried, I wonder how it got there, such mysteries...

Weighed down by all my beach combing, I decided to head back for a cold drink, and a spot of sun-bathing, a nice end to a lovely day.

A day in the garden.

2009-06-16T11:19:00.001-07:00

I woke to a really beautiful morning today, clear blue sky and sunshine. It was early when I got up, so the street was lovely and quiet. I was a bit concerned about the baby gulls, they`ve grown a huge amount, and one of them feeling a little adventurous, pootled off his chimney nest, and we saw him walking about the roof, which worried me quite alot, as I was afraid he would `ski` off the roof and land on the pavement!

I looked out of the bedroom window, and could see the adult gull guarding the nest on the chimney behind her, where the baby was laying in the middle of it.

and then....ta dah...there he was on the chimney, infront of the adult...

stretching his little wings, pottering about, and whistling at his Mum....so glad...

Apart from walking up to the nursery first thing this morning, I`ve spent most of the day in the garden.

I had some plants to pot up, like this pretty Salvia..

and this nice rockery one, I`ve tried to buy more perennials this year, as its cheaper in the long run than annuals, and theres always something coming into flower.

The lilies are started to flower, such a lovely rich colour. I bought some after seeing Mum`s, shes got an oblong planter filled with them, and theyre gorgeous.

The Arum lily is doing well too, apart from the leaves being nibbled by snails, well at least they leave some interesting patterns!

I bought three Margurites this year too, white, pink and yellow, they always make a lovely show by flowering all summer.

I have a little pond too, well alright...its a trug...but it does me, I dont keep fish or the like in it, because that would be cruel, but there are little water snails, beetles and things...which I like, obviously I would love a wildlife pond, but unfortunately my garden can only be pots and containers, as theres no soil or grass, but you have to make the best of it dont you..

And by the front door, in the porch, I`ve set a nice pink Geranium, surrounded by shells, a nice welcome home after work.

Gone Fishing...

2009-06-15T11:18:00.001-07:00

Well not me obviously...we decided to go to Shaldon, Pete wanted to try out his new fishing rod, and I decided it would be nice to potter around the beach, and look for `treasure`. We parked up, and set off for the beach, past the nice little pond where the Gunnera have grown huge, and the carp and goldfish slid beneath the greeny water.

down the smugglers tunnel..

and down onto the red sandy beach.

It was lovely and hot even though it was quite early, and the beach was deserted, so we set up camp.

Pete got on doing all the technical things men do, when they fish, and I decided to explore.

I rolled up my jeans, and walked along the sea shore, the water was lovely and cool, and it was nice and peaceful, apart from the odd parrot screech, or Monkey whoop, which is a bit disconcerting considering its a Devon beach, but theres a little zoo the other side of the looming red cliffs, and perhaps the inhabitants were looking forward to their breakfast...

There was some rather nice `treasure` laying on the beach, and soon my bag was `clinking` with various pretty stones and things. I did pick up a rather splendid curvy shell, only to turn it over and find there was someone at home, eek.... a nice set of legs was protruding from the hole, and fidgeting a bit, so I popped it in the sea....

There were lots of pretty flowers growing along the beach, Moon daisies, Queen Annes Lace, Mints and Samphire. I walked back to camp, and we had a coffee and scone, and I had a quick read of the paper, then much refreshed decided to walk back to the village and look around.

Teignmouth, across the water was just waking up, and looked pretty in the morning sunshine.

The old rowing boat planter at the head of the village looked very pretty filled with flowers

and on the beach, all the little boats awaited their owners.

Shaldon is a very pretty little village, and it has some really lovely houses..

fondant pink ones...

some with Pansy borders..

some with pretty tiled walls..

and of course, the odd olde Inn..

The path twists and turns, down little alleyways, with glimpses of the river, till you end up down by the bridge...

The sky looked abit dark and threatening, and the sunlight was shining on the far hills.

Down here beside the river, the houses are very large and beautiful, the roses in the garden were so pretty..

and the Poppies, a riot of scarlet..

At the end of the road is St Peters church, I was pleased to see the door open, as I`ve never been inside before...

I was absolutely amazed to see how beautiful it was, this lovely rood screen, with the marble base, and all the saints across the top..

There were two lovely marble angels guarding the Altar..

The apsidal sanctuary walls are set with lancet windows fitted with stained glass, quite amazing

I loved this little carved figure on one of the pew ends, of the choir stalls.

The pulpit is quite wonderful made of black, salmon, blue-grey and greenish grey marble. The ornately carved columns around the pulpit are made of Beer stone.

The font was beautiful too, made of white marble and a figure of St John the Baptist bearing a clamshell to hold the water, very unusual. Its a lovely church, and I really enjoyed walking around it.

Out into the sunshine again, with the noise of children playing in the nearby school playground. Past a rather nice tea shop...

and pretty little thatched cottages...

with cats on the roof...

and pretty little cottage gardens...

and smart little affairs with shutters...

and every little space filled with flowers, shrubs, trees..

I walked down a little alleyway to the heart of the village, where there were some lovely Begonia towers..

and at the end, the village green, bright with geranuims.

and the clock hung with bunting..

I walked back to the beach, enjoying the glimpses of the secret gardens behind the fancy wrought iron gates...

with the constant screeching of the baby gulls on the roofs ringing in my ears...it was a lovely walk, in a very pretty traditional village.

A flowery walk.

2009-06-11T11:41:00.001-07:00

And so....back to work, which came a little hard I guess, lovely morning when I left the house, a gorgeous ghost moon sailing high in the sky

Nice view from the steps at the bottom of our street, and as I was admiring it....

this little face appeared above the other wall, so cute..

At lunch time I went for a walk, they`ve put lovely planters along the railings on the sea front, very nice.

So much has changed since I last walked here, the garden infront of the hotel was filled with red hot pokers, Bears breeches beginning to flower and phormiums too.

In the park, the pond looked lovely with huge seed heads on the grasses

there seemed to be several plants with a silver/purple theme...lambs tails

a dainty Hebe..

sage..

On the green, there was a sedate game of bowls in progress, everyone in their immaculate whites..

The rock garden was very pretty, the flowers softening the grey rocks

in drifts of purple..

and yellow..

I walked past the Abbey which slumbered in the warm sunshine..

Valerian softened the railings along the road..

and crimson thistles danced down by the seafront pond

It was lovely and peaceful down by the pond, the fluffy clouds reflected in the smooth water

the gardens were really pretty..

lovely cottagey flowers like poppies..

and masses of yellow daisies

Walking down to the little bridge that spans the pond, I spotted this little Moorhen family, she was very carefully feeding her babies...

she had two, this was the tiniest, the other was much bigger, she swam off with the larger one, and this dear little chick sat shivering at the edge of the pond, chirping...

but before you all shed a tear....Mum called to it, and it swam very quickly over to her, and they disappeared into the vegatation on the island, absolutely gorgeous..

I also saw this nice family of ducks too, busily swimming about.

unlike these, that were having a nice siesta amongst the daisies...

I was pleased to see this lovely Poachard sitting beside the water, with his nice chestnut head
and to finish my nice walk, these beautiful foxtails I think, such a lovely colour..

A lighthouse and a Windpump.

2009-06-09T12:20:00.000-07:00

On the day we took Mum back to the village she was born, we drove on to Happisburgh on the coast. It has this lovely red and white candy stripped lighthouse, set amongst the fields. It was built in 1791, and was originally one of a pair. The pair formed leading lights marking safe passage around the treacherous Happisburgh sands. Its privately owned now, but does open its doors on certain weekends.

We parked in the village, which is lovely, full of pretty flint and thatched cottages.

Once again, like most of the villages in Norfolk, it has a lovely village sign.

We walked up to the church, St. Mary`s, which is on a mound above the village. The tower soars high into the blue windy sky, and is 110 feet high. There were lots of Jackdaws flying around the top of the tower, calling their persistent `jack jack` call, and landing on the arched window in the bell tower.

It was lovely inside, bright and airy, with fabulous stone arches and a nice carved rood screen.

The stained glass window above the altar was beautiful, in glowing colours, and the painting on the altar so pretty in gold and blue..

I thought the detail of the lilies, and the angel were so beautiful

There was also a nice statue of Our Lady..

We sat in the porch on the way out, as there were two swallows nests, and the parents were flying backwards and forwards feeding the young, which kept popping their little fluffy heads up

The wind was distinctly cool as we walked round the church to the grave-yard. You could see for miles down the coast, to other churches in the distance.

Amongst the village grave-stones, are the graves of sailors drowned in accidents off the coast of Happisburgh. The most famous being The Invincible which was wrecked offshore in 1801 with the loss of 400 lives. Many of the dead are buried in a communal grave. After this sobering thought, we went back to the car, and drove on down the old coast road, much prettier than the more modern `quicker` one. It twisted and turned past pretty cottages, and farms, and beside the lovely marshes, till we arrived at Horsey.

Horsey staithe is a lovely little remote spot, set amongst the marshes, where cows stand knee deep in lush grassy meadows, and swallows fly and dip above. The windpump was built in 1912, to pump water out from the surrounding land, so that it could be used for agriculture. It was used till 1943 when it was hit by lightening. It is owned by the National Trust now.

The dyke running beside it leads to Horsey mere, a windswept broad which is only open to the public Spring to Autumn.

Its a delightful relic from the past, and very evocative of the Norfolk landscape.

Behind the windpump was a nice little dyke, edged with irises, and reeds

and also lovely views across the marshes, I could just imagine as it was falling dusk, and a thin mist rising, and the moon sailing overhead...lovely

and perhaps not so lovely, is this wind turbine miles away at Ness Point in Lowestoft, it stands at 413 feet, higher than Norwich Cathedral, and was the first commissioned wind turbine in Suffolk, and the largest in Britain....interesting to see the old and the new together...its named Gulliver apparently! After all this excitement, we went into the little National Trust shop cum tea room, and had large mugs of hot tea, which were very welcome after the cool wind outside, surrounded by the lovely NT gifts, lavender sprays, jars of jam, cookies and many more tempting things.

A trip round the Broads.

2009-06-08T23:54:00.001-07:00

The Norfolk broads are a beautiful area of waterways in East Anglia, and whilst we were home we took a trip out one day which included visits to some of the little villages along the broads. The broads were created by the digging of peat for fuel many years ago. Our first stop was Potter Heigham, a major boating centre for the broads, where lots of people start their holidays, or take day trips on boats.

There is a lovely old Medieval bridge which spans the river Thurne here, and the clearance underneath is only seven feet at its highest, making it very difficult to navigate in a boat. In summer there is a bridge pilot who helps boat skippers safely through. The bridge is reputed to be haunted on the 31st May at midnight, when a coach containing a bride and skeletal captor is seen racing over the bridge, and crashing into the river below. Must remember to avoid that date...

Its a lovely little spot, with nice views up the river, and lots of ducks and swans drifting about. It gets very busy in the summer, partly due to Lathams a large store that sells lots of interesting things, but also has a rather nice bakery and tea room which sells excellent Norfolk shortcakes!

Much refreshed, we drove a few miles along the winding country roads to Ludham.

This is a pretty little sleepy village, with lots of nice thatched cottages. The tea room used to be a Saddlery.

The parish church, St Catherines is made of flint and stone, we decided to look inside.

It was lovely and cool, after the heat outside, and had that nice `churchy` smell, of dust and age. It has a beautiful rood screen, with colourful saints. The sunlight filtered through the leaded windows, and warmed the flags beneath our feet.

It also warmed the tomb of Richard Cooke, who had a rather splendid carving of skull and cherubs on his stone.

The Altar was very pretty, all gold and blue....

and I loved this carved stone affair, especially the little heads at the end of each arch..

the 15th century font was very beautiful too, such craftmanship..

At the back of the church, we were interested to see, that someone had been busy making this lovely map of the village, in all different fabrics...

and cross-stitched these individual houses from round the village, they were beautifully done, and very interesting to look at.

Having enjoyed our visit, we walked out again into the sunshine, the old lichened grave stones decorated with the lovely moondaisies, and the swallows flying in the windy blue sky.

We drove on again to Horning, another charming village set on the river Bure.

we walked down to the staithe, where all the boats were moored up, and on the green lots of geese..

and lots of babies...they were very cute, and very busy cropping the grass..

its another very pretty river, with the willows beside the water and the flag iries golden beside the bank.

It also has nice little shops, bakeries, gift shops, olde pubs. I thought this garden was so nice outside one of the tea rooms.

and lovely old Elizabethan features.

Our next stop (its amazing what you can cram into a morning) was Neatishead a tiny little village, tucked away from the world in the middle of nowhere. Mums Grandfather had a saddlery here, which has now been turned into a resturant.

We wanted to visit the Barton boardwalk, which I`d read about but never visited. We had to walk half a mile from the village to it, but that was no hardship, as the countryside was beautiful, the lovely flat fields of wheat disappearing into the distance, huge oaks shading the road, birds singing, and the hedgerows filled with campions, daisies and frothy cow-parsley.

We evenually reached the boardwalk, which is circular. It was lovely and shady under the populars, willows and alders.

Birds flitted amongst the trees, and irises speared the thick very smelly mud!

The view at the end of the boardwalk is magnificent, the broad being huge, we saw crested grebes and geese swimming about. But it was also very very windy, and the wind quite cool, so we walked back....and drove on to Wroxham, as it was definately time for lunch.

Wroxham, is considered the capital of the broads. There are lots of places to hire boats, take day trips, generally do watery things. Also there are lots of holiday cottages, and shops to visit.

It was a nice place to lunch, and generally potter about, and a good end to the day.

A step back in time....

2009-06-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

On one of the days of our holiday, we decided to take Mum back to the places of her childhood, and the village where she was born. We stopped at North Walsham first, a small market town, made prosperous by flemish weavers who settled in the town in the 13th and 14th century. There is this nice Market cross in the middle of the town, hung with pretty hanging baskets, it was originally used to collect the tolls from the market traders.

Having enjoyed walking round all the little shops, we called in at St. Nicholas church, one of the largest parish churches in the UK. The tower has collapsed, due to a heavy set of bells being rung for a rather long period in the 17th century!

The church was originally dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and there is a lovely statue in the front porch. Whilst we were admiring this, a blackbird flew up to the figure on right, where she had a little nest tucked away...

The nest was on his left shoulder, and we could see her feeding her babies..

Its a beautiful church inside, there was this magnificent carved font cover

and the stained glass window above the altar was beautiful

there was some lovely carvings around the church, this intricate one on the pulpit

and some rather fetching pew ends.

Beside the altar is a massive tomb worked in coloured marble to Sir William Paston. He was famous for writing the Paston letters, a collection of letters and papers consisting of the correspondence of members of the gentrified Paston family in the 14th and 15th century.

The church was beautifully light and airy, due to all the many windows, I loved the way the reflections of the panes patterned the old stone ledges

and the stained glass ones, spun coloured lights across them.

This little carving of St. Nicholas was really sweet, sailing forever across the wall. We really enjoyed our visit to the church, and when we went outside, saw the little blackbird again, busily searching for food for her little brood.

We drove on, along the little winding Norfolk roads, the sun shining, and the wide sky blue and cloudless, till we reached the village where Mum was born, Knapton tucked away amongst the fields.

The village was quiet in the afternoon sun, not a soul to be seen. We parked beside the church, the banks covered in moon daisies.

I loved the little lantern above the gate. Although the church of St Peter and St Paul seems to dominate the village, being set higher than the houses, from the outside, it doesnt appear to be anything other than the usual parish church....but once inside...

you can see why it is famous...it has the most beautiful double-hammer-
beam roof, covered with angels

local tradition claims that the roof was built from a shipwreck at Mundsley, a village nearby, but it is probably more likely, by carpenters in London, who shipped the roof to Mundsley.

The font was rather interesting as the font cover reads `wash my sins not my face only`

The church isnt rich in stain glass windows, although the roof makes up for that, but once again the sunlight through the `watery` glass looked beautiful..

I found this tomb stone, fascinating, with the skull and winged egg timer, I have to confess to a passion for such things, abit ghoulish I suppose...lol

When we came out of the church, we walked round the sleepy village, with its pretty houses.

Sparrows chirped tunelessly, and the gardens were full of pretty flowers.

This was the little house where Mum was born, and lived till she was eleven.

and she used to play `two ball` on this wall, beside the house. The bank used to be covered in celandines...

We followed the little path across the sugar beet field, that she used to run along with her sisters, martins and swallows dipped and dived above us, and the soil was dry and hard beneath our feet

across the fields, in the distance we could just see the dark blue smudge of the sea..

it was lovely and peaceful walking beside the fields of swaying corn, edged with creamy cow parsley, the sun warm on our backs.

Evenually we crossed a railway bridge, which has now been blocked up beneath, and is overgrown with Elderberry and honeysuckle. Mum used to stand on this and watch the steam trains huff and puff into the station, which is now a private residence.

Not far from the station is this lovely little walk, it was called `Green lane` when Mum was a child, and she used to play here with her friends. She remembers that the Gypsies used to camp here in their little painted caravans, they were the real Gypsies, with long swirling skirts, and scarfs in their hair. They would cook over a fire, and sit on the steps of the caravans, making pegs to sell. I would love to have seen them.

We walked for a little while along the path, the sun was dappled on the path, and there were nice glimpses through the trees of the fields..

the Oaks danced quietly as we walked by...

and when we came to a clearing, we could see the soaring steeple of a church in the distance..

Green lane is called Paston way now, and has a new board with all the necessary information, but its nice to know that theres still memories of a different time, when things were slower, and children could play safely anywhere they wanted too. As Mum said, they used to leave the house after breakfast, and not return till tea time, and no one would be worried, because there was no need. We walked back over the fields, till the church came into view..

then we drove away, leaving the ghosts of the past in peace....

We`re back....

2009-06-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

Hello..we`re back again from visiting my Mother in East Anglia. It was lovely to see her, and visit some of her favourite haunts and ours too. The weather was lovely sunny and hot, so we were blessed. The first suprise we had when we arrived and opened the gate, was this little head popping up from the huge fir in the middle of the grass, a mother pheasant and her ten newly hatched chicks!

She`d been to the garden before, probably from the woods and fields across the road from Mums house, and fed at the bird table, and obviously thought it would make an ideal nursery for her little ones. They were so gorgeous, running around the garden, and scaling the huge heathers in the borders. We saw them for two days, then they all disappeared, so we think she took them back to the woods to a more natural environment, but we were so pleased to have had the chance to watch them.

Mum lives just outside Beccles which is a lovely little market town, set beside the river Waveney. It was granted a charter by Elizabeth I in 1584, and is depicted in the town sign.
It has a beautiful church, St. Michaels which has a seperate bell tower that soars to nearly one hundred feet, and contains a peal of bells. It was built away from the main body of the church, as it would be to heavy to be so near the cliff edge.

The south porch is huge, and very elaborately carved.

I thought the gardens around the old gravestones were very pretty, with the peach roses and poppies against the grey of the stones.

In this part of the country, the churches are mostly left open for everyone to enjoy them, which I think they should be, but of course you can understand why some are locked up.

The church is huge inside and has a lovely carved rood screen

and a beautiful stained glass window. The mother of Admiral Nelson, Catherine Suckling married the Reverend Edmund Nelson in this church.

The sucklings lived in Roos Hall, which is in Beccles, its supposed to be the most haunted mansion in the country. A phantom coach and four horses, driven by a headless man, is said to clatter through the garden on Christmas eve. There are said to be strange markings inside known as the `Devils footprint`, and the pale face of a small girl is said to have been seen peering from the topmost gable window. In the grounds there is an oak tree that stands on the site of a gibbet where many local criminals were once hanged, and is now haunted by the souls of the victims. Also, the apparition of a white lady is supposed to circle the oak at night. It is said that walking round the tree six times will conjure up the devil....lots of exciting tales then, but something that is certainly factual is that Elizabeth I stayed here when she visited Beccles to present the town charter. And that my grandfather worked as a gardener here for some time.

Having looked round the church, we walked down Northgate, a lovely street that leads down to the river and out of town. It is lined with beautiful Georgian houses, very elegant, with lovely secret gardens you can glimpse over walls, and through gates.

Some have twisty chimneys, and interesting little windows..

some have the river Waveney at the end of their gardens

and others have a distinct `dutch` feel to them.

and this one was the first home Pete and I shared together with my daughter Rachel. It was divided into two flats, and we had the top one, and the attic window at the top was Rachels bedroom, with lovely views down to the river. In the summer the swifts would nest under the eaves, and would `scream` up and down the street, I think thats why we love them so much.

We walked to the bus station square, which is lined with lovely old beamed houses, painted pretty suffolk pink, and hung with pretty hanging baskets, and took the windy little road to Puddingmoor..

This road runs nearer the river, and the houses are just as pretty, I love this grey and white flint cottage, the garden was a riot of cottagey flowers, and we were lucky enough to see a painted lady butterfly, theres been reports in the papers that theres been a huge migration of them.

These poppies were beautiful too, it was so nice to wander around idly in the sunshine,

We walked down to the quay, where the willows draped over the water, and the ducks quacked

And lots of little boats were tied up...theres several boatyards here, where people hire boats for their holidays

We walked around the green, where this splendid chap was `cock a doodle doing`...

then the girls turned up....we also saw a pair of Egyptian geese with their five chicks, but I didnt manage to get a photo of those. It was a good start to our holiday.