Hereford and Ledbury

In Ledbury recently, for a family funeral.  So interesting to visit another part of the country after lockdown, even if the occasion was a sad one.  

Ledbury has an unusual church with a detached bell-tower.  We are in the Welsh Marches here; the tower would have been a defensive structure.

Black and white half-timbering everywhere, and that indubitable sign of prosperity: no empty shops in the town centre.

Not so Hereford, where tattoo parlours and vape shops have taken hold.  However, the cathedral lived up to expectations.  It holds the Mappa Mundi, a mediaeval world map drawn on vellum with Jerusalem at its centre.  Even more amazing was the Chained Library with every book spine inwards on the shelf with a chain holding it.

Outside we looked up and my husband spotted a new bird for our list: a peregrine falcon.  

Just across the road: the Museum, with these fine Roman mosaic fragments.  The facade of this building is encrusted with ornate animal carvings.  Once, Hereford had some civic pride.

And, in a glass case, this little knitted needle case in very fine wool.