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.

 

Christmas Knitting

This is scarf number 1 - Afetos.  I've chosen a sock yarn with a light tweedy speckle, and it is a pattern I have knitted before.  Quite a high wool content to this yarn.  The lace pattern is not complex but needs care because it is not symmetrical.  

So I was pleased to se this one finished: it had turned out well, I thought.  Then I gave it a bath preparatory to blocking.  Oh dear - the sheepy quality of the wool now made its presence felt.  In fact, it stank.  I put it out on the line to air and then repeated the wash with a rinse using part vinegar.  Now it smelt of sheep and vinegar.  A third wash and a rinse with bicarbonate of soda.  The smell was now in abeyance, but I would not trust it in a rain shower.  

What to do?  This is scarf number 2.  It is a set of Regia Ombre 100% Merino, knitted using the shape of Afetos without the lace panels.  I made the transitions less stark by putting in some stripes at the changeovers.  This feels lovely and looks quite sophisticated.

But, crucially, it has no smell.

 

Leiston Abbey

 

Who lives in a house like this?  The next town to Aldeburgh, going North, is Leiston, once a major centre for railway engineering. Just outside Leiston are the ruins of Leiston Abbey, and very spectacular they are, too.  

Now managed by a combination of English Heritage and a young persons' music charity who run courses here, the abbey contains some complete structures.  This one is a patchwork of brick, flintwork, beach pebble and rendering.

The abbey itself was clearly a vast structure.

The Lady Chapel has been made weatherproof and may well be used for services, concerts, weddings...

Note the mix of brick, flintwork and timber cladding.

The remains of a Tudor gatehouse.

We left the Abbey and took a path through woodland leading out to the sea, just south of Minsmere, where we sat and had lunch.  Suddenly a black head appeared swimming parallel to the beach, submerging for a stretch and then reappearing. It was a grey seal.

Thorpeness

 Just a few miles to the North of Aldeburgh is the seaside village of Thorpeness.  This was developed in the early twentieth century and features some of the most eccentric houses you will ever see.

The house in the clouds... (a converted water tower)

A mock Tudor gatehouse

And another converted water tower, this last one on the market at present for £850,000.

We started our walk from the village, passed the windmill

And followed a path around the golf-course and across a turnip field.

There the path came to a full stop and we found ourselves walking all round the edge of the next turnip field as workers knelt to their task of trimming turnips and crating them up for sale.

Eventually we realised that we were much further North than we had thought and followed the line of pylons leading out to the coast at Sizewell.  Here we joined the bridle path and sat down for lunch.

Another couple of miles brought us back into Thorpeness and a much-needed cup of tea.

Long time. no see....

 

To Aldeburgh, for a short autumnal break before winter sets in. We rented the same Cosy Cabin we used in March: convenient for shops and with a dedicated car parking space.  The forecast was for rain and wind most days, but for once the weather gods were smiling on us.

On our way there we called at Sutton Hoo, where the  high winds were giving rise to safety warnings on the woodland walks. The new displays feature the women involved in the story: Raedwald's nameless queen, an older wise woman and a slave girl.  Very Woke, the National Trust these days.

On our first day we made the pilgrimage to Minsmere where the keen bird-watchers had a field day.  Here, a roost of cormorants on the scrape.

The view across to Iken on our first walk.  This is prime pig-rearing territory, so much of the walk lay across fields fenced off for breeding sows.

Although the mother pigs stay by their arks, the piglets are free to roam under the wire.

At last we reached Iken church - note the thatched mid-section.

Inside, remains of a Saxon cross.

And, outside on the mudflats, an avocet foraging.

Light showers gave us a splendid view of the church contained within a rainbow.  Magical.

Our last day in Cumbria and the weather was ideal for walking.  This year more than ever the most popular places are likely to be overcrowded so we chose a secluded valley for our walk.

We took the track up into the Wythop valley which joins the path around Sale Fell, leading to the ruins of old Wythop church.  Once the farmsteads around the valley must have provided the congregation for this remote spot. Skiddaw was in cloud as we began our walk.

This was the view from our lunch spot near an ancient quarry.  The cloud has cleared.

And this a farmhouse once in a state of dereliction.  Someone has taken it on and made it weather-proof.

We had a really enjoyable walk, down-hill all the way on the final leg.

We had thought to pick up fish and chips from the harbour for our final evening picnic.  Twenty minutes in a queue for the food to be cooked to order gave enough time for a bank of grey cloud to move in.  This is a maritime climate.  We scooted up the coast and found the nearest parking place.  Just enough time to enjoy the picnic super before the weather closed in completely.  

 

After our strenuous walk yesterday, we took a rest day, first doing a little shopping for shoes in Cockermouth and then having our picnic lunch on the shore of Bassenthwaite.

On the other side of the lake is the country house, Mirehouse, home of the Spedding family and much visited by the lake poets and Tennyson in their day.

We walked down to the little church of St Bega, on a promontory near the lake.  This is a very ancient foundation and contains this incised grave slab, which is rather wonderful.

Mirehouse in its setting.

And once again we finished the day with an evening meal, enjoying the view.

 

On Monday, to Loweswater.  Everywhere rose bay willowherb and foxgloves forming a lovely counterpoint to stone walls.

Through the woodlands along the side of the lake.

An out at the end climbing towards the High Nook Tarn path

We chose to walk along behind a wall to reach the gate at the top of the wood.  Bracken was waist-high here and sopping wet  - as, soon, were we.  At the top of the wood, I took off my trousers and wrung them out before proceeding.  They had dried by the time we reached the tea-room.

We were away for ten days in total.  I had to buy in extra knitting supplies while away just to tide me over. Four pairs of adult mitts and three of children's.