A walk at Stourhead

Yesterday was a glorious day in Somerset UK. The sun was shining and it was beautifully warm. There was a fabulous blue sky with fluffy white clouds. A perfect day for a walk. The drive there was enjoyable even though we got held up with traffic going to Frome show. We last visited in June and I took this photo of the gateway covered in Virginia creeper.

Just three months and this is how it looked yesterday, such a beautiful colour.

We headed towards the house as our walk started very close by. As we arrived this was the view we got of the livestock in the meadow. We walked around the metal fence until we came to a kissing gate. It warned us to keep to the path and ignore the animals which included a bull and cows with calves. I'm not sure what their meeting was about but they didn't bother us at all as we headed diagonally across the field.

Looking back we could see the animals and house across the field. We climbed over a stile and into a small wood before reaching the road.

Once at the road we walked a few yards and crossed the road in front of Drove Lodge. This lodge was built in 1811, with 5 rooms. The lodge is situated on the eastern side of the park in front of Stourhead mansion. Alongside it is a track or drove which may have been used by drovers before the park came into being.

The path we now walked along was fairly straight with beech trees on either side. This is the route the drovers took.

A little further along I could see this hill. I had to take a photo as it looks like it has a face. Two eyes with bushy eyelashes, a nose and a wide mouth.

We were gradually climbing and came to Beeches  Clump where we found this memorial to a RAF crew who al lost their lives when their plane crashed having left Raf Zeal.

Looking around there were a lots of patchwork fields with a town in the distance.

We had been walking up hill but now we were heading downhill before we climbed the hill in front of us.

There were blackberries in the hedgerow.

and very pretty harebells 

Looking back we could see the route we followed. In places the path was very steep.

We watched  a paraglider for a while and also watched several gliders being towed up to then enjoy the thermals. There were also enthusiasts with their remote control model aeroplanes.

At the top of the hill there was a trig point. Trigpoints are the common name for "triangulation pillars". These are concrete pillars, about 4' tall, which were used by the Ordnance Survey in order to determine the exact shape of the country. They are generally located on the highest bit of ground in the area.

As we started our walk back we came across this mile stone. It was a little difficult to read.

We spotted this cute donkey in a field with sheep.

There was a second donkey hiding in their shed.

I like the shape of the dead tree and it still looked majestic.

One last view of the hill with a face plus I loved the colour of the stubble.

By now we were walking in Stourhead village, where I saw this green dog.

We entered Stourhead garden to have one last look at the lake before we headed back to the hotel. 

We also saw this tree that had decided it wanted to be the first to change colour for autumn.

    

Back at the main visitors centre we treated ourselves to some carrot and orange soup. It was delicious. Our final visit was to the garden centre and gift shop. We found three plants that we wanted and also some biscuits to take home . Our walk was 6 and a half miles and very enjoyable. 

Today we had a slow day as we were a little tired. Rather than visiting somewhere on the way home we decided to drive straight home. However we did visit my favourite quilt shop. I'll tell you about it tomorrow. When we got home older daughter and husband plus son were visiting. It was lovely to see them all and we planned an outing for next weekend.

I need to get myself organised and then get ready for bed as I am in work tomorrow. I've done a little knitting this afternoon but I want to try and finish the book I'm reading before I go to sleep. Only a few pages left.

Take care

Lyndsey                                                        

A trip away

This weekend John and I have travelled away from London to spend time in Somerset, staying at our favourite hotel, The Holcombe. We tend to stay have two or three times a year to recharge our batteries and prepare for the next busy season of work or family activities. This visit is two weeks before the start of the next academic year and in 2 weeks time I will have 3 new groups of students. I still have a lot of preparation to get everything set up and ready for them but also I needed to get a good rest and have some space. We travelled down yesterday and we stopped off to visit Lacock.

Lacock is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. The village is owned almost in its entirety by the National Trust and is a firm favourite for film and TV producers, notably for its picturesque streets and historic cottages, untouched by modern alterations. It played the part of Meriton in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. We visited Lacock last year and had planned to visit again to do one of the walks in the area. The weather yesterday was sunny and warm, absolutely perfect for a walk. The walk started in the car park and would take us across fields to circle the village. We started walking along the road and were able to get a good view of Lacock Abbey.

Lacock Abbey is a country house with monastic roots, and was once home to William Henry Fox Talbot, inventor of the photographic negative. When we last visited we spent time in the Fox Talbot museum which was very interesting. We soon turned off the road , crossing a stile into a field. I wanted to see the river so headed towards the bridge that we had just walked over. I was very taken with the shape of the arches.

We got ourselves back to the path we needed to follow and found we were walking between fields of corn (maize). It's a common crop in this area.

The clouds were white and fluffy and there were martins and swallows perching on the electric wires. I couldn't get a good photo of them as I didn't have the right lens on the camera but we stood and watched them through our binoculars for a while.

There was a lot of Himalayan Balsam along the route, it looks very pretty but is a very invasive plant.

For much of the walk we were walking alongside the river Avon. There are 5 rivers named Avon in England and two of them are in Wiltshire, one of which we were walking alongside. We saw some teenage boys playing and swimming in the river and a little further on we saw this weir, where another river joined the Avon.

For a while we moved away from the river and walked through fields with horses and cows in them. All the livestock were far too busy doing their own thing to be bothered with us.

By now we were circling back towards the village and as we came down a hill we found a ford across the road. Fortunately there was a path (on the right of the photo) so we didn't have to go paddling.

Looking back down the road.

When we visited Lacock last time we didn't have time to take a look in the church. so this was our first stop. I was interested to read this information board.

I took photos of four of the kneelers 

By this time we needed a nice cup of tea before heading back to the car to continue our journey. Later in the evening, from the hotel window I took a photo of the sunset.

Today we visited Stourhead and again we took a walk around the area. I'll tell you more tomorrow. Now, it is almost time to go down for dinner.

Take care

Lyndsey

A busy week but then...... sewing

Last week was pretty busy and that meant by evening I was tired and so very little sewing  happened. My way of relaxing is knitting, embroidery, or any form of sewing. Unfortunately until Friday, with limited time, I didn't achieve very much but then I pulled my out my cutting mat and rotary cutter to prepare the fabric for the T Rex dinosaurs. I cut all the background fabric and the orange and yellow fabrics for the dinosaurs body. On Saturday I had time to set up my sewing machine and get the first two T Rex made.

They went together fairly quickly and I love how they look. Just 4 more to make and then I can put together the quilt top.

I cast on the stitches for the front of my jumper during last week but if I knit too long my wrists start to ache so it isn't growing very quickly. I spend a short time each day to knit at least a few rows.

I have more yarn to make a short cardigan and also a long cardigan/ jacket. All that knitting will take me well into next year. Since my wrists won't let me knit for hours I spent a little time making a start on the embroidered tablecloth I received last Christmas. Hand stitching uses slightly different wrist actions so it causes less pain. 

Finally on Sunday I cut the fabric to make the last 6 'flowers' for the red round of the Grandmothers Garden quilt. I need to tack the fabric to the hexagon templates and then sew the hexagons together to make the 6 flowers. Once these are added to the quilt the red round will be complete. The next round is yellow and orange and I will then start to square up the quilt..

Over this week I will alternate my knitting with the embroidery and see how far I get with both. John and I are away next weekend so the dinosaurs will have to wait. I also have a couple of new projects that I need to get organised which will be fun. For now I have about half an hour before I need to head to bed.

Take care

Lyndsey

A good day

I love a day where I get things done and so today was a good day. I started the day by reading a couple of chapters of a book whilst drinking my morning tea. On a work day I'm up and going by 6 a.m. but Sundays are much more leisurely. Once up and dressed I headed to the kitchen to do some cooking. I started some bread and made ginger and lemon buns. The buns are delicious.

Next I did some slow stitching. I'd started sewing the binding down on Twiglet's quilt and this morning I finished it. 

Missy seemed a little jealous of Twiglet's quilt but she has her own. I like the tumbling blocks pattern and will probably use the pattern again. I will have another baby quilt to make for later in the year and I think this would be perfect. 

Having finished the quilt I cast on the stitches for the front of my jumper. I did this yesterday but had the wrong number of stitches and then made a mistake in the pattern, so I pulled it all out. Having got the right number of stitches I knitted the first four rows. It was just too hot for knitting!

John and I spent some time in the garden as we had some more plants to get into the ground. and we also gave the roses some special rose fertiliser. We are slowly getting the garden back under control and how we want it. Next weekend we'll plant the various bulbs we bought and we will  need another trip to the garden centre to get plants for the window boxes.

This evening I'd hoped to work on the embroidered tablecloth but I was too tired, so it will have to wait until tomorrow. There are warnings of thunderstorms over night. I hope not but it is very muggy so a storm would clear the air. For now I'm off to bed. If I'm lucky I should be able to read another chapter before I'm ready to go to sleep.

Take care

Lyndsey