The Joys of Whistle Stop Cottage

Whistle Stop Cottage, Newbridge, Nr. Pickering is a gem. I found it through Air BnB,

click on the link to see photos.

It was right by the Steam Railway line and at the time I was there there was always some activity to be seen whilst they were carrying out necessary maintenance.

The above picture was taken at the bottom of the garden.

The one below taken from my bedroom window.

The machine seemed to be levelling the gravel underneath and beside the tracks. There was much laughter and friendly banter going on for most of the day.

Walking to the end of the row of cottages brought you to a path

that went over the railway in front of another row of cottages

 and into the woods beyond

Following this path through the woods I could get to Pickering in about 15 minutes

Such a delightful walk

Then just before you got to the station you could cross the railway again and walk back along the path and see all the vintage carriages waiting to be of service.

Then along by the river

over a stone stile and pass by a row of dwellings where a lovely gazebo awaited

summer gatherings on balmy nights under the fairy lights, a few bottles of wine and warm conversation.

Then back along the path to the cottage,

What a delightful walk to the shops.

There was filming going on at the station

 

 

 

 

Lights, camera, action! I saw hustle and bustle but nothing very interesting except when the train was puffing by and helicopters swooped over head

look at these fabulous old wooden carriages

And after all that excitement, at the end of the day, I could cosy up,  light the fire and carry on with my collage …… mmmmmmmm bliss!

I was so happy in that cottage and got to chat with a few of my neighbours there, a little hamlet of about 10 houses. I would have been happy to stay for much longer.

In the next post you wll be coming on a trip to Dalby Forest with me and Cathy, to see that Nissen Hut.

~~~

Joining in with Cee’s ‘Which Way’ photo challenge.

hosted now by Son of a Beach.

Click on the photos to see them full screen.

 

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500 miles with Granny

This Summer it’s all about finding shade

Last Saturday I took Master R and Little Miss M to Kingston Lacy, where there is a lot of shady woodland to explore

I just love their enthusiasm for finding leaves and bugs and beetles and the conversations they have about nature interwoven with fantasy, dragons, monsters and fairies.

And they way they burst into exuberance when faced with a long stretch of path to run – “Race you!”

Joyful days

The promise of ice cream

An iced coffee for Granny

Slow meanderings

And

Dappled light

Joining in with Cee’s Which Way Challenge

And Little Miss M and I clocked up another 2.5 miles towards our target of 500.

Other posts tracking our progress are  here, here.

and here

We have done 31.5 miles, only 468.5 miles to go! Can we do it!??!

It will be fun finding out!

I use Strava, an app on my iPhone, to record our distances. It is brilliant as we can see the map of our walks at the end of each one. The children have fun tracing our route and working out where we were.

Will you be going on any walks this weekend?

 

 

Silent Sunday Walking into the Sunset.

Joining Cee’s Which Way Challenge

13.1 of 500 Miles completed

Today the school my Grandchildren go to had an Inset Day, so my daughter and I braved the icy winds, wrapped the children up and off we went to Arne

an RSPB Nature Reserve near Wareham, Dorset. Little Miss M (5) and I set Strava on my phone so we could measure how far we walked. We are aiming to walk 500 miles together – you can see the origin of this challenge here.

Now Little Bro (5) is prone to complaining about going on a ‘walk’ at the best of times, and on the car journey there, he was starting to say he wasn’t going to walk as it was too cold, so I asked him if he liked hot chocolate. “Oooooh YES!” he said.

So evil Granny replied, “When we get to the playground you will all be able to have a hot chocolate (I’d packed a flask full), but anyone who makes ANY complaints WHAT-SO-EVER will not be getting any hot chocolate”.

I call this incentive!

As soon as Big Bro and Little Bro met their cousins they were off and running and having a wonderful time following the Nature Trails forgetting they were on ‘a walk’, even before we got to the playground (which was about an hour from the start) Little Bro said, “this is actually quite fun.”

The walk takes you through woods, down to the beach overlooking Poole Harbour and then through woodland again to the woodland playground.

By the time we got to the playground my phone battery was getting low so I didn’t take any more photos but this is a photo from a visit last summer

We all had a hot chocolate and the children clambered about happily playing a Star Wars inspired game for about half an hour – then back to the RSPB centre to get stickers for filling in the Nature Trail questionaire.

Little Miss M and I had clocked up 2.6 miles – making our running total 13.1 miles. Little Miss M and the other children covered at least twice that distance with their running back and forth looking for acorns, berries, flowers and shells on the beach.

 

Joining in with Cee’s Which Way Now Challenge.

And today this fabulous quote and picture seen on Alisa Burke’s blog

Gate

footpath flows along

hard to tear myself away

from this special place

~

This is my entry for our ‘One-a-Week’ Photo Challenge: GATE

and

Ronovan’s Weekly Haiku Challenge: FLOW and TEAR

and

Cee’s Which Way Challenge

~

The 10 minute walk down the valley from the treehouse that I was staying in, leads to the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, which you can see making its way towards Solva, going right past that Iron Age Hill Fort. The gate is to keep the grazing ponies in, this side of the gate.

 

More tales from the Treehouse:

To get to the public footpath from the Treehouse one needs to wiggle down through Elizabeth’s garden. The footpath runs from the National Trust car park near the road, straight down to the sea.

The treehouse can be seen from the path. More agile walkers have obviously chosen a quicker route by sliding down the bank.

Soon one enters the ancient unmanaged little piece of woodland

with the music of the stream beside you turning the walk into a dance

until you get to the ‘bridge’, which is tempting to cross, to follow in the fairies’ footsteps.

Hear the sound of the stream in this post……

Creatures pop out to say hello

and there are artful lichen arrangements on nearly every branch.

After passing the serenity of the old Millpond

you pass through a gate

and catch your first sight of the sea

Each time I walked that path, I stopped here and just noticed the change of atmosphere from an enclosed cosy woodland walk to this …….. the promise of that feeling of opening up, of expansion, that the next few steps will bring …… the moment of transition, I find there is power in that moment.

And then …. ooof!

Breathe deep, what a view.

The GATE in the very first photo lies just to the left, around the curve of the hill.

People used to live in this valley, you can still see the ruins of an old mill, and then further back in time, our ancestors, maybe even my ancestors, lived on the hill fort – what a place to live.

I had the valley more or less to myself for a whole month! what a feeling! I woke each morning with a smile on my face, not quite able to believe I had given myself this wonderful treat.

~

Next week’s Photo Prompt is

HAPPY

~

I’m really looking forward to your ‘GATE’ photos, please leave a link in the comments.

 

Still

Golden November

Fairy song through mellow mist

Caught by cheeky elves

Joining with Cathy and RainbowJ for our Photo Challenge Prompt of STILL

and

Ronovan’s Haiku Challenge, prompts: GOLD and SING

On Sunday I went for a walk in the footsteps of my ancestors up Lewesdon Hill, which is likely to be the highest point in Dorset (or is that Pilsdon Pen?)

It was a very STILL November day and a gentle mist hovered over the top of this ancient hill fort. Especially noticeable after of our recent fierce storms. It was hard to choose just one photograph, so have a wander with me.

This is my 15th walk of more than one hour, only one more to go to fulfil my 16 for 2016 challenge.

Joining in with Cee’s Which Way Challenge, so many paths to the top to choose from.

an air of misty magic

Also posting on the Facebook Page ‘Sunken Lanes and Historic Curiosities’

Then back to the New Inn in Stoke Abbott for the most delicious roast beef and Yorkshire pudding I have had in many a year – lashings of gravy and generous portions of perfectly cooked fresh vegetables, the cauliflower cheese mmmmmmmm! – a perfect treat.

One of my forebears opened this pub in 1895, and with his wife, there they brought up their 13 children and ran the pub for over 20 years. The pub still holds it’s character and I love to think of my relations sitting by the inglenook and supping a pint of home brew.

Please leave a link in the Comments for us to share in your STILLness

Next Week our prompt word is CREATION

Very apt as we have just created a new list for your enjoyment for next year – we hope to be able to show it to you next Tuesday. 😉

 

Minterne Parva to Up Cerne

Joining in with Cee’s ‘Which Way’ Challenge.

To see the photo in a larger format go to the Photo Page.

Another step along the Giant’s Walk

On the path

I’m entering this photo in Cee’s ‘Which Way’ Wednesday Challenge.

It was taken last year on a gloriously wonderful visit to Bateman’s, the home of the author of the Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling.

If anyone asked me what or where they should visit if they only had a limited amount of time and wanted to soak up English heritage, Bateman’s would be at the very top of the list.

It is the singularly most peaceful and beautiful home I have ever visited. A delight and a joy.

The picture above is only the tiniest glimpse.