Wednesday Walk-Along at Brockhampton

Blossom, blossom, blossom… fluttering, floating, swirling on the breeze  and sprinkling the air with beauty.

Having driven down and down, deep into a wide valley you come to Brockhampton Manor House, a National Trust property in Herefordshire. To get to the house you walk through a spectacular ancient damson orchard and I managed to catch it in all it’s glory (about 2 weeks ago).

Such a cold and cloudy day, but still immensely peaceful and full of Springiness

The house is small, but cute and quirky, brimming with history and quaintness.

The Gatehouse looks like it could have been built by a child, and might topple over any minute.

It seems quite strange for such a small house to have a moat – grandeur in miniature.

And then into the orchards with ewes and their lambs, and a bench to sit upon an soak up the atmosphere – oh if only one could bottle that!

I can’t seem to stop thinking about poetry at the moment – not very high brow, but I’ll share with you anyway what popped into my head whilst sitting on that bench wrapped up in a warm coat and doing a spot of crochet:

Lambs bleat
Birds sing
Swallows swoop
Here comes Spring!

There is plenty for children to do and several long, well-marked walks.

And a very nice cafe with seating both outside and in

Happiness is a hot cuppa, time for writing and crochet in a peaceful place and a beautiful view.

And then how about a Walk-Along with Cathy in Scarborough, Kim in the South West of England and then a quick hop to Christina’s beautiful garden in Italy to warm up a bit!

Where have you been walking this week?

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A Wednesday Walk-Along with Linda

Please take off your shoes and join us on our Ynylas walk, (just before we created the labyrinth)………..

….. ooooh I am still savouring that magical stroll along the wide expanse of Ynylas Beach…… as we go …. imagine a spring breeze making your hair dance around and feeling fresh on your cheeks …. making them glow…….

……. cool salt water swirling round your ankles ……

………    is there anything better in the world than walking along a beach with a dear friend, on a sunny day ……

….. looking for shells …….. watching the shifts of light as the clouds scud across the sky

noticing patterns  and inspiration for doodles

with the lull of the sound of the waves

……..  and then it is time to turn around

and return, still gathering shells

…. and marking a thank you before leaving the beach.

Dust off the sand between your toes, shoes on, deep breath and maybe just a little sigh as we say goodbye to Ynylas (for now anyway)…….

Would you like to see the shells I collected?

So satisfying to see them all laid out, some gathered for Linda’s Mum who makes the most amazing shell sculptures, some for me to play with in making pictures, patterns and mandalas as I did in January 2014 in Abu Dhabi,  and some as collage material for my grandchildren ………. what would you do?

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I tried to find  out what ‘Ynyslas’ means in translation. Ynys is ‘isle’, but if I put in ‘ynys las’ – I get ‘greenland’ – however ‘las’ does not translate as ‘green’.

Welsh is not an easy language!

And now, after the beach, how about a wander through:

an Italian Garden;

or join Amanda, The Welsh Wanderer on her journey walking the coast paths;

and then a real treat if you like reflections on water – A Canal Walk in Yorkshire

I do hope you enjoyed walking along with us, it’s fun having you along.

Please leave a link to one of your favourite walks, we’d love to join you.

WWAL: Doreen’s Garden and a Pub Lunch

For this week’s Wednesday Walk-Along: A return to Branscombe for a walk with a friend and time to fully appreciate Doreen’s garden. Branscombe is an extremely long village, sprawling along the sunny valley. From the Village Hall we walked up to the hill to the west towards the church. I was delighted to see this village still has a primary school.

The one in our village closed about 7 years ago – I miss the sound of the children at playtime.

Next you come to the church, of course I had to see the inside ….

 

 

 

…… and the needlepoint.

All the kings and queens of England are commemorated here. I just love the way each church has a design theme carried out by willing crafters. And this church still has the old box pews where the gentry used to sit to keep them safely separated from the hoi polloi. And an extraordinary structure for the pulpit, raising the speaker on high.

Then just a little further up the hill you are greeted by the delight that is Doreen’s Garden!with all sorts of quirky items to entice you in the garden is possibly nearly 2 acres filled with a bonkers mix of different styles and statues

A complete delight..

I didn’t get to meet Doreen, but I could sense her humour and her love for all living creatures, with poignant markers in the garden at random spots …the sculptures have obviously been in situ for some years….. I am always fascinated by the colour and texture of lichen – here an added twist!

I hope to come back again in late Spring to see how this garden is transformed by colour.

 

The garden is open every day, all that Doreen asks is that you make a donation to the Devon Air Ambulance Service, which of course we did – it would be interesting to know how much she has raised for them altogether.

We had a day of bright sunshine, cold breezes and snow flurries (back at the beginning of March) and headed on up through the village to the pub, as the sky darkened,

passing ancient cottages along the way and arriving at The Fountain Head just in time to watch the snow flakes fall whilst sitting by a warming fire.And continuing with Big Bros’s cushion cover, whilst waiting for our soup to arrive.

At this stage, it looks like a scarf, and the length is actually perfect for a scarf –  this is the Cosy Cal pattern that keeps on giving!

A walk discovering new places with a close friend, a quirky garden, sunshine, a pub lunch and time to sit and chat and crochet – all the ingredients for a heavenly day!

 

Here are a couple of other lovely UK walks to walk along with:

Walk along from Thornton Dale to Ellerburn with NanaCathy,

and near Southampton with RainbowJunkie