A spring in our steps

This weekend we spotted sunny yellows…

and vibrant greens.

We watched the lambs in the fields….

and noticed smaller creatures too.

We delighted in the new….

and revisited old friends.

We hunted for treasures……

and made keepsakes of our finds.

A lovely weekend full of love, laughter and sunshine! I hope yours was bright and beautiful too.

x

Time Together

This weekend, as a Valentine’s Day treat, my husband and I spent some time together without the baby. This was quite a big step for me as I’ve spent very little time away from her – partly through necessity as I was breastfeeding up until recently, but also due to the fact that the fretful mother in me was reluctant to trust her care to someone else. However, as my husband and I have spent so little quality time together as a couple recently, we thought it was important that we had a weekend away. I must confess, I did take some talking around but in the end I agreed to it.

After dropping off the baby at my mum’s, we went out for a meal and it was lovely to have time to talk about ideas and thoughts rather than practical matters demanding our attention. In fact, it was just so lovely to have time generally. Everything about our time away was slow-paced and unhurried – a complete contrast to my normal day-to-day activities. Breakfast the next morning for instance, was a wonderfully leisurely affair with pastries and a paper – a real treat as we don’t have time to read the paper usually.

We then spent the day in Malvern, Worcestershire – walking in the hills and finally visiting the knitting shop in the town which had been enthusiastically recommended to me by a number of people. The Malverns have a special significance for us as my husband proposed to me at their highest point many years ago and whilst we were up there it made us smile to see another couple doing just that. It’s undoubtedly a romantic spot – even on a damp and windy february day. The visibility wasn’t great but you could still see great swathes of the surrounding countryside – the rolling hills of Herefordshire contrasting with the flat plains of Worcestershire. There was still some snow on the hills, although it had disappeared on the low-lying areas.  We climbed up Herefordshire Beacon which is topped by British Camp, an Iron Age hillfort and the snow dramatically picked out the ditches of the ramparts. I loved how the snaking trails of snow seemed to coil themselves around the hill….

And of course, snow always provides opportunities for adults to act like kids…..

You can’t see in the picture, but there was a perfectly good non-slippy path to the side of me but I opted for the more er… interesting method of throwing myself down a snowdrift and, yes, I did end up on my bottom.

So, we had a wonderful time but how did baby small fare? Well, I think it was clear when we went to collect her and had to prise her away from grandma – she just didn’t want to leave! 

Up North

Sorry if things have been a little quiet on here of late, but we’ve been visiting friends in Cumbria. We had a wonderful time but I’m a bit weary from traveling so instead of writing a lengthy post about all the lovely things we got up to, I’ve selected a few photographs from the trip….

Normal service will resume shortly!

Landscape and Memory

Visiting my parents this Christmas, I was able to wander around the area I grew up in and one thing that struck me quite forcefully was how potent the landscape was with personal meaning. For instance, the lane close to my parents house was not just a lane leading from A to B but a place of countless childhood adventures (imagined and otherwise). The oak tree halfway along this lane was not merely a tree but something slightly sinister due to it’s frequent appearances in the ghost stories we village kids used to scare each other with. Similarly the fallen tree at the end of the lane was more than a fallen tree – it was our den and, in later years, when I was more interested in boys than making dens, it became the place where I had my first kiss. 

The lane runs along a slight ridgeway and halfway along there is a break in the hedgerow from which you can see much of the surrounding area. I stopped here and allowed the landscape to evoke memory after memory – some joyful and some unhappy, some special and some mundane. From my vantage point I could see the bus stop where I spent hours as a teenager waiting for the bus to take me to college. I could see the steep field which my sister and I once decided to do roly-polys down just after the corn had been cut – we looked like we had measles by the time we reached the bottom, as we were so badly prickled by the stubble! I noticed another field where I had spent night after night watching for meteorites or ‘UFOs’ as I used to think they were. To put in simply, so many aspects of my childhood seemed to be inscribed on to the landscape and this got me thinking that it must have been the same for people and communities in the past – probably more so as people moved about less so would have occupied the same landscape for their entire lives. 

I grew up in a very rural area so my personal landscape is one of fields, trees and hills. However, I imagine people who have dwelt in the same town or city for a considerable time will feel the same about certain aspects of the urban landscape. Just as each tree, hedge, field, hollow, track or hill would have meant something to someone at some point, I guess each street corner or park does too. 

So, something to think about when you’re out and about…..  :)

More Autumn colours

I couldn’t resist putting up a few more pictures from my trip to Westonbirt. The colours were just so glorious. I hope you enjoy.

Hay-on-Wye

My other birthday treat was a trip to Hay-on-Wye. As a book lover, I could quite happily spend days browsing through the books in Hay’s many, many bookshops. However, amazingly, this time I came back without any books. I put it down to the fact that the baby seemed far less interested in browsing than me! I did come back with something equally good though: 2 skeins of wool – and not just any wool, but locally-produced bluefaced leicester pure wool.

It is lovely and soft and I plan on using it to make a scarf for my sister for christmas. I bought the wool from the Wool and Willow Gallery, a co-operative of wool producers, spinners, weavers and dyers and a real treasure trove of beautiful yarns. It is a place which I must limit my visits to – it’ll be fatal for my bank balance otherwise!

The journey there and back was also very special. On the way out we stopped off at Arthur’s Stone, a neolithic chambered tomb near the village of Dorstone, Herefordshire. 

Originally, the chambers would have been covered by a mound but this has now mostly eroded away. The tomb comprises nine uprights which support a huge capstone. There is also an interesting curved entrance passage. The tomb rests on a ridge in the Golden Valley area of Herefordshire so there are some impressive views. 

On the way home, we decided to go over the mountains which, although a bit of a hairy drive at times, is worth it for the wonderful views. This time we were rewarded with wintery scenes of snow-covered mountains. It was unexpected and very beautiful – a perfect end to a perfect day.

Westonbirt in Autumn

This weekend was my birthday and for a special birthday treat we hired a car and took a meandering drive down the Wye Valley and across the River Severn to Westonbirt Arboretum. It’s becoming something of a tradition, but I don’t think I’ll ever fail to be dazzled by all the stunning autumnal colours on display. Each year I am amazed anew.  The trees are ablaze with colour and when the sunlight catches the leaves, they seem to glow like embers. We were blessed with some good weather and, although incredibly cold, the sun regularly broke through the clouds to work its magic.

All in all, we had a wonderful day and someone small seemed to enjoy herself very much!

The Big Apple, Herefordshire

This weekend we were blessed with some wonderful weather and what better way to enjoy it than supping cider and perry in an orchard whilst watching Morris dancing? Ok, so Morris Men might not be everybody’s cup of tea but we had a wonderful time celebrating all things appley at the Big Apple Festival in Herefordshire. The festival is held twice a year at Blossomtime (May) and Autumn (October). Each festival has it’s own unique delights, with the autumn events being held in and around Much Marcle and the Blossomtime celebrations focusing on the nearby village of Putley.

Despite having attended the festival quite a few times now, I never cease to be dazzled by the huge array of apples on display in the Great Barn at Hellens. It’s amazing just how many varieties there are and I think it’s a great shame that so few of these varieties are available in the shops. I confess to not being much of an apple fan when I was younger, regarding them as ‘boring’ when compared to exotic fruit like mangos and pineapples. However, I’ve since realised that this was largely due to the bland, woolly tasting apples that tend to fill the supermarket aisles. Now, thanks to the likes of the Big Apple and various Farmers Markets, I know just how delicious apples can be. We returned home with 2 big sackfuls of apples and we’re getting through them very quickly. 

For me, I think the highlight of the weekend was the open day at Gregg’s Pit. Here we strolled around the orchard, watched a pressing demo and sampled some delicious cider. The staff from Truffles Delicatessen in Ross-on-Wye provided a wonderful ploughmans lunch and some irresistible cakes which we enthusiastically munched on whilst watching the Morris Men dance in the orchard. In fact, I think we became Morris Men groupies – every time we turned up at a venue, the Morris Men seemed to just be starting up!

All in all it was a wonderful weekend and I eagerly look forward to Blossomtime – especially the grand cider tasting!

Yurt holiday

It was nearly 2 years ago that we stayed in a yurt at South Penquite Farm on Bodmin Moor, but I still think fondly of it. After our holiday we entertained the notion of buying a small piece of land and living more-or-less permanently in a yurt. But then I became pregnant and our priorities changed somewhat. That’s not to say it would be impossible to raise children in a yurt but it would be difficult and having a young baby made me want stability rather than a challenge plus plenty of hot running water! 

Yurts are beautiful in their simplicity. When you’re inside, you don’t feel cut of from the outdoors. You feel part of it. You can hear the wind and the patter of the rain, you can hear owls and other nocturnal creatures and you can see the stars through the central overhead wheel. 

There are now many places in the UK and overseas offering yurt holidays (just google yurt holidays and you’ll see what I mean!). I hope to try out many more of them over the next few years but I can wholeheartedly recommend the yurts at South Penquite Farm if you fancy a holiday with a difference – and one that’s environmentally friendly too! The yurts were very well-equipped, incredibly cosy and comfortable (especially when the wood-burner was going) and the solar-powered showers nearby were great! The location of the farm was great for exploring Bodmin Moor and further afield too. We visited the Eden Project, the Tamar Otter Sanctuary, Tintagel Castle and the absolutely stunning Golitha Falls. All wonderful, inspiring places.

Oh dear, writing this has made me desperately want to go back!

Puzzle Wood

If you ever find yourself near the Forest of Dean, I urge you to visit Puzzle Wood. It is a very special place.

Don’t just take my word for it though – take a look:

It was wonderful to take the baby there – I must have been at least 20 times myself (I grew up not too far away  from the wood) so it was great to be able to share it with her.

Anyhow, enough gushing, here are the facts: Puzzle Wood is ancient woodland which contains the remains of pre-Roman and Roman open cast mining. It is full of moss-covered rock formations, twisting paths and small gullies. JRR Tolkein was apparently a frequent visitor and some people think it provided inspiration for some of the landscapes of middle-earth. It certainly feels as if a hobbit might be around the next corner when you’re there! You can read more about it and find out visitor info here.

A truly enchanting place!