Category Archives: Days out

Dunwich Heath

10 Fri Jul 2026

Posted by in Days out, nature reserve, plants, Rural Diary, seashore, wild birds, wild flowers

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Richard, Elinor and I went to Dunwich Heath on Tuesday afternoon.  We had originally thought about going in the late morning and having some lunch in the National Trust café there.  However, it became too hot and the thought of wandering about on the beach with the sun beating down on us and no shelter and us beginning to look like characters in one of those survival films (you know what I mean – crawling on all fours, blistered parched lips, savouring the last drips from an empty water-bottle, vultures circling overhead etc. – replace vultures with seagulls) prompted us to leave at 3.00pm.

Our car in the carpark

The carpark was pleasantly uncrowded; I took my NT membership card to the office to get our free parking ticket and while Richard went back to the car to fetch Elinor and reassure her that the café was still open, I had a chat with the volunteer on duty and found out he had recently moved to Saxmundham and had a friend who had recently moved to Rumburgh; I also got a recommendation for a restaurant in Southwold.  I think he was a little bored and needed to talk.

The former coastguard cottages now house the National Trust café and other offices as well as holiday accomodation for visitors.

We went into the café and all had a scone with jam.  Richard and I had clotted cream with ours but Elinor didn’t.  Richard and I had a pot of tea between us but Elinor didn’t as she doesn’t drink tea or coffee.  She had wanted a fruit juice but they only had water or fizzy drinks.  She, like me, doesn’t like fizzy drinks and she had brought a bottle of water with her. I quickly walked past the shelves of second-hand books on our way out.  I must not be tempted into buying yet more books!

Walking down to the sea

We made our way to the path down through the heathland to the sea.  Everything was looking a little dry but there was this wonderful smell of hot bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) which took me back to childhood camping holidays.  Admittedly, we didn’t often smell hot bracken then, it was usually wet bracken but that has a lovely smell too.  Quoting from Richard Mabey’s ‘Flora Britannica’ “…for those who have lived in brackeny places, its sharp almond scent and the first splashes of yellow on its fronds in autumn can evoke powerful feelings”.  All this in spite of it being toxic if eaten and its spores being carcinogenic!  Also, I’m not sure that I think of almonds when I smell bracken.

I think that the structure on the horizon is part of one of the two new solar farms being constructed in this area.

A few miles to the east of the solar farms and nearer to the sea is Sizewell.

The concrete block at the rear is what is left of Sizewell A nuclear power station, which is slowly being dismantled. The white dome is Sizewell B nuclear power station which is still going strong after 30 years. The evidence of work going on nearest to us is the construction of Sizewell C.  This construction (as well as the construction of the solar farms) has upset a lot of people and the mess to the countryside and disruption to traffic on the A12 (the main A road through the area) is to be seen and experienced to be believed. However, as well as bringing sorely-needed employment to the area and a reliable source of electricity eventually (I won’t go into the pros and cons of nuclear power here), the long-awaited improvements to the A12 and the by-passing of villages who have suffered very heavy traffic through their centres for decades is almost complete. This was part of the deal with tthe nuclear power company. There has also been work on a railway branchline. There are other issues involved but I won’t go into these at present.

Not a very good photo of some Common ragwort(Senecio jacobaea ) and a Spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare )

Some Bell heather (Erica cinerea) and Gorse prickles (Ulex europaeus)

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Here we are on the beach.  How wonderful the cool breeze was!

Every time we visit the seaside we look out for ‘a literal seal’.  To explain: we were at Southwold a couple of years ago on a blustery afternoon and we heard an excited small boy shouting to his parents that he had seen ‘a literal seal’.  And there the seal was; just a couple of metres off-shore, bobbing about on the heavy swell and holding an enormous fish between its flippers which it was eating with relish.

Dunwich beach. In the distance you may be able to see an object in the water with three spikes. Not Neptune’s trident, but the place where work is being done to build a desalination tank and other facilities for Sizewell C. Once the work has been done there will be no evidence of anything on the surface.

I hope you enjoyed this quick video of the sea.

We watched what we believe were terns flying over the sea, every now and then dipping into the water to catch something and flying on again.

This strange-looking thing is a kittiwake nest platform.

We have a colony of Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) in Suffolk.They arrived in Lowestoft some time ago and began nesting on buildings in the harbour area.  They then moved into the town and to the Lowestoft peoples’ delight (hah!) they began nesting on roofs and window-sills.  Conservationists are trying to encourage the birds to move out of the town into permanent accomodation out at sea.  I’m not sure how well this is going.

If you had a kittiwake nesting on your bedroom window-sill this is what you would hear from 3.30-4.00am until sunset (after 9.00pm) every day, all day, until the chicks are fledged.  Not to mention the mess and the smell!

Elinor

Beach flora: bracken, ragwort, heather and sea kale

Looking up to the top of the cliff where there are Sand martin (Riparia riparia) nests.

Here I was trying to zoom in on the nests with my phone. All you can see clearly though, is the layer of pebbles above the sand and a drainage pipe projecting from the cliff face.

This is another partial failure. I had a problem with the sun which was on a level with the top of the cliff though it is possible to see a few of the holes in which the birds nest.

Sea kale (Crambe maritime)

Other areas fenced off at the foot of the cliff were to help the sea kale and other shingle plants establish themselves on the beach without people walking over them.  I think it absolutely amazing that plants can happily grow and thrive in a heap of pebbles and some sand.  A gardener spends so long enriching soil to nurture his/her precious vegetables and flowers, and here is a relative of a cabbage growing in shingle.

Here is Richard wending his way back up the path towards the carpark.

When we got back up to the car I went off for a couple of minutes on my own to look at the heathland further away from the coast.

Somebody who once lived in the coastguards cottages must have planted this vine. It looks like a Russian vine (Fallopia baldschuanica ) a ‘mile-a-minute vine though the leaves are not quite the heart-shape that they should be if that is so.

A rather stunted pine tree. Probably a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris)

Here are its new cones.

A much better picture of ragwort flowers.

There were ladybirds everywhere on the heath and on the beach.  I was a little wary of them as they tend to bite in hot weather.

The National Trust like to put signs up everywhere. This one warns of the danger of falling off the cliff and/or the crumbling cliff.

A weather station.

I will leave you with a last look at the heath.

The heather was looking good and was at its peak.  Bell heather comes into flower a little earlier than the other heaths and Common heather (Calluna vulgaris), also known as Ling.

 

Holiday in Brittany: August 1999. Part 4

02 Thu Jul 2026

Posted by in architecture, Brittany, churches, Days out, France, Historic Buildings, Rural Diary, seashore

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As threatened in my last post, here is the continuation of the diary of our holiday in Brittany.

See earlier Brittany posts :

Holiday in Brittany: August 1999

Holiday in Brittany – August 1999. Part 2.

Holiday in Brittany: August 1999. Part 3

ooo000ooo

Friday 27th August

Richard did not sleep well last night and was therefore quite tired today.  He heard Elinor wake up and went to get her milk and our cups of tea.  We went downstairs for breakfast and only when we had finished eating, Elinor and I were dressed and Richard in the bath did Alice get up.  I ironed some shirts of Richard’s that we had washed yesterday then Richard packed the car and at 12.30pm we set off for the beach.  We went to Kerfany les Pins via St. Thurien, Bannalec, Riec-sur-Bélon and passed near Moëlan-sur Mer.  We drove alongside the Bélon estuary which was mudflats as the tide was out.  We parked opposite a crêperie where we had lunch and then walked to the beach which was in a little cove.  It was a lovely beach; very sandy with lots of shells and pine-covered rocks all around.  Some very attractive houses were built on the top of the cliffs with their own steps down to the beach carved out of the rock.  The beach was not at all crowded when we got there as it was still lunchtime and even later in the afternoon when it was busier it never got so crowded we felt uncomfortable.

Eating at the crêperie near the beach. Nom nom nom

Alice giving Richard a look

The beach at Kerfany les Pins. Richard and Elinor are the two blurry figures in the centre of the picture.

Kerfany les Pins

Elinor loved it there and played with the sand and paddled and sat in the sea.  We left at about 4.00pm when some darker clouds came over and as we set off home it started to rain.  As we got nearer the gîte we noticed it had been raining very heavily.  It continued to rain until about 8.30pm by which time Elinor had been in bed half-an-hour.

Saturday 28th August

We went into Le Faouët before midday in the hope of finding a bank open.  We didn’t, so Richard got some money out of a cash machine.  We took Alice’s film in to be developed and bought some bread and croissants.  We then went to the Scorff Valley and the Forêt de Pont Calleck for a picnic.  On the way we encountered lots of cyclists and realised they were taking part in a road race.  We drove past another wedding with all the guests standing outside the church for photos and cyclists whizzing past.  The race course went along the road we were heading for and when we had parked near a picnic spot Richard was able to film the cyclists.  A couple (not cyclists!) were already having their lunch at one of the tables when we arrived and called out “Bonjour!” to us and smiled and waved. They left soon afterwards.  Their picnic was grander than ours as they had a wonderfully well stocked hamper and glasses of wine.  We just had food in paper bags, a fidgetty toddler and a grouchy teenager.  No wonder they left pretty sharpish!  Before we had finished, a group of four adults and six children arrived for their picnic birthday party but apart from that it was very quiet.  Alice ate a lot of pâté and Elinor played with the new bucket and spade set her Daddy had bought for her in Le Faouët.  We put our picnic things back in the car and went for a walk along the river.  The large family group took over the table we had used as it was in the shade and still in one piece.  We were still watching cyclists going past on the road on the other side of the river and were surprised and amused to see a group of nuns and young girls on bikes come racing down the hill.  The nuns habits were billowing out behind them and they were shouting to each other.  There were lots of damselflies flying about; beautiful blue and turquoise ones.  Elinor insisted we take the bucket on the walk with us and also the starfish mould which sadly, we dropped on the way.  We got to a muddy puddle on the path which Elinor wanted to play in and when we said no she started to shout.  She then wouldn’t walk back and cried very loudly even after I had given in and started to carry her.

The picnic. Glum faces!

The picnic. Smile please!  You can see the river just beyond the picnic table and the road on the other side is the white line a little higher that Richard’s head.

The walk with the bucket.

The walk. Elinor actually carrying her bucket!

Alice making a bid to escape us.

We drove to a large clothing store at Bayé just outside Quimperlé but found nothing we needed there.  We then went to a hypermarket to buy food and Alice bought two bags for school.  We drove home and relaxed for a while before cooking tea.  While I was sweeping up some gravel Elinor had brought in,  Annie the gîte owner called round with a tourist passport (discounts on tariffs for boat trips and museum entrances) and a bottle of home-made cider. She explained how to dispose of the rubbish, too.  Elinor went to bed with her bucket and Alice made us laugh when she misheard Richard talking about Oates’ gesture, thinking that he said that Oates was a jester.

Elinor is in bed at last!

Sunday 29th August

Richard did not feel very well this morning so we stayed at the gîte and read books etc.

Me writing this diary

Girls playing with the bucket set

Alice was always good at amusing Elinor

After lunch Richard, Elinor and I went to visit the Chapel of St. Barbe while Alice stayed behind to wash her hair and have some time to herself.  The chapel is not far from Le Faouët and Le Grand Pont which is where we parked. We decided to walk to the chapel – the sign said it was 0.5km away.  However, we walked the longer way round via the Fountain (which we never saw!) and had to carry Elinor a good two-thirds of the way as it was uphill and very rocky.  The wood we walked through was really lovely and in places smelt very fungus-y and autumnal.  As we neared the top there were a number of cave-like crevices at the side of the path.  Steps had been hewn into the rockface or made out of stone and Elinor was able to walk the last bit up to the chapel.

This was an amazing building as it looked as if it too, had been hewn out of the rock as well as the steps up to it.  There were stairs and arches and a bridge and everything seemed very tall.  We entered the chapel and had just begun admiring the ancient interior when we found we were shut in and had been included in a guided tour.  The female guide spoke very quickly in a monotone which we found almost impossible to follow.  Elinor soon got bored and began stamping and hooting but fortunately Richard managed to escape outside with her, along with another man.  I had to wait for quite a while longer before I could get out to join them.  I loved the carved angels who looked as if they had large earphones and the stained glass was beautiful.  There was a separate belfry for pilgrims to send their prayers to heaven.  We drank an orange juice and then went back down to the car via a different path. This was much narrower and steeper than the one we had climbed up by so poor Richard had to carry Elinor all the way down.  We were very tired when we got back to the car.

Chapel of St Barbe

Elinor at the chapel

Richard ready for a night on the town

After a rest at home and a drink we all got ready to go out for dinner.  We went to Querrien to see if the restaurant there was open – it wasn’t.  We then drove to Le Faouët and went to a crêperie/pizzaria and had a lovely meal.  Elinor made a bit of a fuss at first because she was hungry and I had to take her back to the car early as she was getting bored and tired.  Driving back to the gîte, Richard put the car lights on for the first time this holiday.  He found a toad on the doorstep when we got back.

To be continued….

Wenhaston Doom

02 Tue Dec 2025

Posted by in architecture, churches, Days out, Rural Diary

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It is strange how one can live for years near to places of beauty or interest but never get around to visiting them.  There always seem to be other things to do and of course these places will always be there, won’t they? And we will always be able to get to them whenever we like – yes?  Elinor and I decided to visit one on a very warm afternoon in June this year.

Wenhaston church

Wenhaston is about ten miles from where we live, is fairly near to Southwold on the coast, and is surrounded by farms and heathland.  Not too far away is Bulcamp, the site of a battle in the year 654 between the Anglian King Anna and the Mercian King Penda.  Anna and a couple of his sons were killed during the battle.  A workhouse was built at Bulcamp in 1764 which then became a fever hospital and has now been converted into apartments.  A little bleak and isolated for my liking. There is a nice pub in Wenhaston and I think the choir I belonged to years ago performed a concert or two in the village hall. I also had to take Alice to Wenhaston once a week for guitar lessons for a while.

Plants on the churchyard wall

Mexican fleabane

Perforate St John’s-wort

Wenhaston church

Wenhaston church

Elinor and I had come to see the church which is situated in the middle of the village.  It is referred to in the Domesday Book and part of it is of Saxon origin.  For many years it was looked after by Blythburgh Priory but like lots of churches in this country it suffered much during the reign of Edward VI and also during the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell.  William Dowsing‘s men visited in 1643 and according to the Wenhaston church guide book ‘did a lot of damage, breaking the stained glass, taking down the carved angels from the roof, removing the organ and the font cover, destroying the altar, hacking the pulpit about and much else besides’.  What they didn’t find was the Doom which the people of the parish had covered with whitewash many years earlier during Edward’s reign when he had demanded the destruction of all roods and the abolition of paintings and pictures in church.  For three centuries and more it stayed undiscovered and forgotten on the rood beam, whitewashed and painted over with passages from the Bible.

Scale model of the church on a windowsill

The bell-tower with the ropes lifted high, out of the reach of the hoi-polloi. There are six bells, two of which are medieval and probably came from Blythburgh Priory.

Here are the local Constable’s manacles for the stocks hanging up in the vestry. Redundant now of course, and there is no local constable any more either. I think that is a truncheon hanging there too!

In 1892 the East end of the church was rebuilt.  During the dismantling of the roof the rood beam was discovered intact and to still have its original paint and gilding.  The whitewashed Doom was removed plank by plank and thrown out into the churchyard for later destruction.  Fortunately, it rained heavily during that night and in the morning the painting underneath was beginning to emerge from under the whitewash.  The whole Doom was cleaned and experts were called in to assess its provenance.  The Doom was put on display and people paid to see it; the proceeds of which helped to pay for the rebuilding of the roof and the church was then able to get even more repairs done.  The new chancel arch was too narrow for the Doom to be replaced in its old position so for a while it was put on the West wall of the church where there was a gallery.  The gallery was removed in 1927 so that the Doom could be seen more easily and sometime later the Doom was placed where it is now on the North wall.

The Doom

The Doom is a representation of the Last Judgement.  It was probably painted in about 1520 or just before then, the date partly based on the style of the Virgin Mary’s bodice as depicted in the Doom. The villagers had started saving for the work to be done during the 1480’s. Dooms were usually placed on the chancel arch which separates the Nave where the common people worship – the Church Militant – and the Chancel, where the priests lead the worship – the Church Triumphant.  A rood screen was often placed at the chancel arch, which added to the seclusion of the chancel, and the sculpted or carved figures of Our Lord on the Cross with the Virgin Mary on one side and St John the Baptist on the other were placed on the top of the rood beam.  In this church the figures of the rood were attached to the Doom.  The figures have long since disappeared but their position and shape can be seen by the blank spaces on the Doom painting.

At the top of the Doom on the left is God as Christ seated on a rainbow and displaying His wounds.  At the top on the right are the Virgin Mary and St John the Baptist kneeling in prayer.  (Sadly my photograph of these two latter figures wasn’t good enough to show here).

This is God appearing as Christ, the Son of Man

Beneath the figures of the Virgin and St John is the Archangel Michael with the Devil. The early Church adapted many pagan customs and ideas to Christian purposes in order to ease the transition from the pagan life to that of being a Christian.  One such custom was the idea of a messenger from Heaven and therefore the attributes of the Roman god Mercury were assumed by the Archangel Michael who became the guide of the dead.  Mercury weighed souls in classical mythology so now Michael holds the scales in his left hand.  His right hand holds his sword and he wears a circlet surmounted by a cross on his head.  The circlet at the time was very fashionable in Northern European and also English art.  You can see resurrected souls behind Michael and the Devil wending their way towards St Peter. The dead have arisen as naked as they were when they were created and all aged about 33, the age at which Christ was thought to have died.

The Archangel Michael and the Devil

The Devil is wearing ragged sleeves and trousers which, according to the guide book, suggests the outfit worn by the Devil when the Wenhaston actors visited the seaside village of Walberswick in the late 15th century.  The Walberswick churchwardens described the entertainment as the ‘Wenhaston game’.  There is a second face painted on the Devil’s belly.  This is an artistic convention often seen in late medieval painting which suggests that the Devil’s soul had been put at the service of his lower appetite and he was no better than a brute.  The Latin text says ‘N(unc) quo deest tu facias tabo amnesta – now for what is lacking may you give pardon for sin’.  This is for the benefit of these two (rather cute) little souls in the upper pan of the scales as they are weighed against the single pure soul in the lower pan.

Beneath the image of Christ are the resurrected souls appearing above ground and their headgear – crowns, tiaras and mitres – have been included to show their station in life. Usually, the rich and powerful are seen mixing with ordinary mortals in Dooms to show equality on Judgement Day but in the Wenhaston Doom they are set apart for some reason.  Meeting them is St Peter in his papal tiara representing The Church which alone had the power to admit men and women to eternal life through the Sacraments.

St Peter and the Resurrected.

The sheep and the goats have been separated and the sheep are admitted to the heavenly Mansions.  This is shown on the far left of the Doom.

‘Do come in and make yourselves at home!’

The goats however, have only the eternal fires and gnashing of teeth to look forward to.  On the far right of the Doom little devils gather up the accursed and cast them into the jaws of Hell which are depicted here as the gaping, toothed mouth of a fish.  Leviathan, a huge aquatic creature is often mentioned in Hebrew poetry and this led to commentators and artists seeing Satan as Leviathan.  In the picture there is also a person still wearing their shroud, a swine’s snout, a devil blowing on a ram’s horn (the last trump?), the damned encircled by red-hot chains and the Seven Deadly Sins are represented, one of them carrying a female figure upside-down.

The text underneath the Doom is probably Elizabethan and is from an unknown version of the English Bible.  Romans 13 vv 1-4

“Let every soule submit him selfe unto the authorytye of the hygher powers for there is no power but of God the Powers that be are ordyend of God, but they that rest or are againste the ordinaunce of God shall recyve to them selves utter damnacion.  For rulers are not fearfull to them that do good but to them that do evyll for he is the mynister of God”.

I am greatly indebted to the excellent guide book I bought at the church for the explanation of the Doom’s symbolism.

Elinor in her red hat contemplating the Doom. The wooden panelling you can see beyond her under the windows are the repurposed box pews.

The interior of the church looking Eastward towards the altar

The Font – a Seven Sacrament font but unfortunately the reliefs that had been in the arched panels were erased in the 19th century. Behind the font is the George III Royal Arms

The East window

A map of the parish

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Above is a gallery of all the windows in the church and below is the door.

The outside of the South door, the main entrance to the church. The door retains the medieval sanctuary knocker.

A cupboard with a catch

The Charity Board

Part of the new chancel arch from 1892

More carved panelling from the box pews.

The Nave roof

Part of a memorial to Reverend J Leman who died in Bath.

Medieval Holy water stoup on the outside of the church next to the door

Chest tombs
Chest tomb

Apologies for the length of this post.

Holiday in Brittany – August 1999. Part 2.

24 Sun Mar 2024

Posted by in Brittany, Days out, France, holidays, Rural Diary

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Here follows the next episode of our Brittany holiday.  I thought I would include here an example of Breton folk music just so you can get an idea of the kind of music we heard when we arrived in Brittany.  I also apologise for the grainy and blurred photos.

Sunday 22nd August

This is where we were staying. I believe the building was a converted barn and the house where the owners lived is the taller building with the chimneys at the back.

We decided that we would not do much today and just get used to being in our cottage in France.  The weather was nice so we sat outside quite a lot.

View from the gîte.

Another view.

We drove into Le Faouët during the early evening and went to a Breton crêperie for tea.  We all enjoyed our meal and decided we would return there sometime soon.

Richard didn’t feel too well during the evening and went to bed early.  (Over-tired probably!).

 

Monday 23rd August

A foggy start to the day.

The day began well but we soon had our first accident with Alice breaking one of the plates as she was wiping up after we had washed the breakfast things.  (We are an accident-prone family!).  Richard took Elinor out to play on the swings but the swing broke and Richard badly burnt his arm on the rope as he tried to break his and Elinor’s fall.  After patching up his arm and having a cup of tea we decided we would go for a scenic drive during the afternoon to the Étang du Bel Air and the Scorff valley.  We cooked some soup for our lunch.

Alice and Elinor on the swing.

Everyone wanted a swing!

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Shortly before setting off for our drive, Elinor fell down the steps from the sitting area onto the hard tiles in the dining area.  We didn’t realise at the time but she had landed on her ear and badly bruised it.

Another view
… and another!

We drove through Le Faouët and, via L’Abbaye Notre-Dame de Langonnet, on to Priziac which is next to L’Étang du Bel Air.  We walked a little way round the lake until Elinor got tired and Alice began complaining of hunger and cold.  We returned to the little beach near the car-park where a café was just opening and bought coffee and crisps and Alice bought an ice-cream.  The ideal food to eat when you are cold!

The link below will lead you to some pictures of the lake courtesy of google maps and the photographers who have donated their photos to that site.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/%C3%89tang+du+Bel-Air+(Priziac)/@48.060833,-3.422222,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipNYWgEdiVJ1xESRARXWMaQmEjVSoJRR-nltk3VE!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNYWgEdiVJ1xESRARXWMaQmEjVSoJRR-nltk3VE%3Dw360-h172-k-no!7i5446!8i2617!4m7!3m6!1s0x4811aaf04b63c65f:0x7b65e6109b4eb1cf!8m2!3d48.060833!4d-3.422222!10e5!16s%2Fg%2F112yg5mzy?entry=ttu

We then drove to Kernascléden via le Croisty and St-Caradec-Trégomel.  We looked at the church which has medieval paintings in it and then went to the toy museum.  (I looked on-line to see if the toy museum is still going and unfortunately I don’t believe it is.  There are some images of the museum but I think they are old pictures.)  We bought some postcards and groceries from a shop before driving off to the Scorff valley with its beautiful scenery.  We stopped at a likely place by the R. Scorff and Richard and Alice got out of the car.  A kingfisher flew past and they saw lots of pond skaters (insects) in the calmer parts of the river.  Next, we drove to Plouay where I used a public toilet (most unpleasant!) and then travelled on to Les Roches du Diable and looked at the wonderful rock formations on the R. Ellé.The rocks are supposed to have been thrown by the devil at Saint Winwaloe who had set up home by the river but the saint outwitted and defeated the devil.  The rocks show the devil’s claw marks on them.

We drove back to our cottage and Richard cooked us pasta and sauce for our evening meal followed by crêpes.  The rain started as we got home and continued to fall very heavily almost all night long.

Walks With Elinor – Reydon Wood

22 Mon Nov 2021

Posted by in Days out, Rural Diary, woodland

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Let me take you back in time to the end of April of this year.  In preparing this post it has been strange looking through my early spring photographs while the leaves outside are falling from the trees and most of the flowers have gone.

Elinor and I had enjoyed our two previous walks in Halesworth and Beccles but this time we wanted to get away from people and buildings and into the woods.  One of our favourite places is Reydon Wood which is cared for by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.  I have written posts about family walks in this wood a few times before but the last time we visited was about three years ago; how could we have left it that long?!

Reydon Wood

The weather was perfect, chilly but sunny and there hadn’t been any rain for quite a while so the paths were free of mud.  Spring was cold and late this year so the first leaves were only just beginning to show on the trees. The wood was full of birdsong and we soon found any number of spring flowers in bloom.  The light was strong and bright which was not conducive to good photography, for which I apologise.

The path through the woods

I love these perfectly pleated Hornbeam leaves (Carpinus betulus )

Common Dog Violets (Viola riviniana ) and a small white Wild Strawberry flower (Fragaria vesca) in the centre of the picture

Reydon Wood is quite small and would only take twenty minutes or so to walk round if one wasn’t interested in stopping and looking at anything.  We heard a couple of women approaching from behind us and stood to one side as they walked past talking non-stop.  We waited while the noise of their voices faded and birdsong re-established itself.

We saw Wood Anemones (Anemone nemorosa ) in the wood for the first time

Primroses ( Primula vulgaris) were in flower

There are plenty of coppice stools like this in the wood

Reydon Wood is coppiced each year.  Some of these trees are hundreds of years old and have been supplying wood for generations.  Here is a link which explains what coppicing is.  A copse is a wood which is or has been coppiced.

A clearing was carpeted with Primroses and Lesser Celandines (Ficaria verna )

Great Crested Newt ( Triturus cristatus)

In this clearing is a large pond which is home to all sorts of interesting creatures and plants.  The Great Crested Newt is Britain’s largest newt and has suffered in recent years due to habitat loss, especially by the infilling of ponds.

Water Violet (Hottonia palustris )

The Water Violet isn’t a violet at all, it is a member of the primrose family but the petals are a very pale lilac-colour which may be the reason for its common name.  It is usually found in sheltered ditches and ponds with shallow clear water which is rich in calcium.  Another name for it is Featherfoil because of its fine feathery leaves.

Tangled branches and shadows

The Bluebells were just beginning to flower (Hyacinthoides non-scripta)

Spring leaves

Woodland in the springtime

I always like to greet this giant Holly tree with its weeping branches (Ilex aquifolium)

A Hoverfly of some sort sunning itself on the path. With their large ‘fly’ eyes they always look like they are wearing large sun-glasses.

Goldilocks Buttercup (Ranunculus auricomus )

A spring-flowering buttercup.  The whole plant, including the stems and the leaves, dies back by mid-summer.  The flowers are usually deformed with petals missing and the upper leaves deeply cut.

Deeply rutted path

We were extremely fortunate to have had such dry weather during the week before our walk.  The paths had set like concrete and though they were uneven they were easier to walk on than if they had been wet!

With any luck I will be able to add to this short series of walks before Christmas!

Walks With Elinor – Beccles

01 Thu Jul 2021

Posted by in Days out, Rural Diary

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Elinor and I went to Beccles the week following our chilly walk in Halesworth.  You might think Beccles (rhymes with freckles) is a strange name for a town: according to my Dictionary of English Place-Names the name probably derives from the Old English for ‘pasture by a stream’.  Other derivations put forward are from the Brittonic for ‘small court’ or a contraction of ‘Beata Ecclesia’, the name of a Christian temple erected here c.960 AD.  Take your pick!

Elinor needed to buy her Grandmother a birthday card and gift and Beccles has a greater selection of shops than our more local towns.  We also wanted to have a walk by the river where I used to take Elinor when she was very small.  We used to go there as a place to rest and recuperate after visits to the dentist, which she found extremely stressful.

We were successful with our shopping and then, because Elinor was hungry we bought her a panini to eat in the car.  Unfortunately, it exploded and she and the seat belt were covered with runny cheese!  We often have these events which are sent to try us apparently, but they also make life that bit more interesting!  We then drove to the Boat Station car-park taking a couple of wrong turns on the way just to add to the excitement.

The weather was completely different from the week before.  It wasn’t warm but the sun was shining brightly and there was that something in the air that spoke of Spring and warmth to come.

Beccles Quay

Beccles is part of the Broads.  Not many people realize that the Broads stretch south into Suffolk, but they do.  A few people leave their boats at the Yacht Station at Beccles Quay over the winter.  There are WCs, shower and washing facilities (with points where one can empty chemical toilets), places to dispose of rubbish and a café, all provided for people travelling by boat wishing to stop here and enjoy visiting Beccles and its environs.  There were many people working on their boats when we visited or they were sitting on deck enjoying drinks, hot and cold.  There are boats and yachts for hire and we saw a few people out on the water.

Beccles Quay looking towards the town

Beccles Quay

Beccles Quay looking away from the town

Elinor

Path by the River Waveney looking towards the road bridge

Footbridge over the river which gives access to the town

Beccles church tower seen from the green

Beccles Quay  The strange floating building is one of the glamping Pods for rental from the boatyard.

Elinor and I returned home much refreshed by our visit to the Quay and the river.

Flatford Mill

23 Tue Feb 2021

Posted by in Arts and Crafts, Days out, Historic Buildings, Rural Diary

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My birthday falls at the beginning of September but last autumn, as we were very busy during that week we decided to put off any celebration or outing until later.  A whole month later we found we had the time, and the weather had improved enough for a trip to Flatford Mill in the Dedham Vale.

Flatford Mill is owned by the National Trust and looking at their website we saw that we need not book a slot to visit but, as parking space is limited we thought we would set off fairly early.  The weather forecast was for rain in the afternoon but the morning was glorious with plenty of sunshine.

We live in North Suffolk in the Waveney Valley and Flatford Mill is in the south of the county on the River Stour near the border with the county of Essex.   If you click on the link just below you will see a map of Suffolk.  Near the top of the map to the right of centre are the towns of Bungay, Halesworth and Harleston.  We live in-between and almost equi-distant from those three towns.  At the bottom of the map in the centre you will see the town of Sudbury and to the right of that is Dedham Vale.

https://images.app.goo.gl/fqi1Da7AAMkpD9GY8

Many of you will recognise the name of the place we visited for my birthday treat.  Some of you may have been there already.  Flatford Mill was owned by the painter John Constable’s father and John was born in East Bergholt, a village on the River Stour.  It is a short walk down a fairly steep winding, wooded lane from the village to the mill.

We wandered round the outside of the mill and over the bridge to the other side of the river.

The River Stour

Buildings near to the Mill, seen from the bridge. The building on the right of the photo with the flat roof is the café owned by the National Trust where we had a sandwich lunch.

Bridge Cottage

The attractive flowerbed next to the cottage

Bridge Cottage seen from the other side of the river

We found the lock which has recently been restored.

We also found the rear of the mill buildings and the mill pool.

The Stour is a lovely river.

We re-crossed the bridge and walked back down towards the mill, admiring the brick and timber buildings.

After our lunch we sat outside the mill in the sunshine.

This is the corner of the mill building, seen from our bench. I doubt whether the wall was there in John Constable’s time.

It was satisfying to sit looking at a view that Constable looked at every day when he lived in that building and had also included in many of his paintings such as The Mill                      Stream, The Hay Wain and The White Horse.

Beautiful effect of sunlight filtering through the trees.

Above are three slightly different views of Willy Lott’s House as seen from outside the mill.  We then walked down the lane towards the house to get a closer view.

Willy Lott’s House
Willy Lott’s House
Willy Lott’s House

Just look at these glorious roof tiles!

An overgrown withy fence round an allotment with views of the countryside beyond
Forget-me-nots among the nettles
Lush growth next to the river

We then thought we would walk across the water meadows to Dedham which is just into Essex.  Dedham was also painted by Constable and we could see the church tower in the distance.  I have seen this same church tower every time I have travelled down the A12 on my way to London.

As you can see from the sky in these photos, it was looking more and more like rain so we reluctantly turned round and made our way back to Flatford.  The water meadows were more water than meadow, thanks to the very wet weather we had had during September and we would have had great difficulty getting to Dedham dryshod.  The last two photos above show Dedham church tower.

Jolly ducks on the water.

We had a last look at the Stour and then went home in the rain.

Castle Acre Priory

26 Sat Sep 2020

Posted by in architecture, churches, Days out, family, Historic Buildings, plants, Rural Diary

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It was Richard’s birthday in the middle of August and to celebrate, he decided he would like to visit Castle Acre Priory in Norfolk.  The Priory is a ruin which is cared for by English Heritage.

Because of Covid-19 restrictions we had to book a ‘slot’ and pre-pay for our visit.  We were so happy to have Alice staying with us for a week; she had arrived the day before and accompanied us on our trip.  We made a picnic lunch to take with us and set out at 11.00 am as our ‘slot’ was at 1.00 pm.  I drove us there and because the traffic was light we arrived in very good time.  We ate our picnic sitting in the car in the car-park;  it was a dull, cool day and the only benches and tables were beyond the reception building.  We had liked the look of Castle Acre village as we drove through it, (it also has a castle and an interesting-looking church) but it was very crowded with visitors wandering about the narrow lanes.  We will return in happier times, I think.

We donned our masks and presented ourselves at the reception desk where we were given a map of the priory and I bought a guide book.  Just outside the reception building was a charming herb garden.

Castle Acre Priory herb garden

There were a couple of stands of plants for sale. I resisted buying from them with difficulty!

This was our first view of the priory ruins on leaving the herb garden

Castle Acre was chosen by William de Warenne, a Norman knight who had fought at the Battle of Hastings, to be the headquarters of all his newly acquired Norfolk properties.  The castle, the priory and the massive 12th century town defences were all built by successive generations of the de Warenne family.  The building of the priory was begun in 1090 by de Warenne’s son.

The west front of the priory church

Just look at this exquisite blind arcading!

Have a closer look…

Carved archway in the west front

More intricate carving, with a couple of grotesques

We always seem to visit a place which is currently having work done to it!  Last year we visited Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire because I wished to see its stunning facade.  ‘Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall’.  When we got there (in the pouring rain, I might add) the whole of the front was covered in scaffolding because of on-going restoration work.

This time, a number of projects were being worked on at the priory which restricted where we were able to go.

The Prior’s chapel is to the left as you look at the photo and the Prior’s great chamber/study is on the right with its fabulous bay window, added in the early 16th century.  Further round the corner on the right side of the building you can see the side view of an early 16th century oriel window.

The Prior’s study with the oriel window is on the left and a late 15th century two-storey porch is on the right. The taller building behind the porch is the Prior’s lodging. You can also see the connecting passages and galleries of the west range joining the lodging to the Prior’s chapel behind the great chamber.  The Prior’s chapel was also connected to the Priory church so the Prior had no need to go outside at all, unless he wished to.

Another view of the Prior’s buildings

This is part of the decoration on the oriel window. It must be a portrait of someone, don’t you think? Such a wonderful face!  Apologies for the poor photo.

From left to right; entrance to the west range of the priory, then a kitchen and behind it the refectory and then the building on the far right is the reredorter or latrine block.

Restoration work is being done to the bridge (in the foreground) over the leat and also to the south boundary wall. The leat is a diversion of the River Nar; this leat was used by the monks to take the waste away from the reredorter. They dug the channel close to the priory and then built the latrine block over the top of it. The leat is dry at present.

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Castle Acre Priory was a Cluniac priory, a daughter-house of the great monastery at Cluny in Burgundy.  With the support of kings and nobility many Cluniac priories were created in England between 1076 and 1154.  During the wars with France the Cluniac priories had restrictions placed on them because they were ‘alien’ even though most of the monks were, in fact, English.  Gifts to the priory were reduced and the French monks were repatriated. Only after obtaining English or ‘denizen’ status did their situation improve again and their numbers increase.  Castle Acre was suppressed by Thomas Cromwell during the reign of Henry VIII and the deed of surrender was signed on 22 November 1537.  Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk acquired the lease of the priory’s site, lands and rights.  By the following summer the priory buildings were being demolished, though the Prior’s lodging was retained as a house.

Richard and Alice at the Priory

My girls!

Elinor with the reredorter in the background. You can see clearly here how the building straddles the leat.

Richard, Alice and Elinor

It started to rain, and we decided it was time to go home.

Alice and Richard approaching the bay of the south aisle of the priory church under the south-west tower

The ceiling of the bay under the tower

Arched exit from the south-west tower

View from under the south-west tower looking towards the inside of the west door and onwards to what would have been the north-west tower

As usual, I also took photos of the plants living on and near the ruins.

A Willowherb. It could be Hoary Willowherb ( Epilobium parviflorum) because of its very hairy stem and leaves. Growing on a wall would account for its small size.  (There are other willowherbs which are hairy which accounts for my doubtful ID).

Many plants growing on one of the walls

White Stonecrop (Sedum album)  I find its red leaves most attractive

White Stonecrop

White Stonecrop

Horse Chestnut ( Aesculus hippocastanum) These leaves are badly affected by leaf blotch caused by a fungus.  Horse chestnut trees are also often badly attacked by Horse chestnut leaf-mining moth larvae

Wild Teasel ( Dipsacus fullonum)

Wild teasel

Maidenhair spleenwort ( Asplenium trichomanes) Recognizable by its black midrib

I think this might be Roseroot (Sedum rosea).  Not a plant one would expect to find in this part of the country

Harebells ( Campanula rotundifolia) and Black Medick ( Medicago lupulina)

Harebells

Common liverwort/Umbrella liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha )  Common liverwort is a thallose liverwort; it has flattened leaf-like structures (thalli) with forked branches.  Common liverwort is also dioicous – it has separate male and female plants. This photo is of a female plant as it has star-like umbrella structures some of which are showing yellow mature sporangia or spores.  Common liverworts can also reproduce asexually by ‘gemmae’ produced in gammae cups which can be seen centre bottom of the photo on the thalli.  The gemmae are knocked out of the cups by splashes of water/raindrops.

Lady’s bedstraw (Galium verum )

Wallflower ( Erysimum cheiri)

I think this is Common calamint (Clinopodium ascendens )

Common calamint

We had a very enjoyable few hours at the priory and I hope to return to Castle Acre one day to look around the village and revisit the priory.

To end this post, I have added the following English Heritage guide to Medieval Monastic life….

and, here is the Salve Regina, a chant that would have been sung (probably not to this tune) when Castle Acre Priory was in its glory.

 

South Elmham Minster

01 Wed Jul 2020

Posted by in churches, Days out, Historic Buildings, plants, Rural Diary, walking, wild flowers

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WARNING: OVERLONG POST

It was our 26th wedding anniversary the Thursday before last and we had intended to go out for a walk and take a picnic with us.  However, the morning was very wet and, even though the rain had stopped by midday we decided that walking through long grass and along overgrown paths and then trying to find somewhere to sit and eat our lunch without getting wet would be too difficult, so we put off the walk until the following day.  I did the ironing instead.

Friday was a much better day for a walk, with warmth, some sunshine and a fair amount of cloud.  There was a light shower of rain mid-morning and another just as we approached our picnic spot but not enough to dampen our spirits or make the going, or sitting, any trouble.

As usual, I took my pocket camera with me and looked out for things of interest.  You will have to excuse the quality of the photos; I have to take the pictures as quickly as possible so that I am not left behind.  Also my camera has decided it doesn’t like pink and has changed all the pink flowers to blue or purple.

The beautiful almond-scented Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) was already in bloom along the lane just a few metres from our house.  This is a native plant.

I quote here from my ID, ‘Harrap’s Wild Flowers’ by Simon Harrap ” The name (Meadowsweet) refers to its use in flavouring mead and other drinks, rather than a predilection for meadows, and also used as a strewing herb, scattered on the floor to freshen up the house.”

The Dogwoods (Cornus sanguinea) have been marvellous this year. Most were past their best already but I felt I just had to record this shrub’s swansong.

This is a plant I have known since I was a small girl. It used to grow prolifically in the places I played. Pineappleweed (Matricaria discoidea)

The plant gives off a very strong pineapple scent when it is crushed.  It is an introduced plant, coming originally from east Asia and was first recorded in the wild in this country in 1871.

Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris). This tiny little plant was right next to the Pineappleweed (which you can see bottom right of the photo). It gets its name from the shape of the seed pods.  You can see them surrounding the upper white flowerhead; they are grey-brown in colour and triangular.  Shepherd’s Purse is an ancient introduction to this country.

Hedgerow Cranesbill (Geranium pyrenaicum). This is one of the plants my camera decided should not be as pink as it is. It has rather lovely darker veins on its petals. This is yet another introduction, this time from southern Europe and was first recorded in the wild here in 1762.  I have added a link for you to see the usual colour of the flower.

Creeping Cinquefoil (Potentilla reptans). I love the zingy lemon-yellow of this flower! Next to a buttercup it looks too bright but on its own backed by its lovely soft green leaves it looks glorious.

Italian Alder (Alnus cordata). Halfway down our lane a row of Italian Alders were planted as a windbreak. What attractive trees they are! Here you can see the substantial heart-shaped glossy leaves, dark cones from last year and the new green cones. This tree has beautiful long catkins in the spring which flutter in the strong winds that blow here.

Pretty pink and white striped Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis ) along the edge of this crop of Field Beans.

As you can see from this photo, it was quite breezy during our walk; not the best conditions for getting good pictures in a hurry! In amongst the grass you can see the brown seedheads of Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata).

Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra). The hard flowerheads of this plant have given it the name ‘Knap’ weed; ‘knap’ meaning knob.

In olden times, this flower could be used to tell a girl whether she would marry soon.  She had to pull all the expanded florets off the flowerhead and then put the rest of the flower inside her blouse, next to her heart.  After an hour she should take it out again and if the previously unexpanded florets had blossomed, that was a sure sign that the man she was going to marry was soon coming her way.

By this time we had left the lane and were walking along a footpath between fields.

Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare). Sitting on the flower on the right is a Thick-legged Flower Beetle (Oedemera nobilis).  Only the males of this harmless shiny green beetle have the distinctive swollen ‘thighs’.

Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum). This is the only photo I managed to get of this pretty plant and most of it is out of focus because of the wind blowing it about.

Harrap’s tells me it is ‘honey-scented when fresh but smells of new-mown hay when dry.  Formerly believed to discourage fleas and was incorporated into straw mattresses, especially for the beds of women about to give birth, hence its name.’

I cannot confirm the information about the scent because: 1. I would have found it very difficult getting down low enough to smell the plant and would then have struggled to get back up again, so I didn’t. 2. The wind was blowing too strongly for the delicate scent to be discernible and 3. I haven’t got a strong sense of smell, anyway.  We’ll just have to take Mr Harrap’s word for it.

Lesser Trefoil (Trifolium dubium). This plant with its three leaflets joined together is widely believed to be the true shamrock.  There are other plants which are also thought to be the shamrock; white clover, black medick, watercress and wood sorrel.

This plant is one of the hop trefoils; its seedheads look like tiny heads of hops.  Once the seeds begin to ripen the petals don’t fall off the plant but turn brown and the standard, the upper petal of the flower, folds down on either side of its centre line over the ripening pod like a ridged roof.  If you click on the photo above to enlarge it and look about a third of the way up from the bottom, you will find a seed head in the centre.  Does that make sense?

Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis).

Another not-as-pink, pink flower.  Here is a link to images of what a Pyramidal Orchid really looks like.

I believe this plant might be Oxford Ragwort (Senecio squalidus). The leaves look too evenly-branched to be the native Common Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) though the latter plant is what I would expect to find here. Oxford Ragwort is found mainly in urban settings. It escaped from Oxford Botanic Garden in 1794 and then spread rapidly via the railway network. It sounds like the main character in a John Buchan novel!

Ragwort is poisonous, its leaves containing an alkaloid poison that can remain in plants that have been dried with hay.  Animals are not aware they are eating it when it’s in hay (though they will avoid it when it is growing in the field) and the alkaloids will destroy their livers in just a few months. Understandably, farmers will try to get rid of all the ragwort they find.

Our aim was to picnic at South Elmham Minster and we discovered it surrounded by trees.  It is on private land but the owners allow walkers to visit it as long as they respect the place.

Here is Elinor discovering and photographing the entrance to the site.

Richard, Alice and I had been here before, when we walked to it from St James in April 1995, nearly two years before Elinor was born!  We hadn’t been back since, though it is only half an hour’s walk from our present home.

The entrance and path leading to the ruins of the ‘Minster’ were very overgrown which somehow added a frisson of mystery to the occasion.

To the Minster

There was a lot of Comfrey growing next to the path.

Common Comfrey (Symphytum officinale). These flowers were lavender-coloured.

And there it was!

South Elmham Minster

Instead of me writing screeds about this interesting ruin I will recommend this article for you to read, if you so wish.

Here is an information sign with the ubiquitous ‘artist’s impression’ of the Minster.

Here is a message we found. We have no idea when the damage was done or when this sign was put up. It looks fairly recent.

We wandered around for a short while and then sat on the bench provided under the trees and had our lunch.

Our picnic spot

Below are a few photos of the ruins themselves.

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An interesting tree-trunk.

Many of the trees surrounding the Minster were Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus).  Hornbeam trunks are said to be ‘fluted’ which might describe the tree above.

Hornbeam pleated leaves with bunches of fruits

The Hornbeam nut forms with a three-lobed bract attached that sometimes grows as long as 5cms.  This acts as ‘wings’ when the nut is released from the tree in the autumn.

I think the Hornbeams have been coppiced in the past though Hornbeams are usually pollarded.  Local children have been making dens under the trees.

Lesser Burdock ( Arctium minus)

Cleavers or Goosegrass (Galium aparine)

Above are two different plants with fruits covered in hooks.  The stems and leaves of Cleavers also have bristles that cause them to stick to anything that touches them.

An enormous Bramble patch! (Rubus fruticosus agg. )

A bird had made a nest in one of the hollows in the wall. It was empty.

Another enormous Lesser Burdock; it must have been almost 2 metres tall. By this time the sun had come out and the air was becoming warm.

The ditch; looking left
The ditch; looking right

There was another exit path from the Minster which crossed the wide surrounding ditch.  This ditch is fairly deep though my photographs do not show this at all clearly.

A Hoverfly, I’m not sure which one, on a large Buttercup flower; again I’m not sure which buttercup.

Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica). In reality this flower is a little pinker than this photo shows.

Woundworts have been used to stem bleeding and treat wounds since the time of the ancient Greeks.  Formally, the leaves were usually used as a poultice.  Ointments and infusions were also made with the leaves and the flowers made into conserves.  In fact, the volatile oil in Hedge Woundwort does have antiseptic qualities.

Dog’s Mercury (Mercurialis perennis)

The Dog’s Mercury was all in seed. This one appears to have lost a few of its upper seeds.  Dog’s Mercury is extremely poisonous to animals and humans alike.

We left the Minster and walked home in the sunshine.

Mayweed.  I wasn’t able to check to see if it was Scentless or Scented Mayweed.  The white outer ray florets were just emerging round the central disc-florets of these daisy-like flowerheads.

Lesser Stitchwort (Stellaria graminea).

Field Rose (Rosa arvensis).

Field entrance

I didn’t take many photos of our surroundings as we walked and most of those shots were not suitable.  I am glad this one came out as it shows the countryside through which we walked.  Old-fashioned small fields with high dense hedges.  Lots of birds were still singing and wherever we walked we heard numerous skylarks.

A drainage ditch

Richard pointed out the cracked clay sides of this ditch.  The water though not deep, was running quickly along and was particularly clear.  We saw small fish swimming in it.

Further along, the ditch was crossed by a small bridge with what I assume is a gate to prevent sheep from crossing from one field to the next.

A cart pond.  In former times, when carthorses needed to drink, the cart drivers could get into these ponds and out again easily without having to take the horses off the cart.

Pyramidal orchid

Field edge full of orchids…

…and yet more

A selection of different Vetches

Hedge Bedstraw ( Galium album)

Borage ( Borago officinalis)

Agrimony ( Agrimonia eupatoria)

A field full of wild flowers

Unfortunately I couldn’t get into the field because of a deep ditch around it.  I had to take my photos using the zoom on my camera.

Sainfoin ( Onobrychis viciifolia)

I think the pretty pink and white clover in the centre of the photo is Alsike Clover ( Trifolium hybridum)

I think the owner of this field has sown some wildflower seed mix here.  I have never seen so many different flowers all in one field before.  From what I hear from the stories of the elderly people I know at church, all the fields were covered in wild flowers like these when they were young.  Intensive agriculture was becoming the norm thirty or forty years ago: hedges were ripped out and everything was sprayed to kill off the wild flowers and most of the insects.  This was still being done when I moved to East Anglia in 1988 and the birds I heard regularly then and the quantities of moths, butterflies and other insects I used to see then are much reduced.  I especially noticed the difference when I returned to East Anglia in 2006 after our 18 months in Somerset.  Far fewer insects certainly.  However, we had got used to hearing and seeing Buzzards during that 18 months while in Somerset and I was greatly surprised and excited to see and hear a Buzzard in Suffolk for the first time in 2007.  They are well established here now.

Common Mallow ( Malva sylvestris)  The Common Mallow is an ancient introduction to this country.  It seems to line all the lanes at this time of year.

This is the rather handsome caterpillar of the Peacock butterfly . I found it crossing the lane as I was nearing home.

You will be glad to know we all got home safely having met no-one on our walk and only saw a lady driving her pony and trap and I think a couple of cars along the lane.You will be especially glad to know that this is the end of the post!

Vikings!

25 Wed Sep 2019

Posted by in Days out, Rural Diary

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From the fury of the Northmen O Lord deliver us!

Elinor and I went to an exhibition at the Castle Museum in Norwich during May this year.  The subject of the exhibition was ‘The Vikings’ and the items displayed were objects discovered mainly in Britain.  There were treasures on loan from the British Museum in London and from The Yorkshire Museum in York as well as things found here in East Anglia.  East Anglia was part of the Danelaw in the 9th Century.

The first exhibits we looked at were items found from when the Vikings first invaded Britain; things they had brought with them on their journey across the North Sea.  We saw some of the weapons used by them and also by the Anglo Saxons in their battles for land and supremacy.  We then saw artefacts made and used by the Viking settlers once they had made their home here.  They were wonderful traders, with routes across the Irish Sea to Ireland, up to the Arctic Circle, across the Atlantic to America and all over Europe and into Asia, Russia, Turkey and India.  They brought some of the goods they found abroad, home to Britain.  The exhibition also showed how the Vikings assimilated some of the fashions and crafting techniques they found here in Britain and eventually became British themselves. If you wish to read further details of the Viking invasion of Britain this is a fairly good account.

I know I have included too many photos here!  I am sorry for the poor quality of several of them – I had a lot of trouble with reflections off the glass cases.

The Gilling Sword – made from iron and silver with an ornate silver gilt handle.  Probably owned by a powerful Saxon earl in the service of Northumbrian King Oswiu.

The York Helmet – made from iron and brass by Anglo-Saxon craftsmen.  It has a beautifully decorated nosepiece and there is a Latin inscription across the top which dedicates the helmet to God.

An Iron Axehead with arm and neck rings. The rings were symbols of Viking status, power and wealth. These would often be given as gifts to reward followers and faithful retainers.

A double-edged Sword, which would have been used by one of the wealthiest Vikings. Also, rivets from a clinker-built ship, an iron axe head, an iron spear head, an iron shield boss and a gold arm ring.

This is a re-used Christian cross showing a warrior with a female hostage.

There were a number of information boards in the exhibition and a large area was taken up as an activity room for children.  A recording of a man and a woman talking quietly together in Old Norse with the sound of wind blowing and seagulls crying in the background was playing all the time we were there.  I found this extremely atmospheric and not at all irritating.

The Ormside Bowl – made in AD 750, the outer skin produced AD 850-900. It is decorated with religious scenes, the work of monks in a Northumbrian monastery. It was discovered in the grave of a Viking man and it had been transformed into a drinking cup.

A bone plaque made by a Viking in the image of a Viking.

This is a rare find, there not being many likenesses of Vikings especially ones done by themselves.  The only written accounts of them are made by others.

The object on the left is an iron rangel or rattle which may have been used during ceremonies. On the right are two Islamic coins (probably traded for fur and slaves), four silver pennies and some ‘hacksilver’; part of some beautiful silver jewellery. The Vikings traded with bullion and goods and didn’t use coins at first. They would cut up (hack) any treasure or jewellery they had and use it as payment for goods.

Leather shoe with a toggle found in York – This is of turnshoe construction. The leather is cut to shape, moulded and stitched together and then turned inside-out so the seams are on the inside. A method used in Scandinavia and Britain.

A silver neckring from Russia. These became very popular with well-to-do Viking ladies and sources record that men would have had to collect and melt down 10,000 silver coins to obtain enough silver to have one of these made!

A carved walrus-tooth gaming piece owned by a merchant who travelled along the trade routes from Norway to Ireland. This piece (a knight) is part of a complete chess set probably made in Norway and found in the Western Isles of Scotland.

When this set was made the Western Isles were part of the Kingdom of Norway.  The set includes kings, queens, bishops, knights and warriors.  The warriors are carved as berserkers, fierce men described in sagas as biting their shields in frenzy before battle.  Scary!

Here is Elinor in the model of a viking boat.

At the time of our visit, Elinor was doing research for her final project in her Level Three Art and Design course at college.  She produced a graphic story book and her character’s clothes and belongings were loosely based on Celtic, Saxon and Viking designs.

A seal made from walrus ivory depicts a man called Sharrus who worked as a tax and toll collector in York during the 12th century. Sharrus (the name can be seen on the perimeter of the seal) is the Latin form of his name, Snaresnorri, meaning ‘shrewd’.

A balance and sets of weights. This is a portable balance and would have been the property of a Viking trader dealing in bullion. This method had long been replaced in England by the use of coins. There were still other areas where commodities were traded directly without the use of silver.

This image of two men carved on a gritstone cross comes from York. One man carries a sword and the other a horn and they are grasping hands in greeting. Another very rare image of Viking people, this cross would have been commissioned and financed by them as a public demonstration of their status and Christian piety.

These two discs are fairly small and the detailed work on them is extremely fine. They are both pendants and would have been worn by a wealthy pagan woman.

A comb case

Deer antler blank (unused antler) and roughouts (pieces of horn used to try out designs before including them in the finished article) with a finished comb and cases.

A phyllite whetstone and a gold finger ring. These belonged to a wealthy woman called Egwen who lived in Scotland. The ring is dedicated to St Peter and that saint may also be the image shown on the whetstone.

Torc from the Bedale Hoard

A tiny gold socketed terminal made from gold sheet and decorated with filigree wire depicting an animal’s head. It is probably the terminal of a pointer or aestel.

This object is a similar shape, though much smaller, to the Alfred Jewel which is believed to be an aestel.

Socketed object made of gilded copper alloy in the 8th/9th century. Probably another aestel.

Two silver pennies of King Aethelred of East Anglia. These are immensely important as only seven coins of this obscure king have been found. They show that after Edmund was killed he was succeeded by another East Anglian ruler not recorded in any historical documents.

A collection of strap ends (decorated metal ornament added to the end of straps) made from silver and niello, a copper alloy tulip mount and a silver (gilt?) disc brooch

Three coins, part of the Bishopshill hoard l. to r. Silver of Aethelred II; Silver of Cnut; Silver of Harthacnut.

A whalebone handle

The following are photographs of several hoards that have been discovered all over Britain.

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I hope you enjoyed seeing some of these wonderful things.

I am very grateful to the curators of the Norwich Castle Museum for this exhibition and for all the information they imparted.