Category: buildings

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architecture autumn autumn colours buildings River Severn sculpture Shrewsbury Shropshire townscapes trees

Walking the Shrewsbury Loop

Our county town, Shrewsbury, sits neatly and comfortably within a loop of the beautiful River Severn. Our hamlet, Plealey is just six miles south of the town, a very convenient distance for us as we are out in the South Shropshire countryside but a short distance by car to our county town.

As we came out of lock down, we decided to have a day off from gardening and go for a walk along the banks of the Severn, starting at the Welsh Bridge following the loop around to the English Bridge and back into the town centre.

We entered the riverside Victoria Quay passing a plethora of ugly signs and followed the quay with its rather gaudy hanging baskets and planters on the riverside fence. It is from the quay that The Sabrina, a pleasure boat, gives trips down the river for tourists and locals alike. On the left are fashionably popular eateries, including one of our favourites, The Armoury. A very popular riverside public house, The Boathouse sits on the opposite bank just before the first bridge that we pass.

We were surprised to see that the children’s playpark had been updated along a Charles Darwin theme, as Shrewsbury is the town of his birth. Along side the park was a new outdoor cafe with seats overlooking the Severn, so obviously we were tempted by takeaway coffees and cookies. Shrewsbury is famous as the home not just of Darwin but also Sentinel steam lorries and here we found one serving snacks and drinks to walkers passing by. We walked further along the bank-side path enjoying views through the bankside trees and hedges. Some of the willows have been sculpted by pollarding by previous generations who trained them in this way to get long straight whips of willow for basketry, a very important craft at the time.

The final picture in this set shows a lady pulling a canoe on a trailer, who we first spotted on the Welsh Bridge on the same route as us. We couldn’t work out why she was pulling it so far with a beautiful river alongside her. It was obviously hard work as she stopped frequently. It kept us amused!

 

Signs of an early autumn, golden dried leaves at the bases of the lime trees in the lime avenue, were prevalent As we walked further from the park we found these beautiful apartments in a converted brewery – what a view!

Shrewsbury boasts so many bridges of varied style and age.

    The oh so ugly railway bridge!

Our riverside walk was full of surprises, such as a clay tile piece of craftwork created by a local school, a beautiful modern building sat above the ancient town walls, the oh so steep St Mary’s Water Lane and a determined rose bush!

 

We enjoyed finding this piece of philosophy on a brick wall, before we reached the weir which was our point of walk’s end. Here we turned back and made our way back into the town for a well-earned coffee.

Although we have followed this route many times we still find it of interest!

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buildings Wales

Iron Age Homesteads – Anglesey

About 18 months ago Jude and I were in search of trees bent by the wind from the sea, shaped and pruned by mother nature herself. I wanted the photos for a new garden talk I was writing. We found ourselves in the area of Anglesey near the lighthouse at South Stack, where so many times in the past, we had noticed a sign pointing up through a field where Iron Age homestead remains were to be found.

As we had enjoyed exploring so many other pre-historic remains during our week on Anglesey we decided to follow the trail up the hill to see what was to be found. It surpassed all our expectations.

The stone circles were a mix of homes, stores and workshops. Local flora has established itself producing miniature rockeries, homes to alpines which seem happy to grow there.

Anglesey is so full of prehistoric sites we keep finding more to discover and explore. This island never fails to surprise however many times we visit.

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architecture buildings colours townscapes Wales

Pembrokeshire coast and gardens – part 3 – Cardigan

We made our way to the coastal town of Cardigan a short drive from where we were staying for our Pembrokeshire holiday, mainly to visit the castle. In fact we found the town itself to be a very interesting place as well as the castle.

There was so much colour in the town’s main streets, with houses and businesses painted in all sorts of shades.

   

We found Cardigan to be a quirky little town which was a most enjoyable place to wander around. The castle would be our next port of call.

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allotments architecture buildings Wales

Pembrokeshire coast and gardens – part 4 – Cardigan Castle

As promised I am now sharing with you my photos taken at Cardigan Castle. As you will soon see it is a very varied place featuring all sorts from a celebration chair to a sword and from an allotment to a pillbox!

Enjoy this selection of my photos!

I hope you enjoyed my photographic tour which is somewhat of a mystery tour!

 

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architecture buildings garden buildings garden design garden paths garden photography garden seat garden seating gardening gardens gardens open to the public ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture

A week in Cornwall – Part 2 – The Eden Project

It had been years since we last visited the Eden Project, so we were excited to return when we holidayed in Cornwall in the Autumn of 2018. We knew that there would have been so much development in that time. When we did visit  again during our week’s holiday in Cornwall, the project had developed almost beyond belief. The first view of the domes from the top paths is always stunning and most inviting. The domes were the brainchild of founder Tim Smitt and designed by architect Nicholas Grimshaw.

   

The walkway down to the main feature, the project’s domes, was early in its development when we last visited so we were amazed at how interesting it was on our return visit. Here is a taster of what we saw as we descended down to the domes.

      

The first dome is the rain forest zone, where plants that we see more often as house plants grow healthy and tall, flowering and fruiting as in the wild. Exploring the dome takes you right up to the top of the building which affords great views. Wandering back down gives us as much interest to enjoy as on the climb up. Exploring this dome is quite an experience!

After exploring the tropical dome we had a break for refreshments, coffee and cakes as usual and then moved along the corridor leading to the Mediterranean Zone. That is the subject of the next post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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architecture buildings garden design garden photography garden seat garden seating gardens gardens open to the public grasses ornamental grasses outdoor sculpture sculpture town gardens

Our Short Break in Stratford-on-Avon – Part 2

Part two of this report on our short break in Stratford-on-Avon is all about the gardens of Shakespeare and his family. After spending time indoors studying the life and times of the Bard is was good to be outside discovering some outdoor history.

We will begin by looking at the grounds of the Shakespeare family home, where roses seem the most important plant. The planting today does not necessarily relate in any way to how it was in the Bard’s day. We loved this bronze of Shakespeare which seemed to capture his intelligence and depth of thinking and feeling, as well as the contemporary pencil sketch of the house.

 

In total contrast but just a short walk away, is “The New Place”, a celebration of Shakespeare’s life with exciting modern garden design and statuary. Each piece of statuary and each plant combination provides hints of the period as well as adding atmosphere. There were brilliant plant combinations combined sensitively with modern sculptural constructions. Softening of modern hard landscaping was carried out using soft, whispy grasses such as Stipa tennuissima Pony Tails.

    

The globe under the tree feature had a real surprise in store fr when you got close to the tree you realised it was cast in bronze. Goldfinches loved it and sang from its upper branches!

       

A more open space beyond he building and the modern garden area had a completely different feel to it contrasting strongly and providing a peaceful space to rest and have a quick coffee served by a barista on a bicycle. Long double borders with a central path ran along one side of the large green, with topiarised hedging and perennial planting.

  

Finally a parterre area felt much more in keeping with the garden style of the Shakespearian era, providing another contrasting area to explore. Lavenders gave off beautiful gentle scent.

    

 

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architecture buildings townscapes

Our short break in Stratford-upon-Avon – Part 1

In June of 2018 we decided to visit Stratford-on-Avon for a short mid-week break as it has been several years since we last visited. We decided to stay in the centre and concentrate on exploring the centre.

Here is a series of pics of a morning wandering around the town centre, with its half-timbered buildings, the riverside, the theatre and even a sculptured hedge for added interest. There is such a wide ranging style of architecture within the town that no street is void of interest. What has made exploration easier since our last visit is the change in emphasis from traffic friendly roads to pedestrianisation and safe crossings.

  

We visited the house in which William Shakespeare grew up and where his father ran a business making high-class leather gloves. A very smelly business being carried out in a family house must have been a difficult combination. The house had many examples of leather making paraphernalia as well as furnished family rooms.

 

Here is a set of photos of the living quarters of the Shakespeare family home.

          

The working craftrooms were busy places and their stench must have emanated throughout the living quarters. Despite the stenches prevalent within the workshops the gloves made were stunnungly beautiful, colours subtle and textures so soft.

   

Our favourite artefact was a beautiful hand crafted leather glove just like those that Shakespeare’s father would have made.

The second part in this series about our Stratford break will be all about the gardens related to Shakespeare and his family.

 

 

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architecture buildings National Trust photography The National Trust Yorkshire

A Family Holiday in Scotland – Part 6 – Fountains

After our great family holiday staying in our cottage holiday home in the Scottish Borders, we took a few days to make our way home to make our holiday together  last a little bit longer. We enjoyed two days in Yorkshire visiting Fountains Abbey and The Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

In this post we will share our day at Fountains. After a wet and stormy drive down from Scotland we arrived in Yorkshire for an overnight stay. Jude and I had not been to Fountains Abbey for years so were pleased to take the family there.

As we wandered down the sloping pathto the abbey ruins we could admire the amount of structure still left standing. It is really impressive.

  

Arabella enjoys life and loves going out and about – outside is where she prefers to be.

Once down among the stonework you can really appreciate the strength of the building and the sheer brilliance of it’s construction.

  

Mother Nature enjoys a good ruin to grow on finding the tiniest crack with a drop of soil in in which to grow.

 

The monks had left us a convenient stone seat on which we could perch for a picnic.

As we started clearing our picnic away the clouds darkened and cold rain drops fell. We struggled to find any shelter from the following storm. Arabella never minds rain because it means puddles, her favourite phenomena. I hope you enjoy this set of photos where she shows her delight at puddles.

      

We just had time to explore the outside boundaries of the site before the closing time closed in on us.

      

We followed the finger posts back to the car park at the end of another great family day out.

 

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architecture buildings

A Family Holiday in Scotland – Part 5 New Lanark

On one day during our week’s hoiday in the Scottish Borders, we spent time exploring the heritage site at New Lanark, a once busy place in a steeply sided valley, being reborn with a new identity. It is still a living and working village.

From the carpark we had to walk down a steep but winding path to get down to the site as it was designed and built all around the River Clyde. The view from the top though was so amazing, I just had to get down there, albeit it rather slowly.

Once down in the valley bottom the sheer immensity and solidity of the old mill buildings became apparent. In its heighday it must have been noisy, busy and unpleasant so seeing it now all cleaned up is rather strange. It is good however to see it being reborn. There is a real sense of pride here.

In its former life it was a group of 4 mills and their support buildings, homes for the employees and even “The Institute” formed by Robert Owen in 1816. All the buildings are built of a beautiful pale local sandstone and local slate for the roofs. They look so sturdy! They have now all been cleaned up and given a new lease of life, a new sense of purpose. The river that runs through the valley providing water for the factories is now a nature reserve. The whole site is home for many but also a massive tourist attraction.

On top of Mill 2 is a discovery waiting for all visitors to find, but you have to be pretty stubborn to get there, as the signage is not good at all. It is even hard to find where to start the ascent!

It is a roof garden featuring strong design in the hard surfaces and a collection of sculptures.

     

Inside the old mills are a few signs of their busy past, now silent.

We loved the sight of this inspiring sign, with words of Robert Owen, a philanthropic social reformer who aimed to make the lives of mill workers and their families more bearable.

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architecture buildings London photography townscapes Uncategorized

A Short Break in London – Part 5

Here we are back with my final post about our short break in London, looking at the day we visited Carnaby Street a fabled street when we were teenagers. It was strange though how wide it seems now and how commercialised. And so busy! That aspect of its character certainly has not changed. We were sad that it was our last day, we had loved our hotel and every aspect of our capital city. These great chairs were the highlight of the hotel foyer! Great shape and super colours!

But first we were treated to a special breakfast at TheWolseley, once the showroom for theWolseley Car company. What an impressive building, and so easy to imagine it lined up with glossy black limousines and ultra-smart salesmen. Today it makes an equally impressive restaurant, smart throughout including the crockery and cutlery and of course the waiters and waitresses, dressed as smartly as possible. What a treat indeed!

So now for a wander at London’s well-known buildings, Hatchards the booksellers, Liberty’s, The Royal Academy, Fortnum and Mason’s and Carnaby Street itself. We had a tour of places we wanted to see and places that Jo and Rob wanted us to see. Quite a mixture! It was the day of the great march when nearly 700 000 people called for a new and more honest Brexit vote. We discovered odd placards which we enjoyed agreeing with.

     

The buildings housing The Royal Academy were proud and imposing. We walked beneath a gateway into an internal courtyard which surprisingly displayed a strange wooden house. I enjotyed spotting a statue of one of my heroes, Carl Linnaeus.

Crazy Carnaby Street was busy, colourful but not quite what we were expecting and it was hard to explain why.

 

A taxi back to the hotel to pick up our gear then another to run us to the railway station ended our greatly enjoyable weekend break. We just have to go back in the spring and/or summer over the next couple of years. Thanks to Jo and Rob who gave us the confidence to return after so long.