Greenwich

Marilyn had a flexi so we took the opportunity to spend, another warm day, exploring Greenwich. We have briefly visited before – doing the Cutty Sark et al, but never taken time to explore the Uni, grounds and observatory.

First trip on Megabus to the Metrop – those drivers certainly know how to negotiate London! Took the DLR to Greenwich then the river taxi back to Westminster.

Minster Lovell

Just completed a great walk ,in unseasonal sunshine, at Minster Lovell on the Oxfordshire border. The extensive ruins of a 15th century riverside manor house, includes  a fine hall, south-west tower, and complete nearby dovecote. The home of Richard III's henchman Lord Lovell. You can follow the river Windrush on a meandering circular walk via the village of Crawley.

Gloucestershire’s Golden Triangle

The Daffodil Way in the Leadon Valley, on the border of Gloucestershire and Herefordshire, is a carpet of gold in March and April. There are few places in Britain where you can see flowers growing in the wild in such profusion. The route also passes through pretty apple orchards.

 
The daffodils, once grown for market, have naturalised in the fields and woodland at Oxenhall, Kempley and Dymock . Villages take turns at providing teas and local produce at the weekend. The attractive village of Dymock has a lovely church with an exhibition about the 'Dymock Poets' who included Rupert Brooke an Robert Frost. During the daffodil season, teas are often served in to church.
 









 
But it’s not just in the woods where daffodils are to be found. We have a number of interesting homegrown ones too :)
 

Twinned with Loughboro’

Great weekend in the company of Sue, Jean n Mo – M’s friends from way back, thru from Loughborough.

Sunny Saturday was spent revisiting the Forestof Dean ending with snacks at the Dean Heritage Centre 











including a tour of the grounds with woodcut sculpting – this time specialising in Gruffalo.

 




 

Rounding the day off at sundown, with two additional friends at the Tudor Arms Slimbridge – mentioned in the Good Beer Guide having won many awards, do a great pint of ‘Pigs Ear’.

 

An even sunnier Sunday, after a late but wholesome breckie, saw us in Bourton on the Water with a round tour of the village followed by a stroll round the Windrush and its mill pond.

Colesbourne Park - the national snowdrop collection

Colesbourne Park never fails to impress. This year, a mild spring day enhanced a riot of colour against carpets of snowdrops.

Cosy in Coombe for Valentines

Our 7^th Landmark (+ completed jigsaw as Landmarkers will know :) so heading soon for double figures, and again a complete treat. A cottage over a ford by a mill complete with millstream and open fire – what more could you ask for.

Coombe is a small hamlet at the forgotten junction of two wooded valleys in North Cornwall. Mill, millhouse and anciently picturesque cottages cluster in orchards around the ford of a shallow stream, just half a mile from the sea at Duckpool, where half tide exposes a sandy beach. The hamlet once belonged in part to the Grenville family of the long-demolished Stowe Barton, and its souls were later under the care of the Reverend Stephen Hawker, celebrated Vicar of Morwenstow. Landmark’s presence at Coombe (and only Landmarkers populate it today) preserves the hamlet and its exceptional setting in a joint scheme with the National Trust, who own most of the surrounding land and coastline.

Right opposite our front door is the start of a country footpath that takes you along the river, you can do a short circular tour or like us take the linger route to Sandymouth. But a word to the wise if your tempted. We took the beach route to our local seafront at Duckpool. You need skills in rock climbing, absailing and stout waterproof boots as the route resembles the giants causeway in crazy paving! You’re well advised to return via the coastal footpath from Sandymouth.

 

Q. What is the connection between Cheltenham and Bude?

The GCHQ listening station at Bude, the ears for Cheltenham, dominates the skyline top of the hill from Coombe. This could contribute to the lack of TV, wifi and moby signal though I suspect the geography of the valley is the issue. But makes for a wonderfully peaceful break where you have to make your own amusement – not difficult at Valentines with an open fire, good food n fizzy wine. 

The weather was unseasonably clement and Sunday was spent walking the 3 ½ mile snowdrop paths at Hartland Abbey from Blackpool Cottage (used as the setting for 'Sense and Sensibility') to the walled garden, a must. We were eating lentil burgers in the sun on the lawn whilst the middle of the country was under a snow warning.

even the rhodies were trying to bloom .

The local village of Morwenstow was a great find. The Bush Inn was very friendly with fine real ale and locally sourced produce, an olde world tea shop at the Rectory, an amazing church (with very accomplished bell ringers) a gothic church house and a hast head memorial to those who perished in the wreck of the Caledonian. Along the cliff footpath was Rev Hawkers Hut. Hawker was regarded as a deeply compassionate person giving burials to shipwrecked seamen washed up on the shores of the parish, and was often the first to reach the cliffs when there was a shipwreck. Prior to this, the bodies of shipwrecked sailors were often either buried on the beach where they were found or left to the sea. The figurehead of the ship the 'Caledonia', which foundered in September 1842, marks the grave in Morwenstow churchyard of five of the nine-man crew. Hawker described the wrecking in his book Footprints of Former Men in Far Cornwall. Nearby stands a granite cross marked "Unknown Yet Well Known", close to the graves of 30 or more seafarers, including the captain of the Alonzo, wrecked in 1843.

 

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