Best Of

Part 2. We then drove a short distance to the village of Melverley and St.Peters, one the oldest timber, wattle and daub churches in the UK. A bit of shame that the mist hadn't quite lifted. Its in stark contrast to the other church in it's simplicity. The original church was burnt down by Owain Glyndwr, a well known Welsh rebel/hero in these parts. That was in 1402 or thereabouts but a new church built just a few years later. They still have a chained Bible and an extremely simple altar.

We then meandered home in hazy sunshine. Now raining, welcome home 😁.

Well done to your GD @milliehull. Not something you would have written 30 years ago so good to see an enlightenment finally breaking through in woman's sports.

We had a lovely wander home today, going slightly off piste to visit 2 very contrasting churches. The first one was at a small village called Alberbury, a few miles west of Shrewsbury. The church is huge bearing in mind the size of the village but a lot of the funding came from a wealthy land owning family. A church of some sort is said to have stood on the site from 700 but obviously its been modernised since then when, say from 1200s , when boundary disputes between the nearby Welsh and local English subsided a little. The interior roof is magnificent and a few of the windows also special.

Very well done to your granddaughter @milliehull did they win?

A couple of interesting churches @Wherenext how did you come across them? Thanks for the fine photos.

It was another sunny start to the day and we had a trouble free tow home, arriving at lunchtime. Caravan all emptied out and OH was able to get two rounds of washing done and pegged out for a couple hours. It had been around 16C for much of the afternoon but there was a very rapid drop in temperature just before 4 and it got quite chilly.

Shortly after sunrise this morning, Sahara dust sunshine.

I recognise that stance @Takethedogalong , having done it myself! Enjoy the zoo.

We drove the short distance to Swettenham, firstly for a walk through the Davenport estste before lunch then had a look in 16C St Peter's Church, which has been greatly changed during restoration in the 1720s and 1800s. The interior is quite simple, the main interest is the modern organ built by Noel Mander for Sir Bernard Lovell, who was the church organist for 40 yrs. We then had a wander through the Lovell-Quinta Arboretum.

The Mander's church organ and the carved norman style arches.

Early Rhodedendron in flower,Camelias and Daffodils and a ancient oak that caught my eye.

@Bakers2 thanks for the Peterborough heads up👍

We are having a great time in Edinburgh. Been to lovely North Berwick on train today, easy half hour from Waverley Station. Zoo for us two tomorrow. Will catch up properly when back home.

OH and chum bird spotting. They are both gazing at Bass Rock.

That's just typical @KjellNN. Hope you managed to get it to the dealers.

Had an easy drive down to Shrewsbury yesterday, stopping off in Ellesmere for a walk and lunch en route. Staying at the Morris site on their 3 for 2 offers.

As the Park and Ride is adjacent we used it to spend a few hours in town. It's a very walkable town providing you don't mind a hill or two. Interesting history, some well known historical figures, some lovely architecture and smashing walks and parks by the river. Have always liked it.

Above 2 of the small castle area.

An interesting church with a circular nave. St. Chads.

The most famous local resident. Charles Darwin.

We also called in at the Unitarian Church, where Darwin was a frequenter and Samuel Coleridge Taylor tried his hand at preaching before one of the well off parishioners donated a significant sum to him to give up preaching and concentrate on Poetry. Nobody ever did that for me.🥴

Since we don't seem to have been out of the house much - for weeks - we decided to go out yesterday and get a bit of fresh air! Just up the coast to Bridlington for a coffee and the opportunity to play on my scooter🙄, and for Meg to have a run on the beach with Ros. Was a bit taken aback when, sitting there outside the cafe - this appeared……..

Was a bit impressive, watching it being launched off the beach. Judging by the slow speed it went out to sea, I think it must have just been a training exercise.

Also had a nice surprise when I got back home. For some time, now, I've been taking part in on-line market research surveys with NFU and now again, they have a prize draw for participants as a means of saying, 'thank-you'. Got an email to say I had won £50 in this month's draw which went straight to my Amazon account😀. This is the second time I've benefitted - got a £100 voucher a couple of years ago. At least their insurance doesn't seem so expensive any more!!

As many of you know I am a sucker for a photogenic tree. This is one we spotted yesterday by the moat at Little Moreton Hall.

We have had mixed weather today, after a dull but dry start we had rain during our visit to Little Moreton Hall this morning then from mid afternoon the sun came out until dusk. A few views of the house, both outside and in.

The front view.

The house across the garden

From the viewing Hill, across the moat.

The house's Chapel

The Long Gallery

Never mind the £60 to have it done @DEBSC. You can afford 2 bottles of Olive Oil??? Blimey.🤣