A woodland walk ...

On a free morning, I needed to pop in to the local Shropshire town of Bridgnorth which is always good for a mooch while picking up healthy nuts. 

It sits high above the river Severn & has old castle remains & the walls & gates in to town. 

The town has some beautiful black & white buildings with the interesting windows & attic rooms. 

We had a wander around but our mind was set on a countryside walk at Dudmaston Hall nearby. 

Nearby is the National Trust estate of Dudmaston Hall that I visited earlier this year with my cousin.  

We decided on the Dingle Walk through the woods to the lake that is near the house.  

Being there early meant we had the woods to ourselves, it was lovely & cool under the tree canopy, our only companions being butterflies, birds & blue dragonflies darting about.

The walk brings you in next to the boat house on the lake. 

It was used recently in the tv series filmed around this area called 'Murder before Evensong'  along with the nearby village of Worfield. 

The boathouse was unfortunately locked so we could not peek inside but it has the most stunning twisted chimney stack & the lake is really delightful. 

When I visited the house recently, we took an art tour & looked at the work of Anthony Twentyman whose large sculptures are visible from the room in the house towards the lake. 

Our walk brought us to it & it is interesting shape looking out over the lake with a second one slightly higher up on the lawn terraces. 

The view from inside the house towards the lake sculptures & of the view back to the house. 

From the lake, the view up to the house is so interesting with a flowing curve of purple lavender, then a huge bed of roses alongside the house. 

Next to that is a riotous bed of colourful summer flowers that is too beautiful to ignore. That is how summer planting should be - unashamedly bold. 

This deep border filled to the brim with colourful plants is such a delight. It is bold, colourful & also scented; a real delight & an example of great summer planting. 

It is always good to browse a NT bookshop where gifted books are sold to raise money - I bought a lovely one on Kirstenbosch gardens in the Cape for a mere £2. 

We enjoyed coffee & sandwiches in the beautiful orchard tea gardens before taking leave of the lovely estate again. 

We are so fortunate to have these fabulous places within easy reach, I will visit again to take in the house & art at a leisurely pace. 

I hope you have enjoyed my visit too, do stop by again soon. 

Dee 🪾🌳🚤🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️🥪

Learning to draw botanicals ...

 

I am a life long learner, always willing to try something new because you never know if you will like it or be any good unless you try it. 

I did a morning workshop with the lovely Emma to try out glass painting with my friend Ellie & what a great time we had.  I really liked her way of supporting people on the day. While there, I noticed a set of 4 workshops for Botanical drawing & I chatted to Emma before I left. I have not spent enough time drawing & so mine are rather basic, but that is why you seek out a workshop & a tutor to guide you through the process.

Even more delightful is that the 4 workshops are held in the stunning Shrewsbury library. I shared the long history in this blog post of the 450 years of Shrewsbury library. It is a fascinating place, pop over & read the post. 

A delightful group of 10 of us ladies gathered in the Darwin room of the library for the workshops. Some took art lessons, some painting lessons & then at least half of us were like me - enthusiastic beginners,  & we skilfully learnt the basics of drawing, pen & pencil work each week, making noticeable progress through the stages until our drawings look very botanical  & pleasing. 

Emma's knowledge & skills certainly had a lot to do with our progress because she suggested improvements with great patience so that we were supported & enthusiastic about it. 

It certainly has made me happier to have a go at botanicals because of the skills we have learnt, I know there is heaps more to learn but practice is the key to learning any new skill. The muscle memory is important, remembering the skills & applying them. 

I have signed up for another 4 week course / workshop in November which will look at winter botanicals. That will be very handing in the run up to the festive season when darker days keep you inside more.

While out in the forests last weekend, I picked various leaf shapes & pressed them as a reference because you look at leaves but don't really see the shapes, veins & details you need when drawing. I pressed them in a magazine & it is a great reference to actually look at them closely. 

I have been spending time practising my drawings, it is not natural yet & I still have to refer to the drawings we did with Emma, but it is a lot quicker & more defined which is hugely satisfying. 

Several of the ladies commented that they will join another set of workshops & I hope they do because it was a lovely group of women. 

Do tell if you indulge your passions or curiosity & try something new. Thank you for stopping by, it is appreciated.

Dee 🖌️👩‍🎨✍️💐🌷🥀🌺

Home grown salad leaves

 

Some years back, I bought 3 my elho raised planters with their clear covers & they are in constant use on the patio along the back of the house. 

They were especially useful in covid times when there was a short supply of salads etc

I took out about half the soil & replaced it with fresh potting compost recently, then sprinkled various salad leaves in 2 of the planters, alongside my camomile that is still going from last season. 

The third planter has a variety of celery, spring onions & a gem squash that needs tidying up still.

They are covered to prevent snails & birds feasting on the leaves. 

I treat the young leaves as cut & come again salad leaves - just snip what I need with a kitchen scissors, wash, spin & enjoy. 

There is a great variety of leaves & flavours which I enjoy in salads & even better that they are fresh & readily available. 

Do you have anything growing? Tell all, 

Dee 👨‍🌾🪏🪴🫜

The Knife Angel statue returns to our county town of Shrewsbury

 

The Knife Angel returned to Shrewsbury from its travels around the UK & was installed in the Square where I popped past to view it today.  

It had been on display some years ago but a return visit is worthwhile. 

We visited the British Ironwork Centre last year & saw the Knife Iron between its visits to major centres around the UK.  

All of the ironwork statues are so impressive, pop past this blog post to see them. 

The Knife Angel was made from 100 000 handed in or seized knives & blades from police forces across the UK. 

It stands 27 feet tall, its hands outstretched in from of it, the coloured blades glistening across the whole statue. 

The angel wings are a juxtaposition to the glint of the blades. The expression on the face is 'WHY'

The making of the Knife Angel is set out on the website of the British Ironwork Centre where the artist Alfie Bradley explains the process of procuring the knives & the expression he wanted for the angel. 

It is a powerful anti knife message & all the cities it visits, pledge to use it to educate on the effects of knife crime. 

It is a national statue that did not receive any public funding. 

The Knife Angel serves as a memorial to those killed by knife crime & as a remembrance to their loved ones. 

I am privileged to have seen it three times, in two different towns & where it was made.  

It is a powerful statue with a sobering message & when I stopped past this morning, there were many people stopping by it to read the information & to photograph it against the traditional square. 

Thank you for stopping by, it is appreciated. 

Dee 

The charming church of Clee St Margaret with an long history ...

My regulars know how much we love the history of our many countryside churches, each so different, many Shropshire ones connected to my ancestry. 

We stopped by Clee St Margaret, a village on the high slopes of Brown Clee Hill in Shropshire. 

From the road it looked unremarkable but as soon as you approach, the history stands out. 

The chancel walls facing the path have the herringbone masonry patterns associated with ancient buildings. 

It is very distinctive on two sides, showing this part is the oldest of the church. 

  

The beautiful church information booklet mentions it is recorded in the Doomsday Book of 1086 which was a type of census recording of towns, villages, villagers, livestock etc. 

The earliest known reference to a church at Clee St Margaret was the taxation records of 1291. 

There was likely a church here from Saxon times even though no trace is visible today. 

The Chancel with its herringbone masonry could be Saxon, but the small chancel arch is Norman, with pillars that support the pointed arch. A Saxon arch would be rounded, hence the Norman dating. 

There are so many features that are considered with the dating of churches & I admit to having only a scant knowledge of them, not enough to pin point the dates. However, it is a learning process & each visit brings something else to be aware of which is useful.

The war memorial tablet is in the window - the details of the fallen of the parish are here 

The wooden South door is about 600 years old, probably Norman too. The roof of the chancel & nave has timbers dating to the 14th & 15th century, probably local timbers from the Brown Clee forests. It is a listed building 

The pulpit & chancel doors are Jacobean (1603-1625) . The carved wooden chancel doors are unique, giving the chancel area a secular feel, away from the main church. The thick walls of the chancel have an interesting shape. 

We were both taken by the serene atmosphere in this unexpectedly spiritual space. Sometimes churches that are stripped back without too many adornments hold a special space & feeling. 

We lingered here, taking in the quietness & the feeling of history, of peace and of being somewhere special. 

The church had various Victorian 'restorations' done in 1872 - 1897 but it has not distracted from this beautiful space. 

Sometimes, we find ourselves in unexpected spaces. Thank you for stopping by. It is always appreciated. 

Dee ⛪️🪦🙏🔔