A great way to brush away those cobwebs is to get out and about in the countryside and to link up to Our World Tuesday - so pulling the socks and boots on - hats and scarves being essential - here are a few pics to give you a birds eye view uf our weekend.
A walk on the Clee Hills in Shropshire was the choice - we have only ever driven through this area before - it is approximately 40 miles from our home - such freedom
- Brown Clee is the highest point - height being 540 m -
yesterday it was bitter cold with a brisk wind and sharp showers - but even so the sheep were up for a photo shoot -
posing I swear
for the camera.- click on the pictures for a closer look
We returned home yesterday and watched silently the peoples march in Paris on the television our hearts and thoughts were with each and every one of those people on the crowded streets
Earlier in the week we had taken a stroll along the canal towpath at Cheswardine - a bit of a murky day with a few sunny spells
It was pretty muddy so care needed to be taken not to land head first in the canal
It was lovely to see that the swans had managed to successfully bring 3 cygnets through the winter months - almost grown .... and that song - how does it go -There once was a ugly duckling ,,,,,
with feathers all stubby and brown
And the other birds said in so many words - Get out of town - well not any more for this one and his or her siblings - what an elegant bird this will be come Spring
Hello - well all we need is a little dusting of snow -only a touch will do to finish off the Christmas preparation - it is wet and windy here - and I must say it feels pretty cold -I am linking today with Macro Monday and am posting pictures of my Helleborus - I love them - so wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year xx Jane
Well hello you bloggers out there - hope you are all ok - it has been a funny old month here - OH has tripped over and smashed his ribs up - so I have needed to take over all manual duties - which has been a bit of a laugh - with me with a gammy hand after my broken wrist in the summer - having difficulty even with getting into a jar of bolognese sauce and having to flag down the first person to pass the drive gate to unscrew the jar to much hilarity - anyway we have survived and now are able to fit in the odd social event and get out and about.
A trip into Shrewsbury
- Christmas Shopping and a spot of lunch at our favourite coffee shop
on Bear Steps
- lots of atmosphere and lots of past history in times gone by - close by
St Akmunds church
-take a glance in the other direction - Grope Lane -
Click on to get the bigger picture
Christmas lights are so pretty this year - my header picture was taken on Wyle Cop.- this is Mardol
Nantwich is a little town in Cheshire a place we sometimes like to visit - this is the church tower of St Marys
- on the way back home that day we decided to call at Moreton Corbett castle - there was a beautiful sunset
and perfect conditions for a few pics
- and of course to top the list - a visit to Shrewsbury Station
and a long wait rewarded with a steamer on the station
Very atmospheric
- it was a cold frosty evening
and earlier that day we caught this steamer roaring down the line
-pic taken from a tiny bridge over the line -imagine the excitement - best wishes to you all - Jane linking today to My World Tuesday
I am posting to Macro Monday 2 - I feel the need to dream of summer days and the buzzing of bees in my garden -I tried this year to encourage the bees and butterflies by setting their friendly plants.
So relaxing to spend time in the garden - working away to the buzz of bees - you know we take so much for granted in our busy lives - relaxing with nature can be so medicinal and rewarding
The foxgloves below are semi wild I think - they are self setters - meaning they self seed here and there but always they look fantastic and add style to the garden
the pictures posted are my favourites from the different seasons of the year - this Red Admiral butterfly below seemed to wait patiently for the picture to be taken - or maybe it was blissfully supping the nectar of the plant
This shot below was taken last summer while out on a dog walk so is not my garden and I am not sure what the plant is - do you know?
This bee below was blissfully browsing in the gardens at Hidcote - a fantastic garden in the Cotswolds well worth a visit if you can - click on the pics for a better look
Do you know I feel really uplifted - thinking of those summer days -Happy Macro Monday to you all - enjoy your day
The Cistercian abbey of Tintern was founded on 09/05/1131 by Walter de Clare - Lord of Chepstow - we spent quite sometime trying to get a good shot - in fact it became to be a bit of a challenge so much that we may have to return again to have another go!! - below is my best shot to date
- I had found a picture of the Abbey in a magazine - taken by Wye Valley Studios I have attached the link - the Abbey was taken from the other side of the river - the river was in flood this time and the afternoon was drawing in so reluctantly we gave up - the pictures on the link are amazing I think - but of course so much equipment is needed for those kind of shots and a strong shoulder is needed to take the weight.
Earlier that day we walked the paths deep into the forest - the trees were so colourful in their autumn shades
on the way back to Bream we stumbled across a railway restoration building -so we followed the path down into the valley for a better look - OH was well pleased with the find and I must admit it had a strange fascination for me too - not so much the workshop
but the old trains waiting
to be rebuilt
and the forest all around
seemed to give a mysterious feel
to the place
meanwhile back at the ranch !! well we stayed on the edge of the forest in the village of Bream - the common land stretched out in front of the cottage and the forest trials were to the left in the picture - sheep grazed the common land
and chickens definitely free range
were just over the garden fence and occasionly in the trees
apparently wild boar roam in the forest but we did not see any - so no pics of them sorry
Hello again - we have just returned from a visit to the Dordogne in France - fantastic scenery - lots of laughs with the group we were with . and brilliant excursions and a good quota of free time in Souillac our base,
We stayed the night before in London prior to catching the Eurostar to Paris - so we caught the underground to Tower Hill to visit the Tower of London - to see the Remembrance Poppies- well it was daylight when we started out - but night had fallen when we arrived and it is pretty much only round the corner!!- yes you have guessed it - we took the wrong line - it should have been the Circle Line - anyway we finally arrived and it was spectacular
it was very emotive and so silent at that time - we wandered around for quite a while and then moved on towards the river -
Tower Bridge always looks so splendid -
click on the pics to get a better look -then we made our way back to the Underground making certain we caught the circle line !!!
The folowing day we met up with our group for the week at St Pancras and away we sped on the Eurostar to Paris - Gard du Nord
was massively busy and with no time to spare we joined our group to catch our connection to Austerwytch to board the train for Souillac in the Dordogne 400 miles on !!.All went well , with glimpses of Paris on the way
- I worried about the wheels on my trolley case on our station dashes but they stood up to the test and their guarantee statement!!.
We sped north through France at the speed of light - well not quite but pretty fast - admiring the changing countryside from large agricultural expanses t small patchwork meadows - picturesque farmhouses and barns
- sampling the catering facilities on the train - a trolley laden with I don't know what - you name it - he had it in stock - he didn't speak much English - and we don't speak much French - so a fair amount of pointing and laughing took place- the outcome was ok - 2 small bottles of red and a bar of unknown chocolate !
Our hotel base was in Souillac and it was extremely good our room had large white shutters opening out onto the view of the church tower
- complete with chiming bells - but you know allthough the chime was quite loud we never heard it through the night - now whether they turn the chime off or perhaps our senses were dulled by the free flowing wine at dinner!
I had chosen this trip because although there were arranged trips out - there was also plenty of free time to view the local town -
We were amazed at the clean tidy flower laden streets -
no litter - no bins - so refreshing - and amazing scenery at every turn -
We went on several tours out first one was to La Roque-Gageac - the journey in itself was amazing - chateaux at every turn perched miraculously on the sides of steep sided cliffs
- and the day ended in a trip on the River Dordogne
on a traditional boat -
we also visited Rocamadour with unbelievable scenery -
houses and churches perched periously on the sides of the cliffs - and it is said that pilgrims climbed to the top on their knees to repent their sins - every turn was a picture to be taken
- the whole region is a gourmet region - specialities being pate de foie gras - I am vegetarian so this is abhorent to me - walnuts - now we did sample a little walnut liqueur but I found it to bitter for me but OH thought it good - we did not purchase any because like the truffles for sale it was pretty expensive!! - moving on from Rocamadour - and I must say here that our local lady coach driver was amazing - she wheeled and turned the coach through the narrow streets and in one place - the coach park - the back end of the coach appeared to hang over the side of the cliff and we could see the houses below
- Rocamadour is built on three levels we were on the second level - to reach other levels you must either walk up winding steps cut out of the cliffs - whch take you past tiny churches and chapels
- the atmosphere was amazing it was Sunday and all of the churches were full to the brim with local people and tourists passing through - the singing - candles and incense burning at every turn - or lifts operate between the levels of the town - as we steamed out of town we were brought back down to the practicalities of modern day living
- a car boot at the top of the town!!
On now to Martel and a ride on the Truffadou train - this line has been restored - it was used to bring the truffles into town - OH and myself are"anoraks" we love a steam train - and this one was a little gem - see what you think this is off you tube my version was a bit topsey turvey
The train stopped at a little stone hut - all the wares were quickly put on sale - even a litter bn was put in situ - we bought a poster
- for our summer house - as soon as the train pulled away - they quickly closed up - vanishing inside the shop!
Another excursion took us to the medieval town of Sarlat -
again a mixture of wonderful old buildings flowers and coffee shops - we were so lucky we had sunny days up till the last day and then it threw it down - water rushing down the streets - up until then I had wandered how the flowers looked so good because I had never seen anyone watering them - but it seems - no need
We caught the train back down to Paris - the train was 55 mins late - so we missed our Eurostar connection - we were very thankful that we had our tour guide to banter with the powers that be to get us on the next train to London -Take care -thanks for calling - have a lovely week - Jane
It was pretty muddy so care needed to be taken not to land head first in the canal 
It was lovely to see that the swans had managed to successfully bring 3 cygnets through the winter months - almost grown .... and that song - how does it go -There once was a ugly duckling ,,,,,
with feathers all stubby and brown
