There and Back

Moving on next morning, we made our way to Titchwell Nature Reserve, stopping at this unique church on the way in the village of Burnham Deepdale. Three things make this church stand out, and they are its Saxon round tower, its Norman Font, and its collection of medieval glass. There are two stunning windows in the porch, one on either side of the passage. The two windows are known as the Sun Window and the Moon Window for the small figures that appear in the top light of each. These windows may have been made to flank a Crucifixion scene. The moon figure is quite obviously a lunar body, while the sun is represented by a cherubic youth with curly golden hair. Mixed among the glass fragments is an inscription reading 'Death is thy sting'. Inside the church are more beautiful medieval windows. In the north aisle is a stunning window decorated with richly coloured glass fragments.  Unfortunately, my images do not do the windows` colours justice. I needed ...

This years Garden Photographer of the Year was being displayed at Sheringham Park in Norfolk. So, a trip to Norfolk was planned and an overnight stop to enable us to visit Titchwell Nature Reserve while we were in the area. We chose Wells Next The Sea for our overnight stop and stayed at a pleasant B&B, although our room was tiny! Our first destination was Sheringham Park which was housing the Photographic competition winners. Having found the outdoor display, we spent some time looking over the images, as it very useful to see what appeals to the judges. There were some beautiful images, and some I wondered `how did that get in` - but generally, a great set of images. Then a walk around a small part of the Sheringham Park until we reached the Temple. The park surrounds Sheringham Hall which is privately occupied, but Sheringham Park is in the care of the National Trust and open to visitors. The park was designed by Humphry Repton (1752-1818). He described Sherin...

Valley Farm is the oldest building on site at Flatford . Built in the mid-15th century, it is a medieval Great Hall House that was home to wealthy yeoman farmers up until the early 1900s. It is a good example of a medieval, open hall house which is now a Grade 1 listed building. On the 8th September, the National Trust had its Heritage Open Day when many of the properties normally closed to the public, are open for the day - for free. Having walked past Valley Farm many times, we decided to have a look inside.  Unfortunately, only the central hall was open, but was well worth the visit, partly due to the very knowledgeable staff on hand. At one time Willy Lott's grandparents (English and Mary Lott) lived at Valley Farm and it was later owned by Willy Lott’s brother John (a farmer like his brother) who lived there with his wife and 14 children.  Outside, the walls were timbered and painted with lime wash at regular intervals to preserve the timber frame a...