There and Back

Monmouth was an area which we had not explored before, having just passed below it on our way to Pembrokeshire in the past. We had a good journey, despite moderately heavy traffic, stopping at Reading service station on the M4, which looked as it had been invaded by hundreds of pensioners - bus loads of them.!! Having left the M48, we descended rapidly onto very narrow Welsh roads until, and without too much trouble, we arrived at Annie’s Cottage. It was in a beautiful spot and was really well equipped and spotlessly clean. Annie's Cottage  The view from the cottage toward Monmouth soon after we arrived.  Sunday was a different story (below) with mist rising from the valley and providing a great backdrop to the Old Church just a few meters from our cottage.  Penallt Old Church as the mist cleared  There are indications of a church on the site in 1254 and an internal batter to the north wall of the nave, that suggest that the present church i

We chose to go to Fermyn Woods Country Park as it has a reputation of having a large number and variety of butterflies. We booked into a B&B cottage nearby in the village of Sudborough in what appears to be a converted farm building in the back garden of the owners house. It was perfect, and at a really good price. But first, to the woods to see what was about in the afternoon sun! The whole area around the villages of Sudburough and Lowick, and also Fermyn Woods itself, were once part of the vast Rockingham Forest. It was named after the village of Rockingham, where the castle was a royal retreat. Over the years the forest shrank, and today only a patchwork of the north-eastern forest remains. The area became a royal hunting ground for King William I after the Norman conquest. The term forest represented an area of legal jurisdiction and remained so until the 19th century. The forest boundaries were set in 1299, although the boundaries returned to a smaller area as a resul

Tuesday we were heading for Eskdale to do some walks which were listed as `reasonable easy`. The obvious route, which looked to be up a very steep road not far from our holiday cottage, was abandoned for a slightly longer route - mistake! Rosey drove and the first part was narrow but very pretty including a stop we made at an area called Tongue House. The views were stunning and there were bluebells everywhere. Birk`s Bridge Picnic spot Moving on we stopped by the river Dudden at a bridge called Birks bridge - a very pretty picnic site as well. In the background was Dunnerdale forest.  Motorcyclist about to go `over the edge`  A few mile further on we turned left onto what I thought was a larger road - oh dear!! We were on Hardknott Pass. To quote Wikipedia :  A single track road highway runs between Eskdale in the west to the edge of the neighbouring Wrynose Pass in the east. On the western side is Harter Fell and the remains o