There and Back

On our way to our holiday accommodation in Porlock Weir, we stopped in Porlock itself for groceries etc. This was another small Somerset village where the pace of life appears much slower than what we are used to in Suffolk - which is itself reasonably chilled out! The house was brilliant! The travel firm's description really summed it up: Garden View is a comfortable, spacious ground-floor apartment, within the west wing of a beautiful Edwardian hunting lodge, Porlock Vale House . There is an enclosed and private garden directly outside the property with stunning views across the fields to the sea. From the rear view below, taken from the beach, our accommodation was on the ground floor of Porlock Vale House, on the right-hand side - all in all, a lovely spot. Garden View from the beach looking over the horse paddock. The beach from which I took the above photo. This one above looks toward the Weir end of Porlock Weir. The bottom of the garden, looking toward the beach over the ...

We had not explored the beautiful area of Exmoor before, so this was a much-anticipated holiday. Having broken our journey with an overnight stop, we journeyed on toward our destination on Saturday morning with time to stop and explore other places - the first being Nether Stowey, briefly the home of Samual Coleridge , poet, and author of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Nether Stowey is known as the Gateway to the Quantock Hills. The plaque on the wall of Coleridge's cottage. We didn't go in but took the picture! Samuel Taylor Coleridge was (born on 21 October 1772 and died 25 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He also shared volumes and collaborated with Charles Lamb, Robert Southey, and Charles Lloyd. He wrote the poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner ( I did this one at school! ) and Kubla Khan, as well as the m...

For some time, I had wanted to visit Holbrook church to see the huge monument to the infamous John Clench. So, who was John Clench ? - He was born in 1535, the son of John Clench of Wethersfield, Essex and Joan, daughter of John Amias of the same county, He was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1556, called to the bar in 1563. He became recorder of Ipswich in 1575. In 1580 he was created serjeant-at-law, his patrons at the ceremony being the Earl of Oxford, Lord Wentworth, and Sir William Cordell. A year later, he was appointed one of the barons of the exchequer, and in 1584 he was translated to the Queen's bench. He established his family in south-east Suffolk, in the neighborhood of Ipswich, where for many years he was the Town Recorder. It was said that Elizabeth I referred to him as 'her good judge', but it is thought that he was never knighted for some reason. By 1602, being "so decrepit that he could not well travel outside his country", he was discharged fro...

St Andrew`s Church in Layham, was decorated beautifully during the week leading up to the coronation. Here are some images of most of the displays, except the ones in the windows, which were a bit difficult, facing into the sun. The display in the font. This font is a fine example of the 13th century Purbeck Marble genre, seated on a 19th Century base and columns. A close up of the end of pew displays. One of the two displays in the porch.    Index of posts  

The Coronation of King Charles was celebrated all over the country with a variety of events - Layham being no different. However, my interest was to keep a photographic record, but this proved more difficult than I anticipated! I don't know what I was expecting from people, but streams of bunting and flags were the majority response. There were some local exceptions, such as in Holton St Mary and the portrait in Hadleigh, both below. Layham held an afternoon tea which was organized by four brave ladies from the Village Hall Commitee, which was very well attended and very much enjoyed by everybody. Other places had street parties I believe. This is the portrait of our new monarch which appeared on a wall in Angel Street, in Hadleigh The crown on the telephone box in Holton St Mary, a nearby village. Layham Village Hall, complete with bunting. Interior of our village hall with just the ceiling bunting Tables laid out ready Tablecloths and cutlery ready Then the hall fills with people...

This is a beautiful time of year for all sorts of vegetation. One of my favourites being bluebells. There are several places I know off where they are seen in abundance, but the one I like to visit and closest to home, is in Layham Grove. All these images were taken there in a 90-minute visit recently.  This is the scene that greets you as you approach the footpath through the wood. Whichever way you turn, you are greeted by this majestic carpet of blue. A couple of closeups of single flowers I loved the gnarled tree trunk In amongst all those flowers are lurking insects of course. This one being a Shield Bug   Then we had a Meadow Brown butterfly ---- and onto a Honeybee Then a lovely display of Greater Stitchwort – also known as the ‘Star-of-Bethlehem’ Then the perennial favorite - the Primrose And finally, the Wood Anemone Overall, a beautiful morning of utter peace, with the beauty of nature in all its splendor surrounding us.    Index of posts