Herefordshire - April Visit - Part 1: Herefordshire Trees and Tenbury Wells

 

We managed to return to Herefordshire last week and stayed four nights arriving at Tuesday lunch time.  

There was not much change in the Herefordshire Trees from when we visited the week before although leaves are now appearing on the Aspens at the site and Hawthorn is coming into leaf.

Herefordshire Oak

Octopus Tree

Constable Tree(s)

We used to have a lovely pink primula in the border under the hawthorn hedge which always seemed to be in flower when we visited. Sadly that seems to have disappeared but a tiny plant seems to have self seeded on the lawn!

Sorry about the blurred photo but we were so pleased to see that a pair of Blue Tits were investigating the nest box B had put up last year.

Garlic Mustard is nearly in flower.

My little bowl of succulents bought last year seems to be doing well.

It was good to watch birds while we were there especially the Buzzards and Red Kites. The bat detector was picking up bats every night and I could also see them swooping around the caravan.

On the Wednesday which was hot and sunny we went into Tenbury Wells to do some shopping. The verges of the country lanes were full of primroses, dandelions and lesser celandine. Blackthorn in the main is past its best flower wise but it won't be long before Hawthorn is flowering.

First we stocked up on bird food although I do realise that the latest advice from the RSPB and BTO is not to feed from May to September due to the risk of disease. I have certainly now stopped feeding birds at home.  

We walked to Mr Thoms as I wanted to buy some more of their apple chutney which is delicious. Sadly, they were out of stock so I bought some pear, apple and ginger chutney to try.

Blossom by the River Teme

On the  way back to Tesco. where we stocked up on food. I popped into the Tourist Information Centre to pick up the NGS booklets for Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire.  I would like to visit more of the NGS gardens this year. I have already highlighted a few to visit if we are in Herefordshire when they are open.  We saw our first Orange Tip butterfly of the year on the site when we returned.

On the Thursday I popped to St Leonards to look round the churchyard but I will write about that in the next post.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. (If anyone wishes to use one of my photos or one of my sons I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).

Recent Reading

 

Just a short post on books I have read since I last did a post on recent reading.

I absolutely adored this book by Guy Shrubsole.  Temperate rainforests may once have covered a fifth of Britain but today only fragments remain.  I was fascinated by the amount of mosses, ferns and liverworts that grow in such forests. In fact, I wish there was a temperate rainforest near me as I would so love to visit one. The book is well written and the author has done excellent research.

The King's Sister is the next book in Anne O Brien's series.  It tells the story of Elizabeth of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt. She defies her father's wishes to marry the man of her choice - Sir John Holland, Duke of Exeter.  I really enjoyed this book.

I realised I hadn't read a Wesley Peterson book by Kate Ellis for ages.  I do enjoy her books and this was no exception.

I enjoyed it that much that I went on to read the next two in the series!

I love Tom Denny's stained glass in churches and this book was a Christmas present.  The book contains photos of many of his windows together with a brief explanation of the design of each window. I even got a copy signed by Thomas Denny - it is an expensive book but if you like his windows it is certainly worth buying.

"Upon A White Horse" was another Christmas present. I enjoyed this book - certainly more than I enjoyed his book "Tomb With A View".  It is mainly about prehistoric sites in Britain and Ireland and Peter Ross writes about the landscape and people

I couldn't resist reading another Wesley Peterson book! This was really good. I love the way DI Peterson's cases tie in with excavations being carried out by his friend archaeologist Neil.  The plot as with all the other books was very clever.  Sadly, I think there are only a couple more in the series that I haven't yet read.

I wasn't happy to have an email from Amazon the other day to say they are withdrawing support for older kindles which means you cannot buy new books although you can read ones already downloaded.  It appears my kindle is affected so sadly it seems I shall have to buy a new one for new purchases by the 20th May. To be honest I am hopping mad about this!

Return to Herefordshire

 

We returned to the static caravan at Herefordshire yesterday but only for the day. Before we stopped longer we wanted to check that none of the water pipes were leaking after B accidentally blew too high an air pressure down the pipes last November during the drain down procedure!

We had lunch first and then B had to put the shower back together something else you have to do for the drain down before finally he turned the water back on. Thankfully and touch wood there was no sign of any leaks!  I was exceedingly relieved!

I can't tell you how good it was to be back in Herefordshire as I have so missed going.

The Herefordshire Oak  

The Octopus Tree

The Constable Tree

The garden and borders there were looking lovely with daffodils, hyacinths, periwinkles and primroses all flowering.

Green Alkanet

Snakeshead Fritillary - how I wish I could remember where we bought this plant.

Looking down towards the pool at the rear of the caravan

Timothy glad to be back :)

D and I had a look around the vicinity of the caravan looking for new wild plant species to add to our 2026 Wild Plant Challenge I mentioned in the last post.

We found Garlic Mustard about to flower and the leaves of Wild Arum.

A few of the photos D took.

D was convinced this was a hornet (we did have a hornet's nest last year in the hawthorn hedge) but I am sure it was a wasp - the first I have seen this year.  I am not overkeen on wasps but they are important pollinators and pest controllers.

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Snakeshead Fritillary and Primrose

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There is quite a lot of mistletoe growing on trees around the site (see photo below)  and D took some mistletoe berries he had saved from Christmas and "planted" some of the seeds in the apple tree in the garden.

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Hopefully we will return to Herefordshire soon and stay for longer.

I hope everyone has a lovely Easter.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera or by my son with the Canon SX50HS bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).

Kenilworth Castle

 

Earlier this week B wanted a lift to a local pub to meet friends for lunch so D and I took him and while he was there we took ourselves off to Kenilworth Castle.  It was such a lovely warm, sunny day and we saw our first butterflies of the year - Brimstones galore plus bumble bees and native ladybirds.

One of the plant organisations is running a challenge to identify 100 plants in 2026.  You can count  wildplants, trees, ferns and horsetails but not mosses, lichens or fungi.   D and I decided it would be a fun thing to to. We managed to add around 12 species to our list although I didn't count Primroses and Cowslips which were growing on a bank and which I suspected had been planted.

Lesser Celandine

Dog's Mercury

Ivy still with berries

Goat Willow

We also added - Daisy, Dandelion,  Red Dead Nettle, Hawthorn (one tree still had berries on it which helped with id), Ivy, Early Dog Violet, Barren Strawberry, Bramble and Oak (which still had acorn cups on it :)  We did find a self seeded Holly which I am uncertain about counting plus one of those tiny white flowers that are SO hard to identify!

We finally made it to the castle!

I will repeat the history but if you have read my posts before on Kenilworth Castle I would skip this bit as it is repetitive!

• The first castle at Kenilworth was built in the 1120's by Geoffrey de Clinton (The Royal Chamberlain) who had been given the land by Henry I.  He built the Great Tower (Norman Keep) and also founded Kenilworth Priory.
• In the early C13th King John added an outer circuit wall and built a dam to retain a large lake.  The castle was now strongly defended and withstood a siege in 1266.
• John of Gaunt, son of Edward III, built the Great Hall and its apartments.
• C15th Lancastrian Kings visited to hunt and Henry V built a retreat at the end of the lake called "The Pleasance in the Marsh".
• In 1563 Queen Elizabeth I gave the castle to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. He turned the castle into a palace where he could entertain her building apartments and a privy garden for her use.
• After the Civil War the fortifications were removed and in 1650 Colonel Hawkesworth, a Parliamentarian Officer turned Leicester's Gatehouse into a private residence.
• In 1958 Lord Kenilworth gave the castle to the people of Kenilworth and it has been managed by English Heritage since 1984.

Mortimer's Tower built by King John in 1210.  It may later have taken its name from Roger Mortimer, one of the Marcher lords, who held a tournament at the castle in 1282.

The Stables which house a tea room and an exhibition.

The Great Tower or Norman Keep

Dudley's Gatehouse and the entrance

Lunn's Tower

The Queen's Privy garden was a private garden created for Elizabeth I by Robert Dudley.  The garden was recreated by English Heritage in 2009. The design was based on descriptions by Robert Longham who sneaked into the garden in the C16th.  Archaelogical surveys and historical research were also used to help plan the garden.

The Aviary

The fountain (which looks as though it is being repaired, restored or just out of use?) is the centre piece of the garden. It is built of Italian Carrera marble like the original. Two Athlants (Atlas figures) support a sphere that discharges water.

More wild flowers found - Daisy and Red Dead Nettle.

We were hoping to have toasted sandwiches for lunch but the only food available was cake! So cake it was!

Plants in Walls - a self seeded aubretia.

Some of the photos D took.

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I was pleased to see Jackdaws and a Pair of Little Egrets. New species for the 2026 bird list! D thought the egrets were nesting nearby.

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It was good to get out for a few hours. Having not had cellulitis for months I have been fighting it off yet again for the last month or so. Sadly, I don't think all the walking at the castle did it much good!

We haven't yet been the static caravan - the site re-opened on the 1st March. To be honest I am not looking forward to the first visit as when B drained it down himself he managed to put too much air pressure down the pipes! and he is concerned we may have a water leak when we turn the water back on! All I can do is cross my fingers that everything will be ok!

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera and D with the Canon SX50HS. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).

Reference: English Heritage website and Guide Book to Kenilworth Castle.