HAPPY NEW YEAR

Wishing you all a very Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year with many magical wildlife moments.

Thanks to everyone who has visited and a special Thank You to those who have left comments - every single one is much appreciated.

A rather brief visit to Packwood and a trip to Coleshill, North Warwickshire

D and I went to Packwood at lunchtime on Friday - hoping to see the house dressed for Christmas. Sadly, all the timed house tickets had been issued so we just had a brief wander along the lane.

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We did carry on to Baddesley Clinton but the tickets for the house had all been issued there as well! I've made a mental note not to visit over the busy Christmas period again but to try and see the houses earlier in December! Baddesley Clinton I had visited but sadly I never got chance to go to Packwood earlier in the month.






Yesterday we visited the market town of Coleshill in North Warwickshire mainly to visit our favourite secondhand bookshop - "Books Revisited" but we did go a wander round the town.

The town located on a hill to the East of Birmingham is situated between the Rivers Cole and Blythe. It began life as a settlement in the Iron Ages as the Grimstock Hill Romano-British settlement. In the 1970's archaeologists found evidence of hut circles and also a Romano Celtic temple. During the Dark Ages the settlement moved a kilometre south to the top of a nearby hill where the current church is now located and a medieval town developed. Coleshill is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 and it was granted a market charter by King John in 1207. Simon Digby was given the manor of Coleshill in 1496 by King Henry VII following the Battle of Bosworth and the execution of Simon de Montford.

In the 18th century the town became an important staging post for coach roads and at one time there were 20 inns in the town (there are still quite a few!).



I've shown you photos of Coleshill Parish Church (St Peter and St Paul) before but here are a few more exterior shots.

Stump of a Medieval Preaching Cross.

Can anyone else see a face in this tree?

Books Revisited

B loves this old-fashioned iron monger's shop.

Coleshill Town Hall

The elephant statue is new - the design is based on an idea by a local school girl as part of the CASPER (Coleshill Art Space Project Everyone Respects) project. A circus elephant died in Coleshill in 1910 and is buried in the town under what is now a Morrison's supermarket and car park.

Hot chocolate with gingerbread and cream in Costa.

Many of the shops still had a Christmas theme.

The Swan Hotel

The Old Market Hall

Coleshill Pillory and Whipping post which is unique in Warwickshire and is a listed monument. It was first erected near the market cross in 1708 and was last used in 1863 to punish two felons for drunkenness.

Christmas lights in the town and sunset.

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*D photos taken by my son with the Canon SX50HS bridge camera.
Rest of photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera.