A Walk around Solihull Town Centre
Recently I went into Solihull in the hope of taking some better photos of the interior of the medieval St Alphege's church in the town centre.
The churchyard was looking very autumnal.
Solihull War Memorial
I really should have checked the website before I went as, although it is open in the day it closes at 3.00 p.m., and by the time I arrived it was 3.15 p.m. so I had to contend myself with a quick look round the churchyard.
These are the grooves made it is believed by people sharpening arrows in medieval times before archery practice.
The George and Mason's Arms
Part of Mell Square is sealed off for what I assume is building work but you can see still the statue entitled "Family Outing by John Ravera installed in 1985.
Somewhere I have a leaflet on a geology trail by Warwickshire Geological Conservation Society that you can undertake in Solihull Town Centre and I remember parts of it whenever I visit the town. The War Memorial above is made of Jurassic Portland Limestone from Dorset. St Alphege's is built of red Carboniferous sandstone and the steeple was rebuilt in the 18th century using Arden Sandstone.
This is an erratic in the churchyard. Erratics are materials moved from one location to another often by a glacier.
A wall made of Jurassic limestone at the post office contains brachiopod fossils.
In Touchwood Shopping Centre the floor is paved with Jurassic limestones containing ammonites. I got some very strange looks when I was taking these photos!
Garden Wildlife
No photos but I was thrilled to see a fox in the garden a week or so ago - the first garden sighting for many years and we have also had visits from a Jay - another irregular visitor to the garden.
Trip to Herefordshire
Last week we made a trip to Herefordshire. For many years I have wanted to move to a more rural location but it is difficult at present because D and E are still living at home and need to be able to get to work and rural properties in Warwickshire, compared with many counties, seem to be extortionate. For the last year or so I've been considering the idea of of buying a static caravan in a rural location which would mean we have a country place to visit regularly for short breaks and holidays but we would still be able to move house at some stage in the future.
Herefordshire seemed an ideal location as it is not too far from home and I have many memories of visiting the county when I was a child as my paternal grandparents came from there and we often visited family and had days out in the area. In recent years we have made several day trips and had a short break in the area and there is so much there to see and do from a cathedral to churches, market towns, castles and NT properties, nature reserves and walks in the countryside. I was very keen on one particularly small family run "holiday park" in a rural area which is only around 90 minutes from home (on a good run!). It is very conservation minded and has a pool with bird hide and wildflower meadow and the birdlife there looks superb with such goodies as barn owls, kingfishers and nuthatches. Not to mention the red kite we saw nearby. Tents and touring caravans are not allowed and the site is therefore for owners only.
The park does have a few static caravans for sale - one secondhand and two new ones so we visited to see what the site was like in real life and view the caravans.
It had been raining very heavily over the previous weekend and the River Severn near Worcester had somewhat burst its banks.
Driving towards Bromyard
The site was as lovely as I had expected with views over the countryside and it is very quiet and peaceful. We viewed all 3 caravans and have decided to go ahead and buy the one in the photo below. It is presently located in the walled garden but we are having it moved to a corner plot further down the hill which is a little more secluded. The caravans come ready furnished with kitchens and bathrooms kitted out, curtains, carpets, settees, coffee table, beds, wardrobes etc so you only have to provide bed linen, quilts, pillows and cookery equipment etc. It is perhaps a trifle extravagant and possibly an impetuous decision but hopefully we have made the right one and it will mean we have somewhere in the countryside we can "escape" to whenever we wish. The caravan has two bedrooms but there is a pull out bed on the settee in the lounge area so it will be possible to go as a family as well.
View from the park
and views from where the caravan will be located.
We stopped off at Bromyard briefly on the way home and these are the 17th century almshouses.
The site is closed for 3 months over the winter period (next year they are considering closing for just two months) so we will not be taking possession until next March. Hopefully, I will be showing you more of Herefordshire next year.
All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera
11 comments:
If only more people walked about with your eye, or even just opening their eyes to all the history that surrounds us. How many people would notice those archery practice furrows, for instance? I always tell people it's always worth a quick phone call to see if the subject of the visit is open, especially with churches as they can be randomly closed for a few hours for a service.
And now you are on to a brand new adventure! We have a couple of mobile home parks here that are used all year around and some people live in their statics! Looking forward to hearing more on this.
Rustic Pumpkin - thank you so much for your very kind words. I have got better at spotting features at churches with practice and reading. Yes, I really should have checked before I left for someone reason I assumed it would be open until 5.00!
I believe some caravan parks do let you live in them all year round whereas others have a licence that only allows people to visit in the open season. You can go as often as you like when they are open though which is the beauty of it plus you have the freedom as you do when in a holiday cottage.
What a lovely post. How wonderful to have a new holiday home it sounds super and I hope you all have happy times there. My neighbours, before they were both ill, had a similar caravan and loved their holidays there and could go when they felt like it and stay weeks at a time. Great to have a fox and a jay in your garden too. I had to smile at your taking photos of the floor in the shopping centre. I remember when we lived near Peterborough the shopping centre floor there was full of fossils and we got some strange looks taking photos of them:)
Rosie - Thanks so much. I am hoping the caravan will give us the best of both worlds in that we can live in the countryside whenever we want and we still have a permanent home.
Peterborough shopping centre sounds interesting. I've taken photos in Solihull before and got the same strange looks!! In fact I heard of someone once doing the same who was approached by a security guard wanting to know what on earth they were doing! I've got a few town geology trails and it is amazing what you can spot in stones and the different types of geological materials used in buildings.
This is really exciting news for you all, RR, and we loved our trips to Herefordshire (sometimes combined with the Hay Festival) when we lived in South Wales. In fact we spent David's 30th birthday in Hereford Cathedral. We love Croft Castle (NT). We also liked going to the area around Dore Valley (in Golden Valley, so loved by C.S. Lewis).
Caroline Gill - Thanks so much. It is a lovely area and I am very excited about the thought of exploring Herefordshire more. I've never been to the Hay Festival and by coincidence checked on google maps last night and Hay is not too far (about 30 mins from the caravan). I've only ever made one fairly brief visit to Hereford Cathedral so looking forward to returning. Thanks for the tip re: Croft Castle - there are quite a few NT properties there Ihave never been too and also many English Heritage :) Thanks re: the Golden Valley - I didn't know about the CS Lewis connection so will be checking that out!!
That's a super thing to look forward to Caroline, I am susre that you will enjoy it enormously. It is certainly in a pretty area.
And, RR, there is also a Herefordshire link with another famous Lewis: we visited the church in Vowchurch, only to discover that Skeffington Hume Dodgson (1836-1919), brother of Lewis Carroll had been the incumbent. I think you would enjoy a visit to Hay, whether during the Festival or not (though we had many happy festival visits, including the year I read one of my poems and received a white rose!). The bookshops are such a treat. And the scenery around Hay Bluff, not forgetting Capel-y-ffin.
Toffeeapple - Thanks so much. I am very excited and busy checking out places to visit. A shame we have to wait until next March but the time will soon go.
Caroline Gill - Thanks so much Caroline for the info on the church in Vowchurch - I will add it to the list I am making. I don't think OH has yet realised how many super churches there are in Herefordshire but I could always visit them on my own!!!
How lovely to be able to read one of your poems and receive a white rose :) We have only ever driven through Hay - never stopped and those bookshops sound interesting!! Isn't there a castle there too? I seem to remember reading a fiction book set there - actually two fiction books - just remembered the Merrily one! Will add Hay Bluff etc on list too - thanks so much again :)
I love that there are fossils in the post office wall, it seems so random!! I think the purchase will be a great one, the site sounds perfect, the colour of the caravan is lovely and look at the views!! A perfect bolthole!
Pam - Thanks so much. All the caravans were green except one and they do "blend in" better :)
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