Waxwing

Waxwing
"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour."

From "Auguries of Innocence"

by William Blake

Wednesday 18 October 2023

Herefordshire 2023 - October Visit - Part 4: Tenbury Wells

 


On the Friday D and I went into Tenbury Wells for a wander.  I do like Tenbury it has some lovely old buildings and a good selection of independent shops although sadly no book shop!

It was the Apple Festival the following day which we didn't attend but there were signs of preparation everywhere including signs and shop window displays.







Tenbury Wells is an ancient market town, once a spa for a short period, known as "the Town in the Orchard".

I parked by the leisure centre and we walked into the centre of the town via an area called The Burgage.  This gets its name from the medieval word for an enclosed field extending into a town for which tenants (burgesses) paid a rent in lieu of giving feudal service to the Lord of the Manor.  Today it is a recreation area with views of the River Teme and lots of lovely trees.










Oontitoomps - they get everywhere!















Marquees were being erected for the Apple Festival.









Teme bridge - the river marks the boundary between Shropshire and Worcestershire.







Teme House built 1837 as a workhouse for Tenbury Poor Law which was made up of 19 parishes.  The system ended in 1929 and from 1937 until 2001 the building was used as Town Council offices.















The Ship Inn built in the C17th. By 1804 the building was made into two separate properties one called the Ship Inn and the other was used as a Blacksmith's Shop and Iron Warehouse.  In 1879 it was given its present frontage.





































The Butter Cross or Butter Market built in 1859 so that farmers' wives could sell butter and poultry under cover.






The Royal Oak a C16th inn and once the main coaching house for the route from London to the North.  The name commemorates the escape of Charles II after the Battle of Worcester when he hid in an oak tree.





On the way back to the car park D spotted a Passion flower.











We only made a few purchases - something for tea and two cheeses and I bought a few small apple shapes carved from bark - I'll hang them on a twig when I find the right one and post  a photo. I wish I had bought more - they were only 20p each and I bought five and E has already nabbed one :(


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


6 comments:

Rohrerbot said...

I love the little river between the buildings. The trees have a lot of character! The issue with buying over the amount is that they are too many. Murphy's law says if you buy too little, they'll all get claimed:) Happy Wednesday!

Rustic Pumpkin said...

A lovely place to visit and special. and especially on the day of the Apple Festival. I think this coming Saturday, the 21st is National Apple Day, isn't it? we do have lots of beautiful apples in this country. I certainly agree with you. Those are some fine looking trees. Not only are they fine looking trees, but you've taken some really lovely photos too. I looked hard, but I couldn't see Timothy anywhere. Probably he was either stuck somewhere up a tree, or he was somewhere behaving himself. Hmm. I wonder which it was?

Ragged Robin said...

Rohrerbot - Thanks so much Chris and lovely to hear from you again. Hope you are well. I've been enjoying your recent posts on your travels :) lol! re: Murphy's law. I may go back and see if she has any more! Happy Wednesday to you too.

Rustic Pumpkin - Thanks so much Debbie! Yes I think it may be this Saturday - must check!!! Such a dreadful shame the supermarkets stock so few varieties of apple and so many from abroad when we have such a variety of species in this country with the most wonderful names!
Timothy was stuck up a tree for some of the time! Rest of time in my bag and I forgot to get him out! Horrors - he was not pleased!

Rosie said...

Tenbury Wells looks a lovely little town, although a shame there isn't a book shop. The trees on The Burgage are so beautiful and very sculptural with their twisting trunks and branches. I love apples and all the different varieties. I expect the Applefest would be interesting but very busy. Your little wooden apple shapes sound lovely and will look good displayed on a twig. I hope you can eventually get some more of them:)

Ragged Robin said...

Rosie - Thanks so much. I like Tenbury Wells a lot - I could quite happily live there permanently although B doesn't want to move anywhere near that far :( The Burgage is a lovely little park. I suspect the Apple Festival would be a bit too busy for me tbh. We did go to the Mistletoe Festival last December which had good events but very spread out throughout the day. I am sure we will visit Tenbury again this year so will try and go in the shop again and get some. I don't think honestly they were for sale but when I asked she produced some out of a bag and said you can have some of these 20p each! I just hope she doesn't ditch them once Apple Festival is past!

Ragged Robin said...

Rosie ps - You can see some of those little apples in the window display which has a big red apple saying Apple Fest 2023. She had strung some along.