October Visit to Herefordshire - Part 1: Hatfield and Fly Agaric

 

Last week we finally managed to return to Herefordshire for four nights.

We went on the Tuesday and in the evening went for a lovely meal at the Fountain Inn as it was our wedding anniversary.

The Herefordshire Oak - definite signs of autumn tints in the leaves now.

There is not much change in the Constable Tree or the

Octopus Tree although you can see the latter more clearly now than you could a few months ago.

The copse and golden yellow leaves on the aspens.

D's rubeckias are still flowering well.

There are hawthorn berries galore. Hopefully, we will see Redwings feasting on them on a future visit.  Redwings seem to be arriving in the country at the moment.

I brought D's chilli  pepper plant home with us. He will freeze the ripe chillis and try and overwinter the plant for next year.

The garden

These are the first apples (it is a cooking apple that is sweeter than a Bramley) we picked.  Before we left we harvested them all and brought them  home in a large bag.

On the Wednesday we went into Tenbury Wells to buy petrol, bird food and do some shopping at Tesco.

The River Teme

Ivy flowers and some berries forming.

Ash keys

Back at home we have a Fly Agaric in the garden.  We have a lot of silver birch trees and the trees and toadstool have a symbiotic relationship. Fly Agaric have mycorrhizal relationships with silver birches and other trees. Warning! Not to be eaten!

*D

On the Friday I visited nearby St Leonard's church which was holding a Harvest Festival and I will write about that in my next post.

I am sorry for lack of blog posts recently. To be honest I haven't been out much and have had little to blog about and I am still not getting much sleep. In addition B has had a lot of hospital appointments recently. On top of that the shower has decided to pack up!  It is under guarantee as it was bought only 8 months ago. Rather than replacing it we are having to put up with an engineer visit later this week which means tidying the bathroom and clearing out the airing cupboard :(

Photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera and the photo labelled D was taken 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).

September Visit to Herefordshire

 

We returned to Herefordshire last week staying for four nights - the weather was mixed.

Timothy back on his shelf.

There doesn't seem to be much change in the Herefordshire trees compared to our last visit a few weeks ago.

Herefordshire Oak

The Constable Tree(s) and

Octopus Tree

The roses in a pot are still flowering.

Red Hot Pokers are flowering.

D's tomatoes are still ripening and there are loads of chilli peppers - I brought some tomatoes and chillis home.

There are loads of cooking apples on the tree and once again we brought some home.

The rose in the garden is still flowering.

We popped to Leominster one day to buy just a few items for meals and next door to the garage shop is the OK Diner which is a 1950's themed restaurant.  This was used as a location for a Dr Who episode which was screened last year. The place is quite unique so we popped inside for a look around and a snack.

We only went out on the one day as to be honest I am really sleeping badly at the moment and I was just too tired. It was a shame really as one of the days was lovely and sunny.  The caravan site was very quiet even on the Saturday when we came home.

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 of mine or my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).

Kenilworth Castle and the Wicked Game Exhibition

 

Last week D and I went to Kenilworth Castle as I was really wanted to see the Wicked Game Exhibition.

It was sunny when we arrived but that wasn't to last long!  I've written about Kenilworth Castle many times so I won't go through all the history again.

Mortimer's Tower is in the foreground with the Great Tower or Norman keep behind. 

Leicester's Gatehouse

Lunn's Tower

The kitchen with its oven and below a photo of some of the herringbone masonry.

The Great Hall

The Wicked Game exhibition by Lindsey Mendick, comprising a series of fragmented ceramic sculptures, aims to give a new perspective on Queen Elizabeth I's relationship with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and her strategies for maintaining authority at court. It re-examines the events of her nineteen day visit in July 1575 to Kenilworth from a female perspective. 2025 marks the 450th anniversary of her visit.

If you click on the photo below to enlarge it the information board gives far more information on the meaning of the sculptures and the exhibition.

I would have liked to spend far more time studying the sculptures but by now it had started to rain.  We just made it to the stables for lunch before the rain became torrential!

The exhibition is open until the end of October so I might try and visit again on a day when there isn't constant showers!  

All photos taken by me and my son with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 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).