May Visit to Herefordshire - Part 2: Fencote Station and St Leonard's, Hatfield.

 

On the Wednesday morning we did the usual click and collect at Morrisons Leominster. To be honest I would rather do it on the day we arrive and get it out of the way but B likes to relax on the first afternoon. We stopped off at B and Q and I came away with a perennial wall flower (Bowles's Mauve) for the border at the caravan and a pepper plant to bring home for D.

In the afternoon B wanted to garden so I took myself to nearby Fencote to look for the restored railway station on the disused railway line which I seem to be totally obsessed with!

Fencote station was a stop on the Worcester Bromyard and Leominster railway. Great Western Railway rescued the railway from bankruptcy in 1888 and the line was completed in 1897.

Due to lack of use the line was closed to regular passenger services from September 1949.

In 1980 Fencote Station was purchased by a former railway employee who restored it to use as a private residence. The station and signal box etc are all fenced off so you can't access the site but you can view it from the bridge that goes over the track. The signal box has also been restored and sections of the track re-installed.

As you can see it looks beautifully restored. I understand that in the past there were occasional open days so you could look round but the station has been recently sold I've been told - thankfully to more railway enthusiasts!  So I just hope there may be more open days in the future.

This is the view from the other side of the bridge.

I did wander down to the station fence and gate but as you can see it is marked private!

The hedgerows are full of Cow Parsley.

There is another restored station on the same line at Rowden Mill, near Bredenbury, which is not far away but that has been converted into holiday accommodation so I doubt that could be accessed either.

On the way back I stopped off at St Leonard's in Hatfield.

I must try and time a visit so I can go the Flower Festival later this month.

I had a lovely chat with a lady in the church who was decorating it for a VE Day service.

East Window

The copse with the trees now in leaf taken at the "Golden Hour".

On the Thursday we popped into Tenbury Wells and then a visit to Burford House Gardens but I'll write about that in the next post. 

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 appreciate an email first - thanks.)

Herefordshire - Part 3: Hatfield and a Local Walk

 

There hasn't been much change in the trees at Hatfield although I do detect possibly signs of a few leaves starting to appear on the ash.

Octopus Tree

Constable tree (to the right)

The Herefordshire Oak

The pink primula is STILL flowering!

View of the copse from the dining room table window

One evening we saw a rainbow and we took the bat detector outside several times and bats have awakened from hibernation during the warm spell.

View over the valley from the rear of the caravan - there is a pool down there and also a lovely wild flower meadow.

On the Friday we went for a walk along a local lane near the church.  Although the weather looked warm and sunny there was a very cold wind.

Primroses, Red Dead Nettle and Dog's Mercury in the hedgerow.

Wild Arum leaves

We walked as far as the disused railway line before turning back.

Primroses on the railway embankment.

Oontitoomps!

I spotted this badger drawing or sticker on a parked car.

We came home the following day - Saturday.  

Since returning home I've had yet another bout of cellulitis :(  Thankfully, I've finished yet another week on penicillin and, touch wood, it seems to have cleared up for now!

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).