A Walk Around Local Country Lanes

 

Last weekend D and I did one of our favourite circular walks round the hamlet of Shawbury in North Warwickshire.  Its only about mile so a good walk when you haven't got that much time and there is a bitter cold wind!

I seem to remember when we last went the road was flooded here and

it was a bit too muddy to venture onto public footpaths!

We passed a lovely little cottage with a gate in the hedge leading towards a wishing well.

A few seedheads are still visible in the hedgerows.

Hazel and Alder Catkins

Signs of new growth in one part of the hedge and daffodils are starting to appear although no buds.

In this wood a small animal scampered through the trees. For some unknown reason my first thought was that looks like a wild boar but I think that is unlikely as I haven't seen them reported locally. We came to the conclusion it was a muntjac.

Some of the photos D took.

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We stopped off on the drive home by St Cuthbert's Shustoke to get a photo of an old  barn by Church Farm. D has found a website with some information on the barn. It is a typical Midlands box frame barn which is probably the same age as the C17th farmhouse.  If you click on the photo to enlarge it there are three box framed bays to the left. Alterations were made probably in the C18th to the far end of the barn where the bays were replaced with brick walls.  Ventilation holes can be seen in a diamond shaped pattern. The barn is now used as a garage and workshop.

I am still trying to research what the object in the foreground is without much success!

We only saw a few birds on the walk - flocks of tits which included Long Tailed Tits plus Blackbirds, Chaffinches and a flock of Fieldfares.

Photos taken by me with the Panasonic FZ330 bridge camera. Those by my son with the Canon SX50HS bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone ever wishes to use one of mine of my son's I would appreciate an email first - thanks).

Reference - Website - www.greatbarns.org.uk

A Local Country Walk in North Warwickshire

 

I hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas.

Today we went a walk in the North Warwickshire countryside and it was cold enough to blow away the cobwebs!

We had initially decided on a walk round Shustoke Reservoir but the 2 mile path is high on a ridge and the wind was bitingly cold so that plan got abandoned after a few hundred yards!

So instead we went for a walk along the lanes round the Shawbury and Maxstoke area.

This is the door of a cottage at the little hamlet of Maxstoke.  I've mentioned before this house was on the market last year and you can imagine how much these days I wish we had bought it!!

This is the church of St Michael and All Angels, Maxstoke. It it is Grade 2 listed and dates back to the C14th with 18th and 19th century additions.  It was founded by  William de Clinton who was born in Maxstoke and later became Earl Huntingdon.  The church may have been founded as a chantry chapel rather than the church for the nearby Priory.

The church is usually locked but we did visit some years ago for a Christmas Tree Festival so if you would like to see inside please see St Michael's Maxstoke

Victorian Wall Letter Box in the wall of the 14th century Maxstoke Priory. 

The Priory of Augustinian Canons at Maxstoke was also founded by William de Clinton in 1336/37.  It was dissolved in 1536 during the Dissolution.  The site today is surrounded by a surviving sandstone precint wall.

Below is the gatehouse but the rest of the ruins are on the land of a working farm and in I think the grounds of the Old Rectory so are not accessible. Many years ago when I was a teenager I was walking in the area with friends and the farmer did allow us to view them briefly but today there are "keep out" signs!!

It wasn't a long walk but it was good to get some fresh air out in the countryside.

I hope everyone is staying safe and well.

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).