Donkeys at Sutton Park, Fungi and "Stir up Sunday"

When we were on holiday in Dorset in the summer we visited the main Donkey Sanctuary at Sidmouth in Devon and ever since D and E have wanted to visit the Donkey Sanctuary in Birmingham. D and E were both at home on Friday so we finally paid the centre a visit.

The Sanctuary is set in a beautiful location within Sutton Park.

We were given a really warm welcome and taken on a guided tour of the riding centre and paddocks.

This is Oscar - D's actual adopted donkey. He was allowed to groom him before the afternoon's riding session.

Some of the donkeys in the paddocks - sorry not the best lot of photos (the fences kept getting in the way!). The centre in Birmingham was set up 20 years ago and they provide homes for 20 male donkeys.

The Donkey Sanctuary is a worldwide charity that does wonderful work to protect and care for donkeys and mules. They also provide donkey assisted therapy to children with additional needs and make outreach visits to residential care homes and hospices.

To find out more please visit www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk




Sutton Park itself covers 2000 acres and was a medieval deer park given to Sutton Coldfield by Henry VIII in 1528. It was designated a National Nature Reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest by English Nature in 1997. Its made up of a wide range of habitats - lowland heath, woodland, wetlands, marshes and lakes. I haven't visited for years but its a really good site for wildlife. In fact, the last time I went there it was to help with a primary school wildlife group outing when I spent most of the time making sure children didn't get lost, fall in a lake or whack each other round the head with the sticks they were constantly picking up. Not really conducive for wildlife watching!!!

As we drove out I stopped off take some photos of a log absolutely covered in fungi.

I really am not sure of the identity of the species - the closest I can get is "Chicken of the Woods"??

I really must make a return visit - probably next summer as I believe there is a small population of Green Hairstreak butterflies there.




Today is "Stir Up Sunday" (the last Sunday before Advent) when families traditionally get together to make Christmas Puddings - everyone taking their turn to stir the pudding mix and make a wish. It gets its name from the opening words of the collect in the church service for this date

"Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded: through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen".

As Christmas Puddings need to be made several weeks before Christmas presumably these words served as a reminder that it was time to get the puddings made so they can mature before Christmas Day.



For years D has wanted to make a round canon-shaped Christmas Pudding - in the past I've tried the method of making one in a cloth and steaming it and, believe me, it was not a success. So this year I've splashed out at great expense on a specially made Christmas Pudding mould which rather looks like something from outer space.

Rather pleased though that it has its own little trivet and handle!

Last night I put all the various dried fruits to soak overnight in lashings of brandy.

I've tried various recipes over the years but always come back to one by James Martin that the family seem to prefer.



Christmas Pudding mix

All piled up in the canon-shaped mould

Just in case there should be a mishap there was thankfully enough left to fill a small basin

Here they are steaming away just before I put the lids on.

Should the canon ball be a success I'll post a photo at Christmas!

Holiday, Beer, Branscombe and Donkeys (Monday,1st July)

On Monday we drove into East Devon and visited the picturesque village of Beer. Sadly my loud hints of bird hides and reserves on the Axe Estuary as we drove through Axemouth on the journey were ignored!!!

We walked along the coast path up onto the headland towards Seaton.

Views looking back towards Beer

The cove here is surrounded by cliffs of white chalk which formed during the Cretaceous Period over 75 million years ago when East Devon and Dorset were submerged by sub-tropical seas. The vast majority of chalk along this particular stretch of coastline has been eroded but at Beer it has been preserved due to the chalk rocks being folded and faulted downwards, level with the older rocks, and thus protected from erosion.

Looking towards Seaton

where red Triassic rocks return. These rocks were formed in arid desert conditions where there was little organic material and in its absence iron forms red oxides giving the cliffs the wonderful red colour.

Red valerian seemed to be growing wherever we visited. I was disappointed this holiday to see so few butterfly species - Speckled Wood and Small Tortoiseshell plus a few unidentified blue butterflies at a distance were the sum total. There was an unusual looking butterfly fluttering round at the top of the headland but unfortunately it refused to come away from the edge of the cliff and heights are not my thing!!! So I never did find out what it was.

There were some beautiful wildflowers growing along the path

Greater Knapweed

I think this may be a species of bedstraw?

This particular stretch of path is famous for its Pyramidal Orchids and I think the flowers below may well be a few - way past their sell by date!

Greater Knapweed and Ribwort Plantain

We had a walk round the village

A stream runs alongside the main road through the town

Quite a lot of smuggling occurred in Beer in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Apparently one of the most famous was a Jack Rattenberg, born in Beer in 1778, who wrote about his life and exploits in a book called "Memoirs of a Smuggler" published in 1837.









After lunch we drove to a village called Branscombe which we had been told was particularly pretty. We parked and walked down to the picturesque pub and thought that we had seen all of the village and we would move onto the Donkey Sanctuary near Sidmouth.






However, as we drove along the lane it became clear that we hadn't seen much of Branscombe at all - we passed a very old church advertising a Flower Festival (I wasn't very happy at missing that!!) and then more stunningly beautiful, quaint thatched cottages including one called Beehive Cottage which was unbelievably lovely and an exceedingly ancient thatched pub. Brian wasn't prepared to stop again - he was on a mission - the Donkey Sanctuary at Sidmouth.

The donkeys were unbelievably cute and we all fell in love with Crumble. In fact, if I hadn't recently adopted a local donkey at a Sanctuary near home for David for his birthday, I would have adopted this one for him.

We had some fun finding the centre of a maze and then had a look round the walled memorial garden.

On the way back to Lyme Regis Brian agreed to stop very briefly in Branscombe (unfortunately the car park was at the bottom of a very steep hill). Believe me East Devon and Dorset are very hilly and if you are not fit when you get there you are certainly a lot fitter when you leave.

Finally, made it to the Church of Saint Winifred which is very old and very interesting (I've since read the Guide Book and I must return one day).

The Flower Festival had more or less closed but the church looked incredibly beautiful absolutely full of flower arrangements.

I did take a few photos but they were very poor and blurred. To be honest I was feeling rather frazzled as the kindly vicar was trying to engage me in conversation and show me around and all the time I was thinking of Brian fuming in the car as to why I was being so long. It was all rather embarrassing but just to show you how lovely the flowers were - here's a very blurred photo.

Making my escape I decided I didn't dare huff and puff up another steep hill to visit Beehive Cottage but if you are in the area do visit Branscombe - it is so pretty.



Sorry by the way for the length of these posts and large amount of photos but I must admit I do also treat my blog as a bit of a personal journal for keeping records and photos of where I've been and what I've seen.