Strolling through Shrewsbury

After Acton Scott we carried on North to Shrewsbury. Another historic town with over 600 listed buildings and called "England's finest Tudor town". Perhaps the most famous resident of Shrewsbury is Charles Darwin who was born and raised there. Like Ludlow it also boasts a castle which is now a regimental museum. Like Bristol, it also has a lovely St. Mary's church whose needle spire is one of the third largest in the country. Also in the town is Shrewsbury Abbey, which appeared a rather small abbey from the exterior, we got there too late in the day to see inside. We had a very late lunch in a small park and then wandered around the streets and some shops. We were able to poke our heads into St. Mary's before it closed and see its famous Jesse stained glass window. Then we went for a stroll through Quarry park, a regency promenade along the Severn, with some very picturesque bridges across the water and some lovely flowers in bloom. We enjoyed the winding roads through the countryside on our way home.

Farming Victorian Style

Acton Scott farm is an historic working farm, which means that much like Portsmouth's Strawbery Banke it is a living museum. There were costumed farm workers stoking fires, baking bread and tilling fields with warmblood horses. However, the most interesting aspect of the farm was of course the animals. Since it is spring we saw lots of baby animals including lambs, chicks, duckling, calfs and piglets. We had a good time wandering around the farm and watching the animals. There were also lots of picturesque antique farm equipment and some lovely old buildings.

Lovely Ludlow

Saturday 10 April - To celebrate the weekend after my birthday (since I decided to work the day of) Ian and I rented a car and made our way north to Shropshire. Our first stop was the medieval town of Ludlow. It is a lovely market town and there were a number of market stalls open when we arrived. It took a while to find parking but we finally managed and made our way through the potted plants, rugs, cheese mongers and other stalls of the market. Then we had a peak at the castle ruins and then wandered up a few of the meandering streets. The city is a maze of alleys and winding narrow roads. There is a lovely buttercross as well as a typical English church, St. Laurence and a very ornate timber-framed pub named The Feathers for the pattern of Ostrich feathers carved in the timbers (we however, could not make out the infamous feathers). After a quick peak at the bustling town we headed further north to Acton Scott Farm.

Easter at Ashton Court

Sunday 4 April - As part of our Easter Holiday we decided to take advantage of the one day of sunshine and go for a stroll over at Ashton court. The Daffodils were lovely in the sun and we actually got a bit warm climbing the hills around the deer park. A nice way to work up an appetite for Easter dinner.

Country Living in the City

Friday 26 March - Since Ian bought me a subscription to country living for Valentine's day I have been quite obsessed with making our tiny balcony into a mini oasis in the city and bringing country style to our flat, so visiting the Country living fair was a great excuse to do some shopping and get out of Bristol. Apparently the organizers of the event saw no irony in holding the event in London so my friend Nat and I took the bus to London for the fair. It was an amazing set up with loads of interesting stalls and great ideas. We had a very nice time browsing around and being inspired.

Folly Farm and Chew Lake

Sunday 14 March - We revisited the chew valley area this weekend. This time we went for a nature walk at Folly Farm, an old stone farm building that has been converted into a conference centre and nature preserve. We took a leisurely walk and noticed some high flying hawks as well as lots of sheep. We also had some excellent view of Chew lake and the Mendip hills. When we finished our walk at Folly farm, we drove down to the lake and walked along the water where we saw a variety of ducks as well as a number of sailboats enjoying the sunny weather.

Snowdrops Galore

Saturday 13 March - With the aid of another rental car Ian and I were able to take a trip to the Queen of the Cotswolds, Painswick and visit the very lovely Rococo Garden. The fashion for Rococo gardens was short lived and Painswick is the only complete survivor in the country. It has many lovely features including a duck pond, hedge maze and many benches tucked in among ornate architecture, however the most stunning part of the visit was the thousands of snowdrops which carpet areas of the garden as well as the enclosed woods.



We had a thorough stroll through the gardens before driving to the village proper and having a nice pub lunch at a pub which boasted the country's oldest bowling green. After lunch we meandered through the village and the churchyard with its famous yew trees. There are two legends about the yew trees the first is that if you count them you will never get the same number twice ( a legend somewhat lessened by the fact that each yew has a numbered plaque on its trunk; the second legend is that there are only ever 99 yews as the devil always shrivels the hundredth.