Early Spring Blog

 

Snowdrops in Whittington Churchyard

Well, so much for hoping for more Spring-like weather! Yesterday there was snow and the country descended into its usual turmoil of cancelled buses and trains and closed schools. I don’t really know what’s changed but, when I was at school, I don’t remember them ever closing except, perhaps, in the harsh winter of 1963. All I can remember about that was trying to push Dad’s car up our precipitously steep driveway so that he could go to work! At Junior school the break-time milk would be frozen almost solid and quite often had the foil tops pecked open by bluetits, and at Senior school we had open corridors around two quadrangles which sometimes had mini snow drifts that we had to scuff through to get to class where we would stand, shivering, outside the classrooms until the bell rang allowing us to enter the comparative warmth.

Luckily, we had no snow whilst I was still in Cheltenham, although there were several days of heavy frost and raw winds, which prevented us from going outside much. Consequently, I got quite a lot of knitting done and read several books.

Colourful knitted socks

A toddler's jacket

 However, following on from my 'accidental' long walk, and on a bright but chilly day, I decided to set forth on another ramble. I had no clear idea where I was headed but thought I might go to the other side of the village where we’d lived when I was growing up and out towards the small hamlet, called Ham, where I used to go quite often as a child. Having got there and still feeling quite fresh, I decided to replicate, at least in part, a walk that I had last done about 55 years ago with my sister and some friends, up Ham Hill towards the village of Whittington. I thought I’d cut that walk short and come down by the side of the old reservoir, out onto the main A40 and back into the village that way, but I hadn’t taken a map with me (I know, I could have an app on my phone, but I haven’t!) and couldn’t decide which of the footpaths was the correct one, so I carried on walking. Ham Hill seemed a lot steeper than I remembered and Whittington seemed to have moved a few more miles away, but I finally got there and had a brief rest on a bench on the village green, where I phoned Mum and told her I might be a bit late for lunch!

Whittington Old Schoolhouse

The reason that we had gone to Whittington all those years ago was to do a brass rubbing in the church. Neither my sister nor I can now remember why we were doing brass rubbings, but it was quite a ‘thing’ back then, so much so that most churches have since covered their brasses (which are usually set in the floor of the nave or chancel) with carpeting to protect them from over-vigorous rubbing! I decided to see if ‘our’ brass was still uncovered and was delighted that the church was unlocked. It’s a tiny church nestled under the protection of the large manor house and almost up against its walls, but inside was a mini treasure trove of historical church artefacts: by the entrance was a 12th century font, the 16th century brass was still uncovered on the floor of the chancel and there was not one, but three, stone effigies. Two were of a father and son who were both crusaders in the 13^th and 14^th centuries and the third was of an unknown, unnamed female relative (typical!). 

16th Century brass plaque

13th Century crusader

14th Century crusader

The unknown female relative!

They were all in surprisingly good condition for their age and beautifully carved. At the back of the church, on two pillars facing each other, were the carved heads of a man and a woman dating from the 15^th century. I know I’ve said this before, but I am always awestruck by the care and skill that has gone into the building of even the most humble church, but mainly by the intricacies of the stonemason’s carvings.

15th Century female figure

15th Century male figure

 Outside, amongst the ancient chest tombs, was a profusion of snowdrops in full bloom, and a couple of ancient yew trees. Apparently, in the field opposite was the site of the medieval village and also, a Roman villa, so this is a very ancient settlement. A couple of days later I took Mum for a drive to see the snowdrops and revisit an area that she hadn't been to for some years.

one of the ancient yew trees

The walk home was not quite so pleasant as I had to walk along the side of the busy A40 for quite some distance. As I descended the long sweeping curve of road I tried to see any signs of the old Dowdeswell Viaduct that used to span the valley to my left, but nothing seemed to be remain of this once majestic sight that used to be a childhood marker of 'almost home'. At last I managed to divert onto a footpath around the reservoir, which is now a nature reserve, emerging onto the main road further down where there was a proper metalled footpath, back into the village. This time I had managed to walk 8.5 miles without any major physical issues, which was wonderful.

The viaduct in its heyday

Later in February I returned home for a weekend to check on my little house and also to help with tree/hedge planting on the new length of cycle path that a team of volunteers have been clearing. Jeni and I were handed a bunch of dogwood ‘whips’ and shown where and how they should be planted. We’d gone armed with spades and a mattock but hadn’t reckoned on how stony the bit of ground was that we had been assigned. Both of us took turns to swing the mattock, but it was hot, wrist- and arm-jarring work and we were soon quite tired. I think we must have been trying to plant into the base of an old wall as there were so many stones, wherever we dug, but we managed to plant about 24 whips in two different locations before we decided we’d had enough and sloped off to reward ourselves with a rather nice lunch at a café in Shepton Mallet. More planting has since been done – we got guelder rose and hazel to plant the next time – and this bit of cycle path is due to be officially opened tomorrow. It was great to see how many people are already using it to walk dogs, ride bikes (and horses) and we even saw an elderly man on his mobility scooter who was thrilled to be able to get out into an area of countryside more easily. It is going to be amazing, once it links up with bits further along the old Strawberry Line.

Hedge planting on the new cycle path

On my way back to Cheltenham once again, I came cross-country from Tetbury on one of my favourite bits of road - you never quite know what you are going to see along this stretch. I have seen hares, buzzards, a fox, red kites as well as lots of wild flowers, in their season, and this time I was not disappointed. Just past a particular farm I noticed a white van pulled over on the verge and the driver was standing on the top step with his phone camera out, so I pulled up a bit further along and had a look to see what he was photographing. Imagine my delight when I saw a small herd of deer! I waited until he drove off and then reversed back to his vantage point, so that I could get a better shot. It appeared to be a small herd of male fallow deer, just grazing, quite unconcernedly, in the field at the side of the road. Wonderful!

Male fallow deer

Further along the same road I came across two chaps rebuilding an old dry stone wall and stopped to admire their handiwork. They were really pleased that I’d stopped for a chat and were quite happy for me to take some photos and I was really pleased to see young people doing such an age-old job. Once finished, their wall should last for a hundred years or so – what a legacy!

The drystone wallers

The beautiful wall in progress

I also managed to get to see two old friends whilst I was still at Mum’s – my school friend, Mads, who lives in Royal Wootton Bassett and Carol, a childhood friend, who lives near Stroud. Both days were spent chatting and reminiscing and were very good for the soul, although I seemed to be very hoarse on the day after! Carol took me for a walk in the woods with her two dogs; one is a cross between a Labrador and a Bernese Mountain Dog, and the other is a Golden Doodle, which is, apparently, a cross between a Labradoodle (Labrador x Standard Poodle) and a Golden Retriever! It was a very energetic walk, up a very steep hill, and I was soon panting and gasping and exhorting her to go on and leave me behind! She’s only a year younger than me but made me feel ancient as she strode away with hardly a change in her breathing. At that point I decided that I must do something about my aerobic fitness, even if it means taking such a drastic step as getting another dog! (Cue both my children sending me links to dog rescue sites and cute pictures of unwanted pooches!)

I have now returned to Somerset so that I can start the new gardening year with my clients. I did manage one day this week and was quite glad that rain and snow stopped any more, as I was quite tired after three hours. Not to worry, I’m sure I’ll soon be back to a good level of fitness, once the better weather comes.

As always, take care everyone, keep warm and snug and look out for the emerging signs of Spring. x