Postcards – Page 18 – TRAVEL WORDS

A – Z of Locations: C is for Chilham

During this year I shall be posting photographs from places around the UK, many of which have not been published before. Where I have previously blogged about a location I will provide a link to the post, though you won’t be able to comment on it as I restrict comments to six months.

C is for Chilham

Renowned for its beauty and charm, the Kentish village of Chilham lies high above the valley of the River Stour in the picturesque Kent Downs. The market square is full of historic medieval buildings, timber framed houses of Tudor origin, the 16th century church and the imposing Chilham Castle.

Chilham Castle – sadly the gardens are only open on Tuesdays during the summer months.

Chilham lies on the routes for the North Downs Way and the Pilgrims Way to Canterbury.

Half timbered cottage gable end which you pass on the way to the Free Parking just outside the village.

Featured in the book ‘A Thousand Best Churches’ by Simon Jenkins, the XIII century church is noted for its stained glass windows and fine monuments. My visit coincided with the Harvest Festival and the church was exquisitely decorated.

Much of the village is designated a heritage conservation area, in recognition of the historic value of the many of the buildings. Because of the beautiful old buildings, Chilham is often used as a setting for film and television productions.

My visit was in September 2010. I often accompanied my OH in those days when he attended conferences in nearby Canterbury (yet another C well worth exploring) and whilst he was busy in meetings I was busy exploring the Kent countryside, towns and villages and gardens.

A – Z of Locations: B is for Bredon Hill

B is for Bredon Hill

Bredon Hill is a hill in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Evesham in the Vale of Evesham. The hill is geologically part of the Cotswolds and lies within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The scenery is dramatic…with spectacular 360 degree views across the Vale of Evesham, the Cotswolds and the Malverns.

Being interested in A E Housman’s poems we had to visit the top of Bredon Hill (pronounced Bree duhn) when we spent a few days on holiday in the north Cotswolds.

There are a number of well-defined trails and on a clear day the views are excellent.

‘Bredon Hill’ is poem number twenty-one in “A Shropshire Lad” and it narrates the story of a lover who lost a loved one.

In summertime on Bredon
The bells they sound so clear;
Round both the shires they ring them
In steeples far and near,
A happy noise to hear.

click here for the complete poem and a musical setting by David Harley from his CD ‘Tears of Morning”

A – Z of Locations: A is for Aberdovey

Let’s start with A for Aberdovey/Aberdyfi.

Aberdyfi is a thriving little harbour resort set within the Snowdonia National Park, where the river Dyfi meets the blue waters of Cardigan Bay.

I didn’t know very much about Wales before I met the OH and moved to live with him in Shrewsbury in 2002. Weekends saw us popping over the border on many occasions. This was on a very cold February day and I recall having a lovely lunch in the picturesque Dovey Inn overlooking these stunning views of the estuary.

Season’s Greetings

I thank everyone who has visited this blog over the last year and especially those of you who leave a comment. I wish you all a happy, safe, and healthy 2023 in which we can all create more blogging memories. I haven't blogged a lot on here this year simply because I haven't been out of Cornwall that often so most of my blogging takes part on Cornwall in Colours. Please join me there.

All photos are from Christmas Day 2010, Ashleworth, Gloucestershire

October Squares Review

This October has been all about celebrating the past four years of Squares. So sharing photos from past challenges, memories from the past or things from history or heritage or even using more recent photos that might have made it into a past challenge. The first theme in September 2017 was flowers, and it was followed by Sky, Circles & Squares, Roofs, In the Pink, Time, Spiky, Blue, Lines, words containing the word ‘light’, Top, Perspectives, Kinda, Up, Bright and Trees.

I wonder if you can guess which category these images belonged to? And those with a mathematical brain will have quickly realised that one image is missing, but do you know which it is?

April – Pink

It has been an interesting exercise looking at my choice of photos and deciding which of the square challenges they could belong to. Perhaps too often we only see one dimension to our photos unless we really stop and examine them.

Thank you once again to our talented hostess, Becky, the Queen of Squares, who does the tireless job of posting daily and visiting each and every person who joins in and then surpasses this by creating fabulous galleries so we can all share the pleasure of each other’s posts and be inspired. Please pop over for a visit if you would like to, an accompanying pot of tea or coffee or even a glass of wine would be a good idea!

A break with the past

Past and Present Perspectives