I can’t begin to imagine how many times I have driven past the sign to Watts Chapel along the A3 near Guildford in Surrey. Not knowing that this little gem lay hidden close by in Down Lane, Compton. Jenny of CharactersFromTheKitchen introduced me to this architectural delight a few months ago and I knew I would have to make the journey next time I was down in Surrey.
(Please click images to enlarge – there is an awful lot of detail in these images)
This morning, before the rain arrived again, I made my way to Watts Cemetery Chapel to the bright red brick of this Arts and Crafts masterpiece. Designed and decorated by Mary Seton Watts this example of Art Nouveau was completed in 1904. She dedicated it:
“to the loving memory of all who find rest near its walls, and for the comfort and help of those to whom the sorrow of separation remains”
A steep, slippery cobbled pathway meanders through ancient yew trees
For the month of August I’m looking for a colourful bench
(This month I want to see photos of a bench that is painted or stained or otherwise coloured in some way. Not the plain wooden variety unless there is some colour detail)
Colourful benches in the courtyard of the Rose and Crown, Ludlow
Bright Benches
If you would like to join in with the Bench photo challenge then please take a look at my Bench Series page. No complicated rules, just a bench and a camera required 🙂
Create your own post and title it Bench Series: August
Include a link to this page in your post so others can find it too
Add the tag ‘bench series’ so everyone can find the benches easily in the WP Reader
Get your post in by the end of the month, as the new bench theme comes out on the first Sunday in September.
My Picks of the Week:
Kaz joins in with a Sydney bench in need of TLC and another Sydneysider has red and green benches. If you haven’t viewed LD’s blog before then you are in for a treat. And yet ANOTHER Aussie, PP, has a red bench. Isobel has made me very happy by sharing the Book Benches that were in London last year. And more red and green benches from Tgeriatrix.
As always there are so many delightful benches to view, I hope you will check out the other links within the comment section.
One of my favourite places to take a local walk is in the burial ground of St Leonard’s in Ludlow. The grounds are now a naturalised area for people to enjoy nature and wildlife, an attractive environment that residents and visitors alike can enjoy. There are many trees including Yew trees which were grown to make bows, but as the berries are poisonous to animals (and humans), the trees had to be grown in places like churchyards where animals were excluded.
There are also some ageing Lawson’s Cypresses and self-sown Sycamores and Horse-Chestnuts. A large number of birds, butterflies and a colony of rabbits live in the grounds and there are many benches on which to sit and rest and enjoy the birdsong and the countryside views, as well as a few picnic tables and benches situated in a grass clearing.
I love to wander around the monuments and select interesting carvings, words, shapes to photograph. Often hidden by clumps of stinging nettles and moss or lichens each time I visit I see something different. Continue reading Discovering St Leonards
For the month of August I’m looking for a colourful bench
(This month I want to see photos of a bench that is painted or stained or otherwise coloured in some way. Not the plain wooden variety unless there is some colour detail)
If you would like to join in with the Bench photo challenge then please take a look at my Bench Series page. No complicated rules, just a bench and a camera required 🙂
Create your own post and title it Bench Series: August
Include a link to this page in your post so others can find it too
Add the tag ‘bench series’ so everyone can find the benches easily in the WP Reader
Get your post in by the end of the month, as the new bench theme comes out on the first Sunday in September.
My Picks of the Week:
Violetsky has an unusual colourful bench this week and Tgeriatrix has more mosaics from Spain. Colline is all hot-pink in Toronto and staying in Canada Amy takes us on a delightful stroll with a bright blue bench at the end. Ruth finds some comfy ‘benches’ over in Tasmania that you might not want to sit in at the moment.
As always there are so many delightful benches to view, I hope you will check out the other links within the comment section.
Month eight already? This year is zooming past sooo quickly. I have already noticed the night drawing in around 9 pm now. And summer is coming to an end. I no longer hear the dawn chorus and the swifts and their offspring appear to have gone back to Africa. And here in the Marches it has been unseasonally grey for weeks. The odd summer day breaks through, but I crave for more sunlight to get me through the winter.
Roadworks
The challenge asks you to change the time of day; perhaps have a go at night photography; play with your camera settings. I have decided to show some of my monthly location in black and white. Not just any black and white, but a grainy film mode on my new camera. I went out for a nature walk around the castle in the golden hour, just before the sun set. Fancy coming with me?
First have a look at those funny trees I showed you in January, the pollarded limes (Linden). Pollardingis a pruning system in which the upper branches of a tree are removed, promoting a dense head of foliage and branches. It has been common in Europe since medieval times and is practised today in urban areas worldwide, primarily to maintain trees at a predetermined height. Wikipedia
The Lime (LInden) trees (August)
Pollarded Lime trees (January)
Date: August 12 2015 Weather: Partly cloudy Temperature: (23°C during the day, warm and calm in the evening) Time: 19:30 – 20:30 PM
Castle Walk
The wild flowers have grown tall and some are almost over. The Rosebay Willowherb (Chamerion angustifolium) that dominates the castle slope are full of fluffy seed-heads. A successful coloniser this flower is known as ‘Bombweed’ in the south of England due to its increasing spread as a result of the clearing of bombed sites during both wars. Ragwort is still in flower, but the thistles are now in seed. Continue reading Monthly Photo Challenge: The Changing Seasons #8
TRAVEL WORDS 