autumn – Page 2 – TRAVEL WORDS

Park Life

Sunday was a beautiful day. The sun was shining. It was reasonably warm for the time of year and it was my birthday. To celebrate we went for a walk in a nearby National Trust parkland, Berrington Hall, where a new route has been created through the broadleaf-woodland, followed by coffee and cake in the courtyard with live music from a folk group celebrating the apple harvest and a last lingering stroll around the walled garden and orchard simply dripping with apples of all colours and sizes. Care to join me?

We decided to follow the blue route but cut alongside the lake and then follow the yellow route to cut across and join the blue one again. Although we have visited Berrington many times, it has always been during the period when the lake walk is closed due to grey herons nesting there between March and July.

Looking back towards the house, built in 1775 by Thomas Harley and designed by Henry Holland in the latest French influenced Neo-classical style. Continue reading Park Life

To Autumn

SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.

John Keats (1795-1821)

Cider Apples – Hereford

Blackberries ripening (September)

Elderberries

Squash

Blackberries (August)

Grapevine

Autumn Arrives

The Autumnal Equinox on September 23 heralded the beginning of autumn in the northern hemisphere which usually brings a change in the temperatures and the beginning of the chemical processes that take place in the trees as the seasons change from summer to winter. One of the best places to see the beautiful colours in autumn is Sheffield Park in West Sussex, a wooded landscape park of about 74 hectares, laid out in the mid and late 18th century by Lancelot Brown. Features include four lakes, waterfalls and cascades, and an arboretum with a mix of native and exotic species including conifers, azaleas, rhododendrons and acers. The arrival time of the vibrant displays varies every year, but they are generally at their best in October, when the acers turn burnished red.

Enjoy the colour, it only occurs for a brief period each autumn.

One Day One World Project: 11:00 – 12:00

The final hour

I have done my best to complete the 6 month (24 hour) project set by Lisa of the blog NorthWest Frame of Mind to show what is happening around the world (both home and away) depicting one hour each week. I ran out of ideas during the middle of the night, so it was good to see how others managed this. It certainly was a challenge! Thank you Lisa for making me think about every hour of every day and getting me to record what has been going on in my world during these last 6 months. Today is the last hour. And in line with the foggy autumn weather which has finally arrived in my part of the world, I offer you a few more photos of Ludlow.

Castle framed by berries

Leaves turning…

This week is between 11:00 – 12:00. I hope you’ll join in! See links for more details.