Upper Town

My personal challenge for this round of Miss Jenny Matlock's alphabe-Thursday is to post about a location within the borders of my own county of Derbyshire, UK, for each letter of the alphabet.

Look for the letter, to see where I am.

U is for Upper Town.

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Upper Town is the name given to the higher end of Bonsall. I'd never been here before, so I wasn't quite sure what I would find. The first thing I discovered was a garden nursery on the farm on the edge of the village!

After a bit of a wander round, I bought a thyme and small fern for myself and a lavender for a friend I was meeting on Friday. They are good healthy plants too!

From the nursery, I wandered down the narrow main street with its stone built cottages and dry stone walls.

This one looks newer and is fronted by an open green space with goalposts, which looks like it could be the village rec.

In the centre of the village is this well, which is one of the seven 'dressed' for the annnual Bonsall Well Dressings. Simply put, Well Dressing is a traditional Derbyshire activity in which wells are decorated with pictures made from natural ingredients. It celebrates the gift of water.

It was clear why this part of the village is called Upper Town. That's part of Bonsall down below...

...and the land drops away pretty steeply the other side too.

The streets are named appropriately.

I was very taken with this show of colour from the house at the top of Bankside.

In Upper Town, I also discovered this place; Bonsall Camp.

According to their website, Bonsall Camp is owned by Christian Youth Foundation and is available to hire by groups from any sphere of life (church, education, business etc), either for a residential stay or a day event. Then, during the summer holidays, they run three, week long Christian themed kids residential holidays for 7-11s, 9-13s and 12-16s, with trips out, messy fun, games etc etc. I had no idea this was here!

Upper Bonsall was definitely an eye opener; a little corner of my county that I knew absolutely nothing about! And I'm really pleased I came!

Thorp Perrow 4 - The Childrens' Trail

Around the Estate, there was a childrens' trail with small scenes to discover. You can probably spot one of the stops hiding among the trees. See who you can recognise.

The Wombles of Wimbledon Common

But which Womble is this?

(Answers at the bottom of the post.) 

Thomas the Tank Engine needs no introduction, but do you know who is with him?

But I'm not sure whether this one belongs to a story or not.

ɐıɹɐƃןnq ǝןɔun ʇɐǝɹƃ

ʎɔɹǝd - xıs ɹǝqɯnu ǝuıƃuǝ

Thorp Perrow 3 - Trees

Avenues of trees

The cypress walk

The acer grove

and the oak tree planted to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 3rd June 2002.

Thorp Perrow 2 - Water

For the next few days, I am going to post photos of different aspects of Thorp Perrow and just let you enjoy this beautiful location.

But, stay out of the water!

Thorp Perrow - Structures

Thorp Perrow in Bedale, Yorkshire is considered one of the finest arboretums in the UK. It was founded in 1931 by Sir Leonard Ropner and covers 85 acres, including a pinetum, an acer grove, ornamental lakes, a number of tree lined trails and a tea room. Within the grounds are also a Bird of Prey Centre and a small Animal Park.

The estate is currently owned and managed by Sir John Ropner, grandson to the founder.

This is the bird cage structure, standing at the head of the Cypress Walk and dedicated to the memory of founder Sir Leonard (1895 - 1977).

The wrought iron dome is beautifully designed and shaped...

...right up to the centre.

A rather special garden

While the lads were away at camp, I spent a few days up in Shipley with a friend and we had the pleasure of joining others of our New Wine 'family' for Sunday dinner.

I've posted photos of this garden once before, as has Jenny Freckles on her blog, but it is the kind of place that is worth showcasing again and again; steeply terraced and bursting with colour!

Because it was such a bright day, some of the photos are not quite as sharp as I would like, but you can still get the feel of just how vibrant this oasis really is.

Now, I'll stop interrupting and allow you to enjoy the rest in peace.

A gorgeous garden and a delightful afternoon :)

The River Trent

My personal challenge for this round of Miss Jenny Matlock's alphabe-Thursday is to post about a location within the borders of my own county of Derbyshire, UK, for each letter of the alphabet.

Look for the letter, to see where I am.

T is for the River Trent.

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The river Trent runs right across south Derbyshire, entering the county from Burton on Trent in Staffordshire, skirting below Derby and heading east towards Nottingham; forming part of the Derbyshire/Leicestershire border on its way. 

At 171 miles, the Trent is one of Britain's more significant rivers. It is also unusual in that, for the latter half of its route, it flows north, eventually emptying into the Ouse and thus the Humber Estuary, close to Kingston upon Hull.

It hasn't always been called the 'Trent'. Under Roman rule, the river was the Trisantona, while the eighth century name was Treonte. The origins of the name are thought to come from the Celtic words tros (over) and hynt (way), probably referring to the way the river bisects many of the old tracks and trails, meaning that fords and ferries needed to be utilised to keep the flow of traffic moving.

The section of river which flows through Derbyshire is not navigable (though there were many disputes and much work done to change that fact back in the 18th Century, including some very underhand tactics used to prevent rival merchants from landing goods from the river - scuppering a barge to block a cutting; a line of guarded boats to form a barrier...)

Ultimately, river disputes were solved by the completion of the Trent and Mersey canal in 1777 at which time the Trent ceased to be used as a navigation upstream of Shardlow in Derbyshire.

Going further back in history, one might be pleased that the Trent had its navigable limitations, as the Danes and Anglo Saxons sailed up her to attack England!

Of course, the river has to earn its keep and there are a number of power stations along its route, including the now decommissioned one at Willington, just south of Derby.

Pylons in the countryside are not generally pretty, but there is something oddly attractive about the pattern of the structure.

This is Swarkestone Bridge, the 18th century replacement for a more ancient structure, most of which still remains, forming a narrow causeway over the wetlands towards Stanton by Bridge.

When the bridge section of the ancient structure was demolished, the stones were tossed into the Trent and left on the river bed, causing the broken water you see here.

Swarkestone Bridge marks the southernmost point of the journey of Prince Charles Edward Stuart (The Bonnie Prince of Scotland) in his campaign to take the English throne. With no support coming from France, it was at this point that the Prince's generals decided to turn back. The date was December 4th, 1745.

It's much more peaceful around here now (except for the constant hum of traffic) and this looks like an idyllic place to live. Nevertheless, I would think more than twice before buying a house this close to the water. The river does have a tendency to flood!

As you can see from the links, this is not the first time I've posted about parts of the river. It is close to home, full of history and extremely photogenic. How could I ignore that? :)