My Monday

Jenny and Arty now join me and Bonnie on our Monday outings, we pack a picnic lunch and usually head off midmorning, today we visited Witley Court again.  At this time of year the rhododendrons are in flower and I wanted to see them this year.  There is also plenty of space for the kids to run around.

I never tire of Witley Court, even though it's a ruin I still find it beautiful, you can easily imagine what it was like in it's hey day and the grounds are stunning at anytime of year.

These two rascals had so much fun running round, hiding in bushes and playing on the playground, they get on really well, Arty is the dare devil and Bonnie is the cautious one, it's lovely to see them playing together 💗

Of course because we've had so much rain there were quite a few large puddles, which, as you can imagine, kept them happy and entertained.

Hope your Monday was a much fun as this puddle 😂

See you soon

-X-

Making the most of the sunshine

The weather has taken a turn for the better and the outdoor work has begun.  Mark turned over the boarders a few weeks ago and last week I bagged up the rest of the leaves so it's looking pretty tidy out there at the moment.  The grass hasn't had it's first cut yet, I'm hoping that It will be good for another couple of weeks

The large pieris is in flower so should turn red in the next week or two.  After it has done it's thing this year we are going to cut it back, it's over six feet tall now and almost as wide, I just hope we don't damage it in the process.

The camellia has loads of buds, hopefully now the sunshine has made an appearance, so will the flowers.

Yesterday was beautiful so instead of the local park I took Bonnie to Witley Court, It's one of my favourite places and I've shared many photos of before, here and here, if your interested.

Yesterday there was an Easter trail for the kids so we packed a picnic and went off for the day.

On Saturday I went for my Covid vaccination.  I don't mind saying that I've ummed and ahhed about having this vaccine for a while.  I said to Mark that I'd quite happily stay at home for the duration, but we know that not realistically an option.  They say that no one will be forced to have it, but with all the talk of green cards and not being able to travel we are, sort of.

I was dreading having any of the side effects people have mentioned, although, Mark didn't have a single one I knew in my mind that I would.  I had the injection early Saturday morning, It did sting for a few minutes after but then I was fine all day.  Just before I went up to bed I got the chills, much like when you are coming down with a cold, but felt ok, then in early hours I woke up and was boiling hot, I got up for a drink and took some paracetamol, I felt really awful but went back to sleep ok and woke up fine.  I was ok again all day but by 7pm I was so tired I had to go to bed. I've been back to my normal self yesterday and today, although the injection site is quite sore to touch and a little bit red.

It's been another beautiful day here, I haven't been anywhere today, I've had a play date with my new sewing machine, Tuesday is the only full day I get to do what I want to do without interruptions. 

The clocks went forward on Saturday so now we have lighter nights, I have to confess that I'm not a fan of lighter nights, I much prefer it to get dark earlier, then I know it's time to stop, there is a tendency to keep going if it's light and before you know it it's bed time 😂

I hope you have been enjoying the sunshine anyway, I think the rest of the week is predicted to be much of the same.

-X-

Out and about

We had a day out with the boys again on Saturday, giving Jenny some time to herself.

Witley Court is an English Heritage site about a half hours drive from us.   As with National Trust properties you have to pre-book your visit at the moment, even if you are a member, I booked our 12pm slot the Wednesday before, it does means that you have to take pot luck with the weather but we were lucky, it was a beautiful day, there were a few threatening black clouds at one point, but they soon blew in another direction and it stayed dry for us.

I last visited Witley Court in June last year, you can read more about the ruin in this post and see the photos I took of the inside on that day.

This was the conservatory,  Imagine sitting in here with those views!

Can you spot Oliver?  gives you a sense of how big the house is

The boys had a lovely time, the grounds are lovely and open, plenty of space for little people to run around

Arty loves horses and was fascinated by the one in the fountain

Although the playground is still closed off to the children the boys didn't seem to mind, we had a lovely walk around the lake and the wilderness garden after our picnic and they were happy doing that, picking up cones and interesting sticks along the way, as boys do!

It was such a lovely relaxing day, the boys never keep still but were as good as gold and I know Jenny appreciated a long afternoon to herself.

-X-

The most wonderful ruin you will ever see (probably)

Witley Court 

The house dates back to the 17th century and was bought by a Thomas Foley in 1655.  The Foley's were Ironmasters and made a fortune in nails during the Civil War. 

 I was taking to one of the guides and apparently one the Foley's invented a nail making machine and that was what made his fortune.

In 1833 the house was sold to to the trustees of  William Humble, Lord Ward,  in order to clear debts.

William Humble later became the 1st Earl of Dudley and the house stayed with the Dudley's  until the 1920 when the estate was sold in lots.  The house along with 800 acres was sold to Sir Herbert Smith, a carpet manufacturer from Kidderminister, he had electricity installed and reduced the number of staff.  Sadly in 1937 a fire broke out in the east wing and although the west wing was untouched Sir Herbert decided to sell up, the house was stripped and left to decay.

Fortunately for us in 1972 the Government rescued it and it is now in the care of  English Heritage and is there for all of us to enjoy.  The grounds are beautiful with woodland walks and plenty of places to picnic and the Perseus and Andromeda Fountain is one of the best fountains I've ever seen.  Every hour a canon like sound goes off and the fountain is fired up, it's wonderful! Imagine when the house was at it's best and looking down the gardens to that fountain, it must have been a sight to see!

Still is a site to see, but you know what I mean.

I spent all afternoon there and still didn't see everything so I will definitely be going back again, It's was only a thirty minutes drive but was a whole world away.

Of course it had a very nice tea garden and It would have been rude not to partake 

If you follow THIS link you can read all about the house and it tells it so much better than I could, I hope you do, it's very interesting.

(I have included a little video of the fountain, but have no idea if it will work once I click publish)

-X-