I thought I'd finally better finish my catch up on what I got up to last year as I have new posts waiting in the wings eager to get out there!
In early July 2024 a friend, her JR doggie and I spent a week in a lovely cottage (www.sykescottages.co.uk) near Mortimer's Cross in north Herefordshire. There were lots of low beams upstairs so there were one or two "ouch" moments but it was a very comfortable and peaceful stay with lots of nature and good walks nearby. And, of course, the opportunity for a bit of sheep breed spotting.
The hamlet of Mortimer's Cross takes its name from a battle in 1461 during the Wars of the Roses where the Yorkist side led by Edward, Earl of March fought against the Lancastrian side led by Owen Tudor and his son, the wonderfully named Jasper Tudor. I think it's high time for a revival of the use of Jasper as a first name!
The battle was preceded by the uncommon meteorological event of a parhelion where it appeared that three suns rose that morning (caused by reflections from ice crystals suspended in the air). The Yorkists took this as a good sign; and having, as they believed, "God on their side" they won the battle that day. Later Edward, Earl of March who became Edward IV took The Sunne in Splendour as his emblem.
I would have liked to have taken a walk down to the battlefield but sadly the actual site of the battle isn't known precisely but it is recorded to have taken place near to the river Lugg and a memorial to it stands by the main road in the nearby village of Kingsland.
A note of warning for those wanting to walk around here - the traffic on the A-roads is very busy; lots of hardworking farmers getting their produce from farm to market; mind you, on Sundays an awful lot of "Chelsea tractors" too! So if you're planning to walk anywhere along the A-roads be prepared to throw yourself into the hedge at a moments notice - stick to the B-roads if you can. There's part of a Roman road (nearby the cottage) that is now called Hereford Lane and it has a B-road designation which makes for much quieter walking. I did this all alone (having learned my hedge-flinging lesson) on the quiet Sunday morning - well I say "all alone"; just me, my walking staff, the birds and the shades of some Roman squaddies.
Oh, and some sheep too.
Here are some Torddu Badgerface not long after their summer shearing. Their upper fleece is white and their bellies and bottoms are quite black, and they have black patches extending from their ears and over their eyes - hence the "badgerface"
The area around north Herefordshire and south Shropshire is well known for good food and the "slow food" movement is very big in nearby Ludlow. There are some wonderful farm shops with excellent fresh produce in the area; and great places to eat in nearby Leominster too. Leominster is also full of lots of independent traders - we had a lovely day wandering about the many doggie-friendly shops, and everyone made such a fuss of my friend's very well-behaved canine companion.
Not far away too; if you are an avid second-hand book nerd like me, is Aardvark Books (www.aardvark-books.com) in Brampton Bryan near the Welsh border on the road to Knighton. It has a great café too, right in amongst the bookshelves - in the Food and Wine section naturally! Of course we both went home with new additions to our respective libraries.
We did get a couple of decent walks in during the week.
The first was a 6-and-a-half mile round trip with a stiff-ish trek uphill to Croft Ambrey Hillfort which stands at almost 1000ft above sea-level and is managed by the National Trust (www.nationaltrust.org.uk). I think our fellow (canine) walker found the climb a lot easier than we did (than I did!), must be those short Jack Russell legs of his! We were rewarded by some magnificent views from the top though - and some more sheep!!
After a sandwich and a drink at the top (I'm making it quite clear right now that it was a soft drink!) we found a slightly different path to descend the hill. However one of us (i.e. me) tried to find the shortest route to the bottom (and potentially the nearest hospital) by tangling the laces of one walking boot in the cleats of the other. I don't know who was the more alarmed, me or the other walkers on the site by the shriek I let out. Thank heavens my friend was in grabbing distance to save me and, dignity restored, we ambled back to the car.
Hebridean sheep who are supposed to keep the vegetation down on the top of the hillfort - I think the grass and bracken was growing faster than they could eat it.
(There were cows up there too - we won't mention the cows! Someone not a million miles away from this keyboard is not at all fond of cows!)
Our second stroll of five miles was a much more civilised affair. We wandered from the cottage through the minor roads and back lanes to the village of Shobdon to see the Arches. These are an archway and two Norman doorways that were removed from the nearby church of St John and have the most incredible carvings in the style of "The Herefordshire School of Romanesque" architecture and they're more than 800 years old. There are lots of strange beasts, writhing dragons and knotwork but rather weathered from the elements. There are other churches in the area with the same sorts of carvings, most notably at Kilpeck.
After this gentle amble we stopped for lunch at The Bateman Arms on our way back through Shobden village - but in fact-checking stuff for this blog entry, I find that it is now sadly closed - which is a shame because the food was grand.
Some very cute Kerry Hill breed ladies
A couple of Ryelands and some Herdwicks
Strange beasties carved in the stone at Shobdon Arches
And alongside all that gallivanting I even managed to get some work done too - as well as giving my friend some spinning tuition on my spare wheel. (C'mon, who doesn't take two spinning wheels on holiday with them???)
After a couple of hours tuition on two days she was getting along great - pity I can't persuade her to buy a wheel!
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