The suffolk coast

 I recently spent a day on the Suffolk Coast. I haven't been for a number of years but I am there for longer next month.

Anyway one of the days I started at Dunwich.

Dunwich was a thriving town of 3000 people at the time of the Domesday book with 3 churches.  In the thirteenth century a  combination of storm surges and coastal erosion means washed most buildings away and today it is a small village. About 8 churches have disappeared. 

It needs to be noted that storms alone didn't destroy the town. According to wikipedia ;) it developed as a sheltered harbour where the River Dunwich entered the North Sea. Coastal processes including storms caused the river to shift its mouth 2.5 miles (4 km) north to Walberswick, on the River Blyth. The town of Dunwich lost its raison d'etre and was largely abandoned. Sea defences were not maintained and coastal erosion progressively invaded the town.

Still there is a sizeable medieval town under the sea.

The ruins of the friary.

I wandered down to the beach. At one point passing the last grave yet to fall into the sea.

Apparently Dunwich has lost 8 churches to the sea and it is ironic that for a time Dunwich had no church. The current one is Victorian. This is the leper chapel its a pity this fascinating building didn't survive to become the parish church.

I wandered to Dunwich Heath for lunch and walked across the heath where i found a Dartford Warbler! 

I went down to the beach and to Minsmere. I had no big lens and didn't do any birdwatching just wandered but heard Bearded Tits. 

The view back to Dunwich Heath

Then on to Leiston Abbey. Leiston was originally at Minsmere which I guess I knew but had forgotten! 

The "new" buildings are due to farming and a Christian retreat. 

Flatford and the Essex coast

6 months? 6 months? what have I been doing? If anyone is still out there ... Hello and I'm sorry

I was visiting my friends Jan and Tony Saturday so I stopped off en route to Flatford. I didn't get to Flatford through out  the whole of 2021! 

So it is nice to be back ( I did visit a few weeks before).

I didn't get all the way to Dedham but I will next time.

I popped in to the Essex Wildlife Trust centre at Walton on the Naze.

Then J&T took to Holland Haven Country Park.

I will be back over Easter as I am going somewhere I haven't been since this blog started!

Devon/Somerset

I spent a few day on the Devon and Somerset border only 2 weeks ago. Temperature wise it feels longer ago than that!!

Montacute was built in 1598, at the end of the Tudor period, by Edward Phelips who became speaker of the house in 1603. Later he was a prosecutor of the gunpowder plot.

Forde Abbey is a former Cistercian Monastery which is in Dorset with a Somerset address. It was surrendered to the crown in 1539 and has been converted to a private home. It has a particularly fine garden.

Killerton is an 18th Century Georgian house in the middle of Devon. It is actually a quite liveable house I think. When Sir Richard Acland gave the house to the trust he gave them almost 7000 acres as well as about 9,000 in Exmoor. That is some land!

 

Muchelney abbey

Here you can see the parish church next to the abbey ruins. The abbey dates from the 7th to 16th century and you can see the outline of the Saxon church and see how small it would have been.

The Abbots house survives and contains an interesting small museum.

Lytes Cary is a medieval manor house in Somerset. Parts of it date to the 14th century with additions being made in the century after particularly the 15th, 16th, 18th and 20th century. The chapel predates the house being built about 1343 and was also a chantry chapel.

The 17th century gardens have disappeared and today we have the Jenners Arts and Crafts garden from the beginning of the 20th century. I like them.

The garden at Tintinhull was on my way back to my B&B from Lytes Cary.

It is a 20th century Arts and Crafts garden around a 17th century house. It is relatively small but it is one I rather like.