Local walks views

We seem to be back to the monthly schedule. I guess I can put it down to lockdown eh.

I have been doing lots of local walks. The OS app has been really handy in that regard allowing to realise that honestly I can walk to places 9 months ago would have been unimaginable! 

I live in a new town which was once a number of small vilages and hamlets and to be fair the many new builds around near me to have lots of footpaths through them. I have discovered small ponds and small areas of reed beds.

 

For instance yesterday I walked to Harlowbury chapel which dates to 1180 and is the oldest building in Harlow, it allowed the abbots of Bury St Edmunds to offer prayers when they travelled to London.

Bridge under the M11

Last week I walked to Churchgate Street. It wasn't until I got home that I twigged that this 1903 photo was taken there.

well today I walked back, it hasn't changed that much.

This is St Mary's and St Hugh's Churchgate street. The church is of medieval origins and was restored by Henry Woodyer between 1878-1880. I would like to visit one day.

On my walks I discovered a  Bronze Age bowl barrow later used by the Anglo-Saxons as a meeting place (moot hill or mutlow), T'he Old English word for a mound or barrow which they reused in this way was "hlaew". This has given its name to Harlow.

Henry Moore and sheep in B&W

I went to the Henry Moore centre at Perry Green. If you like sculpture it is worth a visit. 

I normally visit in the Spring as the lambs are in the fields. In October there are less sheep about. They were all at one side of the field in a pack then one of the sheep took of and walked all the way across.

The sheep then promptly all gathered in one place. I guess the first sheep was the bellwether.

Porthleven

I've just spent a week in Cornwall.

Porthleven is a fishing port near Helston in Cornwall. I believe it is the Southerly port in Great Britain and was developed as harbour of refuge when the Cornish coast was notorious for its wrecks.

Ah Cornish Gulls :) These are near an outdoor set of tables. They were well behaved!

Porthleven gets battered by storms and is often on the news with this view showing waves battering here.

Anish Kapoor at Houghton Hall

Some friends suggested going to the exhibition of work by artist Anish Kapoor at Houghton Hall in Norfolk so yesterday off we went.

Houghton was the home of Britain's first prime minister Sir Robert Walpole. It is an attractive house situated in a fine park, with one of the best walled gardens in the country and has some permanent exhibits of outdoor art.

It also has a herd of white fallow deer which were very showy yesterday.

This non white was sitting apart from the others!!

There were two exhibits from Kapoor that I particularly liked firstly the Sky Mirror.

My other favourite exhibit was in the house. There were coloured steel "mirrors" on the wall. Alas they only work in colour really :)

My favourite of the permanent exhibits is the fountain which catches light. Again doesn't work in B&W really ;)

Houghton is a superb place to visit