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Friday 2 September 2011

London buses!



Sunny days are like London buses - first none come then several all at once!  This picture above was taken on Wednesday afternoon....


 This one yesterday morning....


and this one in my garden this morning!  How lucky we are to have these wonderful pellucid blue skies and sunshine and we are revelling in them!


On Wednesday afternoon we did another walk with our neighbours (not the dog this time as he had gone to the kennels as our friends were off on holiday early on Thursday morning) and this time we went to Melbury Osmond.  Here are some of the views en route...


As we walked along our friends told us that unfortunately there wasn't anywhere on this walk to stop off for a cup of tea and some cake but we were enjoying the walk anyway so it wasn't important.


The footpath finally emerged here alongside a very pretty thatched cottage and what did we see but a little notice (can you see it in front of the pink plants?) saying that the gardens were open that very afternoon and tea and cake would be being served in support of the WI!  Well how serendipitous was that?

 


This is the very pretty cottage - isn't it beautiful?
And here is part of the garden....


By now the sun was shining, the sky was blue and the tea and fruit cake eaten outside overlooking the delightful garden was delicious.  The owners - an elderly couple were lovely and told us that the cottage like many in the village was leased from the Ilchester Estate and they had lived there for 15 years and worked hard on the garden.  It was my dream sort of garden with lots of little corners and tiny old buildings including a little brick built shed with leaded windows!  My photos don't do it justice as it was quite the prettiest garden I have seen in a long time)

 

Having refreshed ourselves we pottered on into the village - lots more pretty cottages and gardens and many more open - we could have had tea at each and every one of them had we wished!  Our route then took us towards Melbury Sampford House ...



The photo on the above link will show you that the house isn't really tilted but I was getting tired by now unless there was more to the tea than I had realised!!

 

Nearly back to the car now after a lovely walk taking in manor house and parkland as well as little cottages and including a lovely tea in the sunshine.  Thanks to our neighbours for showing us this lovely place.

 

Yesterday dawned bright and clear again and we set off towards Devizes where we had arranged to meet some Guildford friends here - Caen Hill Locks.  Somewhere I had never heard of I must admit.    

 

We walked downhill along the tow path ...


Watched the canal boats navigate some of the 16 locks in this section....


The scenery was beautiful and the surroundings peaceful - canal boats make just a gentle puttering sound quite unlike the noise of road traffic!

 





How tranquil is this?!  We had lunch at the little cafe housed in what was originally the lock keeper's cottage and ate it sitting outside alongside the canal.

 

A sandwich and a drink revived us and we walked a little way in the other direction towards Devizes but it wasn't as pretty as going downhill so we came back and had an ice cream before parting comapny to go our separate after a very pleasant few hours in good company. We were home by 4.30 and had a cuppa in the garden but I gather our friends got lost on their return drive and didn't get home till 6.00!

And as I said at the beginning today is yet another sunny day which we are spending at home pottering in the garden - tomorrow will be my husband's birthday I wonder if it will be another fine day?!

Thank you to all those lovely people who have taken the time to leave comments - all much appreciated and to those who have added my blog to the ones they follow - I still cannot see my Followers so I am afraid I don't know who you are unless you leave a comment or e-mail me but welcome whoever you are!



30 comments:

  1. I would love to live in that pretty cottage. How nice that it was open for tea and a visit, just on the day when you came by.

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  2. What a lovely good weather post ... I almost feel as if I was there. Re. your invisible Followers ... I'm probably pointing out the obvious here, but I have that problem using some browsers, but not others. Firefox seems to be best for me. Just a thought.

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  3. You've certainly be making the most of this weather - isn't it lovely! Husband worked near Devizes for a while but we never had time to sightsee in the area. Wish we had that cottage garden.

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  4. Gorgeous blue skies!
    So glad you managed to get your tea and cake, what a stroke of luck and a beautiful garden too.
    Those locks are magnificent, aren't they!
    Happy birthday to your husband for tomorrow, have a lovely weekend.
    Vivienne x

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  5. What a lovely walk you had and cake too! I'd love the little cottage with the windows right up in the thatch. Imagine negotiating all 16 of those locks, you'd be worn out.

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  6. It really has been fabulous weather the last couple of days hasn't it? At long last!

    What a gorgeous cottage and lovely walk you have been on.

    I am really looking forward to doing some canal walks when I move into my Retreat :-)

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  7. I love the fact that you just happened upon an open garden with tea and cakes - that's my kind of walk! It has been lovely here too for the last 2 days, hoping it continues into the weekend for us all.

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  8. lovely photos! I love the locks at Caen hill, we havent been for years, when we caravanned at Seend right next to the canal.

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  9. What marvelous places you have to walk through where you live! Such charm and loveliness everywhere. And I enjoyed your use of the world "pellucid"...I shall have to remember that! Your English landscapes really speak to my heart...must be the English part of my heart yearning for such views I guess!

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  10. Lovely pictures Jane! What a gorgeous part of the world. I love the thatched cottage. I seem to have missed several of your posts, and need to catch up.
    Haven't the past couple of days been gorgeous!
    Dan
    -x-

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  11. Caen Hill locks are amazing, I was surprised that it only takes about 4 hours to get through them all. When you think that it is two way traffic, I must say I was surprised to learn that some boats get through even quicker!

    And yes, hurrah for open gardens, often we have found them a useful stop for tea and cakes! you can get a book about gardens open under the National Gardens scheme, I believe.

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  12. Hasn't it been beautiful? What a beautiful country we live in - plus tea and cake! Best wishes for Mr Jam's birthday - fingers crossed for another gorgeous day.

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  13. Beautiful photos of your walks Jane. I so enjoy seeing the English countryside and blogs like yours feed that little passion I have for English things. Thanks for sharing.
    Anne xx

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  14. You take such interesting photos of England - you're making the most of getting out to see places, too. Lovely to come across that cuppa and cake just when you needed it!

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  15. You have epitomised all that is lovely about England, Jane.

    Loving the name "Mr Jam" from Jill. Hope he has a great day.

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  16. We've had some super sunny weather here too - it's made all the difference to the begining of September or end of August - how ever you think of it.

    Have a fabulous weekend,

    Nina xxx

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  17. Dear Jane,

    These are golden days....Septembers light is just so lovely. For me, the best month of the year.

    What a lovely spot for tea and cake.
    Other peoples gardens are always so inviting. I do so love to see how others garden and what inspires them.

    Lovely images, for what appears to be a most enjoyable walk......

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  18. What a lovely way to spend the day it looks beautiful, thanks for sharing!

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  19. You live in a beautiful part of the country. Loved your photos. Your day out has all my favourite things in it and the lovely blue sky was the icing on the cake. Thanks for taking us along on your outing.I really enjoyed it:-)

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  20. Your walk looked very interesting and especially lucky to find a garden open to serve tea and cake!
    I hope your autumn walks are also as enjoyable.
    Lucy xxxxxx

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  21. Jane,
    I was hooked the moment I read 'pellucid blue skies'. Such a beautiful phrase and so right for the weather we've been having this week. Lovely photos of your walks this week. We're off to Shropshire for a couple of days but rain is forecast so I doubt I shall be taking such lovely photographs of our walks!

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  22. Thanks for taking us on your walks. How beautiful. Your blog today was a mini vacation for me - of course, it's so hot here (only 96 F today) that all my tea is iced. Have a great week.

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  23. Happy birthday to your husband from me! I hope he can hear me singing 'Happy Birthday To You' all the way from France!

    Those photographs made my heart sing and what joy to have found a little corner of paradise where you could devour (daintily, of course) cake and tea.

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  24. Look at all those locks! Great photos from your walks, particularly the ones with that beautiful blue sky.

    x

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  25. What a lovely tour. It seems silly to hanker for old England living wher I do, but you've made me just a tiny bit jealous...

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  26. What a heavenly day! I'd love to live in that beautiful cottage. Not nice here at all now - autumn is definitely moving in.

    Pomona x

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  27. Beautiful blue skies! Your photos are gorgeous and really capture that late summer/early autumn light. I enjoyed going along on your walk today too, and hope you have plenty more before the weather changes.
    Helen x

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  28. Ahhh.. keep these posts coming Jane. What a nice outing that was. I found the locks especially interesting and the pretty village too. Wasn't it lucky to find the gardens with tea and home made cake too?
    Happy Birthday to hubby.
    Cheers
    Helen

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  29. You consistently take me on such wonderful little jaunts. I love the peacefulness of the villages, they look so 'English'! Wonder why? Ha!

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  30. Those locks remind me of the Kennet & Avon. We love canal walking, it's flat and lots to see. Two weeks ago we did one and there was a canal boat selling ice cream and teas.

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