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Wednesday 14 September 2011

Tea at the Ritz? No thanks!!


Tea tastes best if made fresh and drunk from a porcelaine cup doesn't it?   Well not necessarily - my cup of tea this afternoon tasted like ambrosia (whatever that is?!) in spite of being a little on the strong side, having been in a flask for several hours and being taken in a plastic cup complete with little insect!!  Want to know why?...

Well this afternoon we decided that we didn't need to wait for our neighbours to return from holiday to take a walk with us we would go on our own.  So after a lunch we set off to Sherborne where we followed the path suggested in a leaflet we had picked up in the Tourist Office there a while back.


The route led us through some stunning countryside and covered about 10.5 km (according to the leaflet).

 Sometimes the path wandered through woods,

 sometimes deep between the hedgerows,


and sometimes along country lanes - we knew they were proper country lanes as there was grass growing down the middle!  Here we are together taking the photo!  After we had been walking about an hour and a half we decided to stop for tea and this time we had come prepared.  We sat on the grass bank in a field gateway alongside this lane and drank our tea and ate the Chelsea bun I had halved (I only had one and anyway we didn't want to undo all the good the walk must have been doing did we?) and brought with us and I wouldn't have swapped places with anyone in the world at that moment.  The sun was shining, the sky was blue, all was quiet apart from the wind soughing in the trees, the mewing of the buzzards and perhaps an occasional pheasant making their peculiar coarse cry in the distant woods.  Nobody came by we were completely alone and I was aware of one of those magical moments which live on in the memory for I felt so completely content that I wanted it to never end.  I fished the little insect out of my tea and never has a cup of tea tasted so good and the shared bun too seemed even more delicious than when eaten at home.  SHEER BLISS!


Tea over we packed the empty flask and cups back in the rucksack and set off again.  The sky was so blue - this photo could have been taken in some foreign country don't you think?


 And what about this one?!

The route took us through Sherborne Park and this is the little hunting lodge there - obviously not used now as it was shuttered up!

 Here it is looking back and just look at the colour of that sky - and to think I had fetched in my washing before we left home in case it rained!
 The path led us alongside Sherborne Castle grounds and goes up across the ploughed field - you can see it as a green line.  By now we were walking into the sun which was getting lower in the sky so this photo looks a little dull but it wasn't!

Looking back...

 Here is Sherborne New Castle - am I envious of the people living there?  Not at all as I can walk the parkland enjoying the wonderful vistas without any of the responsibilities and return to my own little home afterwards!  I was so happy I could have skipped but my arthritic toe prevented me going quite that far!!


Here you can just see the Old Castle on the other side of the lake.  It is a ruin but it does date back to Norman times so I guess that is not too surprising!  The New one was built by Raleigh so is not exactly modern!!


 That's the castle in the background - I just loved this tree's shape and seeing it against the blue sky.


 Nearly finished - the path leads us back to the car park past this view of the Abbey the other side of the railway........

... and up this slope and when we reach the top we will be almost back at the car park.  We got home at 6.30 having had a fabulous walk and perhaps now you can see why I would prefer my cuppa out of a flask and in a plastic cup than to be all dolled up taking it in a china cup at the Ritz.?  If we don't sleep tonight it won't be because we haven't had enough fresh air and exercise will it?   Hope you enjoying coming with me on our walk today?

30 comments:

  1. Yes, thank you, that was a wonderful walk and now I want more! We took coffee in a thermos on a breakfast walk to celebrate our wedding anniversary back in July, and that tasted wonderful too - I think it's partly the luxury of having something 'homey' out in the open.

    So now it's Ben's birthday coming up and we're asking the boys to plan a walk for him to celebrate. Maybe I should get them picnic-planning too?

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  2. What lovely photos. Did you wave to Leanne, she lives there.
    I loved that little lodge, I always wanted to live in a gothic lodge.
    ps Ambrosia, isn't that a kind of rice pudding LOL

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  3. What a perfect day. Moments like that are to be treasured as perfect memories.

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  4. What a perfect day, I really am rather jealous. Gorgeous photos and yes, I'm sure that was a very delicious cup of tea, insect 'n' all!

    xx

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  5. What a delightful walk... but not a short one. The countyside is so lovely where you live isn't it? This is the reason we like to take the sort of holidays we do when visiting the UK . Most visitors don't get the opportunity to do these walks- and they are everywhere - but touring a country and staying overnight in B&Bs you misss these gems.
    Blue skies don't get any bluer either.
    Cheers
    Helen

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  6. Were you wearing jackets?! Wow! Thanks for taking us on your walk. You're right- your pictures do look like a foreign country. Our afternoon high was only 96F (we have cloudy skies right now - very exciting). I am happy - still praying for rain. What's a Chelsea bun? Thanks.

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  7. That was indeed a lovely walk! I'm sure your cuppa tea even tasted better than the ritz!
    So nice to have a good day like that. xoRobin❤

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  8. looks like perfect weather, and the old tree must be a hundred at least! We go walking here in the alps, its so beautiful, clean fresh air, and great exercise too!

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  9. lovely walk and good company, too. That cuppa and bun must have tasted wonderful! England has some beautiful scenery, you just have to find it, don't you? You have a good eye for interesting sights, such as the old tree. More, please!

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  10. Oh yes I did enjoy that walk very much. You must be super fit now with all this rambling you do and with that distance I've no doubt at all that your cup of tea tasted the best ever.

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  11. Isn't that just the best way to enjoy a cuppa and a (shared) Chelsea bun. A walk and an impromptu picnic, perfect :D

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  12. A perfect day indeed, with beautiful pictures. Thank you for letting me come along.

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  13. What a lovely day - and such perfect weather. Nothing like England in September - and where else could you get such perfect quiet and seclusion. I usually have the Malvern Hills to myself at this time of year but I'm not allowed to walk alone at present so I'm missing it.

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  14. You chose a great day! Looks like a wonderful walk...

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  15. I really enjoyed coming on your walk with you and my knees are even aching in sympathy! Probably actually aching from standing and walking all afternoon, not beautiful scenery to surround me but shopping with a friend's daughter who is just back from 5 months in France and now off to Uni at the weekend. I have to confess though that I did enjoy a cup of tea and a very good piece of carrot cake at Pret a Manger but would definitely have swapped it for an afternoon outside!

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  16. What a lovely walk ! I'm interested to see that you picked up the leaflet at a tourist office. Many of these are being closed down in Britain now, to save money. I don't know if they're taking that line in Dorset but they are in Cornwall and Isle of Wight, to name just two.

    I suppose it makes sense in cold hard cash terms - I mean they didn't make any money directly out of you taking that walk. But it seems to be missing the longer term advantages. Sigh.

    This is on my mind at present, as you might have seen from my blog post a couple of days ago.

    Still, it's nice that we don't measure happness in cost terms, and your pictures really took me along there with you. Dorset is such a beautiful county...

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  17. Lovely, Jane! I love taking a flask of coffee and picnic with us on our walks...everything tastes so nice outdoors, even coffee out of a flask! Thanks for sharing your walk. I hope you have good weather this weekend and enjoy the autumn days.
    Helen x

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  18. Thank you for the most enjoyable virtual walk. I like Sherborne very much but have not walked around the nearby countryside. I too love discovering "proper" country lanes. Dorset is beautiful county, I have very fond memories of living there.
    Have a lovely weekend!
    Isabelle x

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  19. I remember going to see some lovely plants at Sherborne Castle garden centre Jane. I had a lovely cup of tea too - but only in their tea rooms, not on a walk on the estate. It looks fabulous and I know what you mean about those special moments.We've just come home from a few days in Devon and it was special like that for us too. Memories to cherish. Lesley x

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  20. When you have a few moments like those, you just want to bottle them, don't you? It looked absolutely wonderful and is captured here beautifully on your blog post. :O)

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  21. Hi from the State of Washington,

    Just a note to say thanks for sharing your photos and thoughts on your beautiful blog. You really live in a lovely place. It's fun and interesting to see all the sights you post.

    Best wishes,

    Kathleen

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  22. What a wonderfull post relating the simple joys of carefree life.

    Yes, I did enjoy sharing that walk with you. I can understand your tea tasted blissfully delicious when everything else was in complete harmony.

    I am looking forward to your next installment already.

    Stephanie

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  23. Please let me know if that little hunting lodge comes on the market!

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  24. What a lovely walk that must have been!
    Caz (aka Carol from Quilt group)

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  25. I feel thoroughly refreshed after that walk!Thanks for letting me join you!

    Picnic tea is by far the best and you get to sit where you want with the best views! Cx

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  26. Enjoyed seeing a part of Sherborne that we have not seen before. Nothing better than a beautiful country walk with tea to take just when you feel like it.

    Thanks for all the extra info. on Sherborne left on my post.

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  27. One beautiful travelogue. Since becoming a quadriplegis, I can't travel now so I enjoy seeing pix like this.

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  28. I enjoyed taking a walk with you! The photos are very peaceful and I think that you must have felt very tired when you finally arrived home!
    Lucy xxxxxx

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  29. My first visit to your blog. I came because I was intrigued by the name of your blog. Marigold Jam – wonderful name. I can see its color if there is such a thing. I just finished making 44 jars of fig jam – our tree was covered with figs this year. I enjoyed all your beautiful photographs – what lovely landscapes you showed us.

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  30. Thanks for the share Jane - just back from a short Norfolk break and know exactly what you mean on those perfect moments - will share one soon!

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