Would you like to come for a walk with me around the village. It's a chilly autumn day but it's still a lovely village.
Ok I'm cheating a bit as these lovely plants were flowering about two months ago. They were planted by a resident of the sheltered housing on our route. Aren't they lovely?
Down the footpath and past this field of winter wheat; the copse has a small pond in it and a resident population of crows that add ambience to cold windy weather.....
...past a Victorian farm house with fading sunflowers in the garden....
...and on to the alpacas (don't they look like pushme pullyous in this photo)
...yes that's right alpacas. These lovely creatures are opposite the local secondary school; in a series of roomy fields that they share with wild (but not cross) bunnies...
...we turn past the ruined gateway of a large old house, now used for residential care for elders...
...and down the most picturesque road in a very pretty village.
This road always screams Christmas to me from about October onwards....
...across the bridge over the river which winds through the village and a quick stop to admire the derelict building only now becoming visible again as its protective camouflage of foliage falls away...
...past the village cemetery...
...we wander down the road and past a few fields until we come to silage henge...
...because despite all the lovely houses and picturesque views, this is a working village...
...people still farm the land around...
...they grow veggies in their gardens - and compete fiercely in the local show...
...they keep chickens and sell eggs...
...they drink in the local pubs; all five of them - yes five!...
...work in local businesses as well as commuting...
...and worry that the current governments drive to build houses will change their home beyond recognition....
...whilst at the same time wanting their children to be able to live in the village they grew up in, 'cos life isn't simple and it's often contradictory...
...but that's all part of living in a real village not just a pretty postcard place.
The main road through the village. Village amenities = 2 convenience stores & post office, 5 pubs, 1 social club, 2 community halls, 2 doctors surgeries, 1 chemist, 2 hairdressers, 2 garages, 1 Indian restaurant, 1 Italian restaurant, 2 churches and 1 train station.
Well that's it for today time to go home and enjoy a hot cup of coffee and some cake. I hope you enjoyed our walk.
What a picturesque place, I especially love the old church. With all of the pubs, restaurants, halls and a club it sounds like a bit of a party village! How lovely to have a proper community though, it sounds like a wonderful place to live.
ReplyDeleteHi CJ,
DeleteLovely to hear from you - I'm totally enamoured of the stained glass on the top of your blog - it's beautiful.
It is a great place to live; it gets full of huge farm vehicles and mud and I'm sure it's not perfect but it's home. :-)
Slightly ashamed to be catching up here so long after you posted this ... but I seem to remember a couple of decent lunches in that pub! Wigan, Preston, and Southport are the points of a triangle that encompassed both my Dad's and my husband's growing up and we still have family in the vicinity, though fewer than there were.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the walk, I have pretty much been trapped on the sofa all day courtesy of a sore foot (a temporary affliction, nothing significant) ... I feel exercised now!
Hi Annie, it's been lovely walking with you :-) and what a lovely surprise to find you know the pub and the area.
DeleteI hope your foot's better soon - I've heard chocolate is good for all ills!