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Saturday 5 June 2021

The English countryside

 The weather has changed for the better this last week and it tempted me to do a couple of outings.  On Wednesday I took a drive to Shrewsbury.  Shrewsbury is a Tudor town with some lovely buildings, a great range of shops and a lovely indoor market too.  I did look in a couple of shops as the town itself wasn't too busy but my intention was to grab some lunch and visit the park.

The Quarry Park is 29 acres and has been a place of recreation in Shrewsbury since the 16th century and is still well used today.  This is just a small section but In the distance you have the town, and behind me is the river Severn, to the left is a large children's playground and a splash pool, which was full of children enjoying this sunny day.


At the heart of the park is The Dingle which was cultivated by the famous Percy Thrower who was also Superintendent of the park for 28 years.  It is the most peaceful place and although at the moment there is a one way system in place was not it the least busy.  There is a section that is still closed off and the benches have been removed due to Covid but the space is still amazing.









My other trip out today was to Bourton-on-the-Water, probably one of the best known and more popular Cotswold villages.  As Saturday was another scorcher it was busy, but again I didn't go to look in shops.

The river Windrush  runs through the middle of the village and it has a number of tiny bridges, the water is really shallow and so people congregate on the grass banks and use the river to paddle in.

As you can see, it was very very busy so I didn't hang around where the crowds were.



There are houses running right along the river bank, very pretty houses, but I'm not sure I would like crowds of people right outside my garden taking photos of my house all the time.  
(ok, I'm one of those people 😅)


I walked further back from the main village which was much quieter.  
All the houses are built from the same Cotswold stone, it really is such a pretty place and I think when you imagine an English village this is what you think of.



Every house seems to have a beautiful cottage garden and I just loved this one with all the alliums


And then as if all those house's weren't pretty enough, walk another hundred yards or so and you have all this wonderful countryside!



I did another blog post about Bourton-on-the-Water in October 2011, when we had a heatwave. You can find that HERE

-X-

9 comments:

Dee said...

I would be tempted to paddle about in that water. Looks SO refreshing.

That town is simply beautiful. I wouldn't like all those people staring at my house either, but I would be one of the lookers.

butterfly said...

Wonderful photos , looks like a really nice day out.

Poppypatchwork said...

I haven't been to Bourton on the water for years, last time our girls were still at school, it is a beautiful place, and always full of crowds. The park looks fantastic, so good to have so much open space, everywhere is still so green and lush.

Jo said...

I've never been to either place but they both look to have so much to offer. It's nice to find so much green space alongside shops and other touristy places and there's so much colour at this time of year too. The park looks to have a good collection of rhododendrons, they're stunning just now. Isn't it funny how the smallest amount of water attracts visitors on a hot day.

Jackie said...

What gorgeous places to visit. The area along the Dingle (?) is beautiful and those homes are marvelous.

You are so lucky to be able to visit places like that.

God bless.

Lowcarb team member said...

Two lovely places to visit.
Your photographs were lovely to see.
We are fortunate to have some wonderful places and countryside aren't we.

Have a good new week.

All the best Jan

MartinaM said...

What a wonderful park, you can endure it for hours. And the lovely little old houses - I'd want to see them too. Nice pictures, thanks for showing.
Martina

Carol said...

Oh, my! What lovely photos you've shared with us today, Maggie! You make me want sit down and book a trip to England today--ha ha! Some day, I hope :) You certainly have so many lovely areas to visit within a short drive! Enjoy your week ahead ♥

Miriam said...

Thank you for this beautiful stroll in the gorgeous English countryside. Who knows when I can come?
Miriam