Off to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham by train. I love these famous five adverts
The Alexander Stadium & ladies high jump
The Discus
This is how they film the races
These little vans collected the discus from the field
Buses from all over the country were hired to get the spectators back into town. this one was the no 10 from Cheltenham. We were at the end of the queue and waited 35 minutes. Altogether impressive organisation.
We then took Henry to Moorhampton near Hereford for a week
Rather a tired site and very quiet, but there were a lot of places to visit. Nearby Weobley is a delightful village.
Leominster is another little town worth visiting.
Any museum holds great attraction for us.
I loved this old Singer sewing machine & this thermometer amused me
Exploring further…..
We found this beautiful house. It tells the story of the family who built it.
A lovely garden to enjoy a cup of tea
A formal garden
And here is the gardener hard at work!
Then off to visit the church
We were surprised to discover …….
A serious piece of equipment!
The following day we tackled Hereford
The River Wye
We visited the Mappa Mundi exhibition first. Here is a map of France
Then the chain library. Books used to be very expensive.
1611 St James’ Bible
And of local interest
King Offa & St Ethelbert
About time too!
The crypt
Some interior images
The highly decorated tomb of St Thomas
Hereford is famous for its cider, amusing names too
We chanced upon a small dairy making cheese. It was delicious!
We had a very good day out at Brant Broughton. It was the village fete, stalls & dog show, cream teas in the cricket pavilion, and scarecrow trail. Transport provided.
The yew hedge surrounds the stately home.
The former home
And here is the owner giving us a guided tour and its history. A wonderful account of how his female ancestor had held out when the castle was besieged in the Civil War.
Each local organisation put together a floral display in the church. Here are a few:
Now to the scarecrow trail:
A very sophisticated angel
No prizes for guessing this one
I liked Rapunzel letting down her hair
This guy was a good sport!
And here to maintain law & order
A family picnic
Wild west saloon
A really good day out!
Night sky at Moorhampton
The following day we ventured to Hay on Wye. A lovely little town of bookshops and tourists!
Richard Booths bookstore above and throne below
The Castle front & rear
I just couldn’t resist!!!!
The views are spectacular
And then we took the road to Llanthony Priory
The road took us over moorland and the descended into a very narrow lane with the odd place for two cars to pass. Happily not very many motorists. It was a 12 mile drive and it took 60 minutes!! We had to stop at a pub for Tony to recover, but finally we reached the priory. It is situated in a most beautiful spot.
A little chapel remains on the site
And finally we spotted this Matt cartoon