So just because it is my blog and I can, one or two pictures of Manchester before a return to the depths of Somerset.
Firstly a bit of fun - as seen in the city centre at lunch time. Might need to go back and take this bus to see where it goes!
How not to treat your mortar board!. The rock behind by the way is glacial and was dug up in excavations near by.
There are 80 more pictures I could post but I'll refrain and move on ;-)
Today was St Swithun's Day. Legend has it that whatever weather we get today will continue for a further 40 days and after what seems like months of endless rain it was dry. I'm not getting my hopes too far up but it was nice to go out without being swathed in waterproof walking gear, We weren't brave enough to leave it at home though.
We did risk a trip to Exmoor - or at least the edges of it. Bossington is an achingly pretty village, all thatched cottages, narrow lanes and towering hollyhocks. That it was ( mostly) sunny helped to. Although not actually that far away it is a slow tedious trip and we got there just in time for lunch at the tearooms ( recommended by the way!).
After that it was a trip up Bossington Hill. This was a killer hill indeed, especially after the lack of exercise over the last couple of weeks. The views however were worth it.
This is Porlock Bay - we had hardly started at this point so I had the energy to take pictures.
This one is from further up and across the bay to the Welsh coast around Llantwit Major and Tresillian. You can see where Colyn Dolphin is reputed to have met his end and Dwynwen's cave.
Unfortunately my camera is not great at this type of shot. I think a new one is on the cards.
Carrying on ever upwards we reached the high point at Selworthy beacon and down to Bury Castle, helpfully labelled as an "Iron Age Ancient Monument"
In fact there seemed to be two walls and defensive ditches on the flatter upward side; the other approaches being very steep. Presumably this was to enhance the defences in that direction as it was a very easy approach.
After this it was downhill through some mixed woodland back towards Bossington and an eagerly anticipated cream tea.
This is a pretty little water trickle down the rocks but doesn't seem to be later than Victorian. The diary of the rector of Selworthy in 1824, suggests the fountain was named after the youngest daughter of Sir Thomas Acland who owned the Estate and I haven't found anything to contradict this.
Still a nice place to sit and admire the view on a thoughtfully placed seat before the final leg down into Bossington and the aforementioned cream tea ( also recommended!).
