Lyme Regis, Dorset

We arrived in Lyme Regis in the rain and sat in the car park for a while until it eased somewhat
We then began our visit by walking down the hill that overlooks the famous Cob that juts out into the sea, English Channel. Those old enough to remember the film 
The French Lieutenants Woman 
will remember Meryl Streep standing at the end of the Cob dressed in a black cape and hood and looking like she was about to be blown off.

If you double click you will see that the outer Cobb wall is high above the sea and this is the part one can walk on 

We then walked down another hill into the town

There were a whole line of these sports cars, obviously a club holiday

After walking a while we had lunch in a very different and interesting place which I will keep for the next post

and then  proceeded to walk along the front to the far end of town where the Cobb, beach and harbour are

This picture is obviously out of sequence because the sky is blue and the sun did not come out until later in the day

We have walked from the far end of the bay and still have a way to go yet

because as you can see the Cobb is still some way off

We pass a picturesque beach side restaurant

and finally we leave the harbour and as we walk on the Cobb I do not take any photos as we are on a narrow strip high above the sea with nothing to hold on to. Do not like!

We are now at the end of the Cobb

We are looking at the famous Jurassic Coast where people go to collect fossils. It is 95 miles long and said to be 

185 million years old

Colourful fishing nets on the harbour side

These children have just been out to sea on a fishing trip and were very pleased to pose for my camera (with parents consent)

They had been fishing for Mackerel on this boat

Would have been fun but we were not planning on cooking fish back at the cottage

We are now walking back the way we came and have to walk back to the furthest point seen here as well as walking back through the town and up a very long and steep hill to the car park, so while sitting on a bench taking a rest in the sun I spot this Seagull feeding her chicks 

Beach front houses

Hope you enjoyed your visit and I will share with you the very interesting and unusual eating place in the next post 

Garden and Family

Slipping a garden and family post in between holiday escapades

dear little Oliver is now 5 (hard to believe)

Master of the House

Here we see him in the play house that Alan and I and our son bought him for his birthday

We kept telling 2 year old Rebekah that it was Oliver's present to which she kept replying 'Oliver must share, share, share'

Oliver's Birthday Card

and on our previous visit these two little darlings offered to help clean  up their family room

They wiped the dining room floor tiles with anti-bacterial cloths and then proceeded to use the same cloths to clean the TV screen!

At least their heart was in the right place

August is the time when I begin to get a little bored with the garden

The early colour has gone, or is beginning to go over and it is not yet time for the late or Autumn flowering stuff

so lets have a look at what there is just now

I love this two coloured Spirea

I bought it for £1 in a market sale quite some years ago

I have a number of Thymes but like this one by the pond best

The Grace smoke bush never fails but likes to take over

The above two were taken Sunday evening when arriving back from another whole day walking the streets of London

many pictures from this day eventually

All I wanted to do was sit in the shade and recover 

I love this Itea Ilicifolia

It is taking a long time to establish itself and it is quite rare

The only place I have ever seen it was where I bought it

at Christopher Lloyds gardens at Dixter

Some of the new roses that I planted out front last November to replace the ones we used to have there

Well goodbye Tree

It had to go having become quite diseased

Will be gracing  daughter Janie's open fire come the winter

Having had a number of days out recently I have so, so many photos to post but will be back to recent holiday ones in next post

Montacute House and village, Somerset

Montacute House is an Elizabethan mansion, not as large or as elegant as many we visit but interesting all the same.
It was built between 1588 and 1601 by Sir Edward Phelips, and was home to the Phelips family for 300 years. The house and grounds were given to the National Trust by the Society for Protection of ancient buildings in  1931. There is a 12 acre contemporary garden and the park and estate has some wonderful walks.

This is one of the few country houses that allow photos to be taken inside

The famous Hunter tapestry

Amazing, it is more like a painting

Do you like the 'en-suite'?

The side room to a bedroom

This massive oak bed which dominates the Crimson Bedroom is boldly carved from top to toe. Acanthus leaves unfurl themselves up the bed posts and the coat of arms of James I decorates the headboard, and confirms the date of the bed as 1612.

The bed recently brushed up against Hollywood royalty, playing a 'support role' to Johnny Depp in the 2004 film The Libertine. Film goers would not have suspected that one of the staff was hidden underneath the bed during filming, monitoring any effects of Mr Depp being tucked up inside it.

Servants and maids would sit here waiting to be called

These long galleries at the top of many large houses were often used to take exercise. This in one of the longest surviving in  England at 172 ft

Afternoon tea waiting!

Some scenes around Montacute village to end our day