A rather nice wall

I know I haven’t shared pictures of our new house yet, and while I will we’re still getting ourselves straight and settling in. This week we spent some time tackling the boxes in the garage and trying to find the tools we needed in the house, and to pot on a nectarine plant which my dad has nurtured for me. We’re making progress there, but in the meantime I thought I’d share some pictures of one of the most striking features in our garden - the wall, and it is rather nice.

It’s an original feature on the small development where our house is, and acts as a boundary for a number of the properties. The section in our garden is full of character, and a few remnants of its previous life remain.

Aren’t they fantastic? I’m sure the wall has seen plenty of history, and if only it could talk…

One section appears to have had a cross section removed:

And my favourite addition is the Nottinghamshire Police sign, which says ‘For a safer rural community’ and warns that it’s a ‘protected area’ - I think that might have expired!

There’s a heavily laden crab apple tree in one corner of the garden, which looks great with our cream garden furniture and the wall for company.

See, it really is a rather nice wall!

Post Comment Love 21 - 23 July

Hello there, and welcome back to this week’s #PoCoLo - a friendly linky which I co-host with Suzanne, where you can link any blog post published in the last week, please remember this, posts which are older will be removed from the linky. We know you’ll find some great posts to read, and maybe some new-to-you blogs too, so do pop over and visit some of the posts linked and share some of that love. If you were here last week it was great to have you along, if you’re new here this week we’re pleased you’ve joined us.

I had some good news during the week when I learnt I’d won a competition on Instagram. The competition was a collaboration between Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe and Round Corner Brewery, both of which are based in Melton Mowbray - which is now just down the road. The prize - some pork pies and beer (yay!) - arrived earlier this week, and I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the pork pie parcel tape.

We’re looking forward to eating the pork pies, and trying the beer - I know it’s complete coincidence as I entered the competition before we moved, but what a welcome to the area!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

A new house, a new walk

We’ve spent most of the past fortnight emptying boxes and hosting family in our new house - and it’s been fun, even emptying the boxes (mostly). We knew we were setting ourselves a challenge doing both so close together, but we really wouldn’t have had it any other way. We’ve shown them our house, and our new area (or some of it at least) and it’s been great.

But it wasn’t until yesterday that I finally got around to leaving our new house on foot to explore some of the footpaths right on our doorstep. And it was so good to do that. When looking at the area we’d walked a direct route and a more scenic route to and from the pub in the next village - priorities right?! - but we hadn’t explored things closer to home.

We knew that just around the corner was a lane which led towards the River Trent, so we headed down there following the old brick wall as it wound its way round and under the brick bridge - it looks like a railway bridge, but if it is (and we don’t think it is) it isn’t a line that’s active, and onto an ornate entrance ‘for deliveries'.

From there on the wall ended and the views really opened up, and we followed the lane as it weaved its way around fields until we spotted the yellow topped wooden marker for the public bridleway, when we turned onto a narrow, verdant path.

Dodging the nettles, me more successfully than MOH it wasn’t long before the path opened out and the red haze of the (most likely) weeds caught my eye, as did the pink flowering clover along the pathway.

We could soon hear the River Trent and it wasn’t too long before we were on its banks, along with a few anglers from the local piscatorial society. To our left was a recently harvested field of barley rising up to where we’d started from.

Along the way there were plenty of thistles, resplendent in purple and complete with fluff and I also noted the potential for some blackberrying later in the summer!

Reaching a junction we turned back on ourselves, so walking parallel to the river but back on ourselves alongside fields of barley, this time with a poppy or two for a pop of colour. A view that’s really quite different to those we’re used to in South London, even Greenwich Park can’t quite offer this solitude and peacefulness.

As we ended our walk I spotted this thistle which seemed a bit behind the rest we’d seen on our walk, which also handily seemed to be better positioned for a snap - I’m quite pleased with how it turned out, and the detail that my iPhone was able to pick out.

An hour outside, three miles walked and so much more headspace regained. For us the move was a lot about space, and maximising that - already it feels like home here, and there’s so much more to explore. I’m hoping that our next venture out on foot is that one we’ve tried before, to the pub in the next village - we really should double check it, shouldn’t we?!