Tag Archives: somerset

A weekend away

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Over the weekend I was spoiled rotten by two friends Greg and Alex at their fab barn conversion home in the countryside outside Bath.

The barn conversion. Now hand up who wants one of these!!!

The barn conversion. Now hand up who wants one of these!!!

I haven’t seen them for over 10 years but none of us had changed much so we just hooked up from where we left off!

Greg walking with Sophie - now up to her belly in lovely black mud!

Greg walking with Sophie - now up to her belly in lovely black mud!

We ate gorgeous meals prepared by Alex and spent time walking the dogs Sophie and Charlie at a local nature preserve where there were some serious insect spotters about!

On top of th eMedips there is a marshy area that floods to provide many small ponds that are home to wildlife

On top of the Mendips there is a marshy area that floods to provide many small ponds that are home to wildlife

I have to admit I spent way to much time sleeping (the train and motion had upset my balance in the middle ear plus it was really humid on Saturday) and totally unwound.

I loved that the living space was upstairs and the sleeping areas downstairs...

I loved that the living space was upstairs and the sleeping areas downstairs…

Some photos show the isolated beauty of their place.

Parking is not a problem:)

Parking is not a problem:)

Feeling refreshed and having caught up on each others’ lives I headed home on Sunday morning having had a lovely time and now looking forward to seeing my dog Tilly again.

Watch this space for a possible watercolour sketch or two of the nature reserve I mentioned:)

Fresh Out of Forde Abbey

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Forde Abbey, Somerset, England

Last July I had a lovely day trip by coach to Forde Abbey in Somerset.

My onion - drawn on cotton rag paper in pencil showing strong shadows that suggest the summer sun

A rural idyll, this abbey was once a monastery but has had many changes made to its architecture which have resulted in a beautiful English stately home and gardens - open to the public.

Onions growing in the kitchen gardens

I was drawn to the simplicity and beauty of the abbey gardens and its well-tended vegetable plots and Victorian white-wood greenhouse flanked on all sides by riotous rose gardens and herbaceous borders. The sun warmed my back all day and lit the flowers and leaves with a gorgeous light that had me snapping photos at every turn.

Hollyhocks against a Victorian brick wall

Here I present two simple sketches. One of a huge onion sitting its hefty weight in the rich soil, and a hollyhock - reaching upwards as it unfurled pale yellow papery flowers.

A small hollyhock study I did in pencil

I have many more images and hours of fun to go as I decide which to cull and which to experiment with over the coming weeks.

I came away from Forde having spent ages wandering the nursery where I bought some tall floaty flowers and smelled many more!