Plymouth - a day by the Ho

We had been looking forward to visiting Plymouth and found ourselves blessed with lovely weather today. We left the car at a Park & Ride and got off at The Barbican, which is the name given to the western and northern sides of Sutton Harbour, the original harbour of Plymouth in Devon, England.

Boats in Sutton Harbour

The Mayflower Steps is a commemoratve area in honour of Pilgrim Fathers who set sail for the New World in 1620. I think this spot is symbolic rather than the actual spot.

The Leviathan or Barbican Prawn

The Barbican Prawn standing 33ft tall and unveiled in 1996. Official name The Leviathon

El Galeon. 17th Century Spanish Galleon Replica

The huge ship which sailed into Plymouth in September and moored at Barbican Landing Stage. The full-size replica of a 17th century Spanish galleon was original due to visit the city in August, but it was postponed due to the bad weather. Since September 13, visitors have been exploring the 'living museum', which was scheduled to leave on September 17. But as Plymouth is its last port of call on its summer-long tour of some of Europe's most important ports, it was able to extend the visit. Lucky to see this as it was still there on the day we visited.

Then we continued our walk along Plymouth Hoe as there were plenty of attractions we thought.

The two guns situated on the Hoe are restored ships’ cannons from the 19th century. They may have seen action during the Crimean War (1853 – 1856) or during one of the many Naval expeditions that Britain undertook during the 19th century. The gun carriages are replicas.

Part of the old citadel walls

Drake Island

Tinside Lido - what a fabulous spot.

Royal Marine Memorial

There are several memorials in this area as I guess it's a good visitor and viewing area.

Welcome to Plymouth

A centrepiece on Plymouth's Hoe, Smeaton's Tower has become one of the South West's most well-known landmarks. The lighthouse was originally built on the Eddystone reef in 1759 at a cost of £40,000 but was taken down in the early 1880s when it was discovered that the sea was undermining the rock it was standing on. Approximately two thirds of the structure was moved stone by stone to its current resting place on the Hoe.

RAF and Allied Air Forces memorial

Armada memorial

Frances Drake

Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540 – 28 January 1596) Born in Tavistock.was an English explorer and privateer best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580. This was the first English circumnavigation, and third circumnavigation overall. He is also known for participating in the early English slaving voyages of his cousin, Sir John Hawkins, and John Lovell. Having started as a simple seaman, in 1588 he was part of the fight against the Spanish Armada as a vice-admiral. He served as mayor of Plymouth in 1582. and MP/in 1583

Plymouth Navel Memorial

Then we walked past a bowling Green (Frances Drake?) and back toward our bus stop. As luck would have it, we came upon an enormous statue which I had spotted on the way in.

Messenger - Outside Theatre Royal

Just to give an idea of its size, Rosey is almost underneath when I took this image. Messenger is a large statue in Plymouth, UK, created by the Cornish artist Joseph Hillier, depicting a female actor crouching in preparation to run onstage. It was commissioned by and installed outside the Theatre Royal, Plymouth in 2019 in preparation for the city's Mayflower 400 celebrations.

A really interesting day with plenty of historic reminders.

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Dartmoor and around

Unfortunately, this was a wet holiday, although we had a reasonable day or two, the weather was mainly dull and damp. 

Our accommodation was in a small village called Cudlipptown, just above Peter Tavey and not many miles from Tavistock. We stayed in a converted barn on a rare breeds farm in the `back of beyond` called Broadmoor Farm.

Access to the farm was up a very narrow track of at least three quarters of a mile from the main road, which itself was mostly single track!

From near the top, the view was magnificent - when not raining, albeit a bit misty.

However, we did have some time on the moor and had a few images to record it!

The nearest access to the moor was from just above Tavistock and so we drove onto the moor and stopped at one of the first parking spots to take in the view of Coxtor. The sky did help the view although it was still threatening to rain.

Another similar view of Coxtor with a few locals in the picture.

Just along the road was the village of Merrivale which looked really dramatic in its surroundings, I thought.

Then onto the wonderful clapper bridge at Postbridge, thought to be one of the finest in the country. It is believed to date back to medieval times and would probably have replaced stepping stones to help packhorses cross the river. The bridge has two central piers spanned by three large granite slabs, or clappers.

The main road today crosses the river on this bridge.

Wending our way back on our short excursion, we passed Dartmoor, the village, complete with high security prison. What a dreary looking place.

Just before we returned to the main road we stopped at Vixen Tor.  A little walk and some pictures and we returned - still dry!

One last place we managed to see was on the day we were starting to travel home - and that was Lydford Gorge. We were reasonable lucky with the weather and did just a portion of the walk which can be done all round the gorge. It was spectacular I must say.

Here we are at the flattest part of our walk and before we started to climb the steps to view some of the more spectacular views.

Once we managed to get over our nervousness, the views were spectacular. Well worth a visit if you are in the area.

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Colchester Castle Park Gardens

Being in Colchester one day, I decided to have a wander in Castle Park, a lovely place to wander most of the time. Here I have a few images of one stretch of the garden which I thought particularly lovely.

Approaching the Castle, I was greeted by this display with a tribute to the recent Coronation of Charles. 

Then to three images of the part of the garden that took my attention.

Lovely splash of colour!

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The amazing paintings in St Michael & All Angels Church Copford

Having been told about the wall paintings in Copford Church, I did a little research on the internet, and this is a quote from one site:  

"What is it that makes it so special? It is interesting architecturally and has a pretty woodland setting, on the edge of our small village, beside the cricket pitch. However, the remarkable Norman wall paintings are the real attraction, described by Simon Jenkins as `amongst the best in England`. Only five minutes off the A12 just south of Colchester, they are certainly worth a detour if you are visiting East Anglia."

Having never been to Copford before, I had to get out my map and plot my journey - only to find that Copford is only just south of Colchester so didn't require much plotting!

On arrival a coffee morning was in progress and before long was included by the lovely bunch of people there. Plus, one of the ladies gave me a detailed tour of the church, before making my coffee and cutting me a large slice of cake! So, back to the images. 

Two views of the church

The church is built of rubble mixed with Roman and medieval bricks. The most striking part of the building is a semi-circular eastern apse, a rare feature among English churches and almost unaltered since it was built. The style is thought to have been influenced by Roman buildings at nearby Colchester.

The blocked north doorway retains parts of its original hinges.

In AD 995 the Bishops of London were granted Copford Manor and held the estate until 1559 when the Catholic-leaning Bishop Bonner refused to take an oath of allegiance to Elizabeth I. It seems likely that the Norman bishops visited Copford Hall regularly and built a church beside it to serve as a chapel, with construction beginning around 1130.

Two images of Copford Hall

The church is noted for its amazing frescos which are regarded as some of the best in England. A lot of work has been done on them through the centuries, but we can see how many churches would have looked in times past.

The best-preserved Romanesque fresco in the church is the Raising of Jairus’s Daughter. This is positioned in the first bay of the nave at the lunette (semi-circular space) above the rectangular pulpit window. This fresco has not been overpainted and is in its original state. So far as is known it has only ever been cleaned. Unfortunately, the light from the window below was shining straight into the lens! So, this is the best I could get, I am afraid. (Below)

Raising of Jairus’s Daughter. 

A general view of the church, showing some of the amazing frescos.

One of the choristers was sound asleep! I think there must have been a scarecrow type display around the area.

The Victorian pulpit

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A visit to St Stephens Chapel or Chapel Barn, Bures

I am not sure when I first heard about this building, which is through a farmyard and down a track in Bures. However, having read something about it I was fascinated to gather my camera and take the trip to Bures - which is not too far away.

 

My first two views of the chapel

About one mile north-east of the village, down a track through Fysh House Farm, lies my objective - the Chapel of St. Stephen. Apparently, this was the private chapel of the Manor of Tany, or Tauney, and was dedicated to St. Stephen on St. Stephen's Day 1218, by the Archbishop of Canterbury. This makes it the oldest building in the parish, it pre-dates the church by approximately 150 years.

There is good reason to believe that the Manor House for which the Chapel was once built, stood on the summit of Cuckoo Hill now occupied by a small grove of trees. For all houses that were of any importance, were fortified usually by a pallisade of wood with a commanding view of the open countryside.

The rear view of the chapel

Now for the story of the chapel's fame:

On Christmas Day 855, history tells us, Bishop Humbert of Elmham anointed a 14-year-old boy as King of the East Angles. The boy was Edmund, the chosen heir of King Offa, and his Coronation was documented at `Burva`.

The chronicler Galfridus de Fontibus also described the coronation as having taken place at "Bures", which is an ancient royal hill. It is the general belief that this was the lonely hilltop, where St Stephen's Chapel now stands and below is the stone at the rear of the chapel marking the supposed spot where Edmund was crowned.

Unfortunately, Edmund didn`t survive long, the invading Danes captured Edmund and held a mock trial, reviled, stripped, and scourged him because he would not renounce the Christian Faith. He only opened his lips once and that was to confess to Christ.At the end of the November day, the Danes led him out of the village of Hoxne bound him to an oak at the edge of the forest and then in a most calculated cruel way made him a target for their arrows, deliberately avoiding any vital parts.

The Danish Chief gave him one last chance to renounce his Faith, but he refused. The Danes decapitated him without mercy. Poor Bishop Humbert who had carried out the Coronation followed the same terrible fate within minutes.

When the Danes left the area, the local Christian men recovered his body and laid it to rest in a local wooden Chapel (thought to be here)

In 903, the Danish Christian King Canute transferred his body to Bury, which in time became the site of the Abbey we see today.

The interior of the chapel contains the effigies of three Earls of Oxford, the only survivors of twenty-one tombs once found at Earls Colne Priory. This priory, like many others, became ruined after the Reformation and only a shell remains today.

At least, there appear to be three: close inspection by expert eyes has suggested that they are in fact made up from pieces of seven separate monuments which were originally located at Earls Colne Priory. This was mainly due to the confusion in trying to piece together the tombs, after the destruction of the original Priory.

This chapel then fell into disuse after the Reformation. It was converted to a hospital in the plague of 1739 and later became cottages then eventually a barn, hence its local name "Chapel Barn". Glebe Terrier of 1739 reports, "Smallpox outbreak, Chapel Barn hospital full to capacity"

As the name Chapel Barn implies, this simple building resembles a barn - indeed that is what it remained as until its restoration 70 years ago. It was a barn, however, of stone, with narrow lancet windows and a steeply pitched thatched roof. Extensions in brick and timber at the west and north date from the period after the Reformation when the building became cottages.

Strangely, what looks on the outside like an agricultural outbuilding, seen inside resembles a mausoleum.

It was restored to its present condition in the 1930s by members of the Probert family and re-consecrated. Once a year each summer, a service is held in the chapel by the congregation of St Mary`s Church, Bures.

One further thing to talk about this site is that from here can be seen the Bures dragon, first recorded in 1405 by a local monk, and recounted several times thereafter. According to the account, several townsfolk claimed they saw the terrifying creature firsthand. The huge beast had a crested head, serrated teeth, and long tail. It terrorized the village, breathing fire at anything that moved and even killing a shepherd and his flock.

The town panicked. The men of the fiefdom tried to kill the dragon with arrows, but they bounced right off the monster’s hard skin. Soon, men from across the country were summoned to slay the dragon, which fled down river toward the adjacent village of Wormingford and disappeared into the marshes, never to be seen again. (Or, to hear the town of Wormingford tell it, was heroically slain there.)

While the villagers of Bures almost certainly did not witness a dragon that spring of 1405, the sighting of a scaly beast may in fact be true. The prevailing theory is that the “dragon” may have actually been a crocodile that was given to King Richard I as a gift from King Saladin during the 12th-century Crusades. The reptile would have been kept at the Tower of London in the royal menagerie but is believed to have escaped and ended up in the marshes near Bures.

In any event, the region has long associated with the medieval mythical beast. Several old churches in the area have depictions of dragons on their walls, including a 15th-century painting of the storied creature in the Wissington Church a few miles from Bures. In honor of this legendary dragon, and in celebration of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, the Bures Dragon was etched into the hill in 2012, a physical rendition of the local tale.

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Languard Point - To see the world`s largest container ship

When it was reported in a local newspaper that the world's largest container ship was in Felixstowe docks, (that's Languard Point,) we made our way to see this mammoth. Luckily, we had planned a visit for another reason already!Making our way to the car park close to the observation area, it was obvious that the news travels fast - there were a lot of people about for the same reason no doubt.

World's largest container ship MSC Loreto at Felixstowe

It has the capability of holding more than 24,346 containers.

A view of the MSC Loreto with a large Stena Line passenger ferry passing by.

The Stena Line ferry rounds the river mouth against a backdrop of a radar tower and a line of shallow water markers

Parts of the timber pier which once carried rail lines to the end of the jetty. The railway was linked to Landguard Fort where, in the latter part of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century, a system of using submerged mines was devised to protect the approaches to Harwich Harbour.

The railway was used to transport the mines, using hand-pushed trucks, to the jetty where they were loaded on ships and deployed in the harbour.

The mines were anchored by heavy plates and floated to within about twenty feet of the surface (at low water). At this depth they did not interfere with the normal traffic entering and leaving the port. Cables from the mines were connected to the fort's observation post, which was complete with telescope and rangefinder. The telescope would be trained on the bows of an intruding vessel and when the vessel reached the location of one of the mines an electrical contact was automatically made, and the mine exploded.

The mines were designed to cause an upsurge of water so that the vessel would be disabled, not blown up.

We love the area and have visited many times, whether for sight of specific birds or flowers. The official description is: "Landguard is a designated Local Nature Reserve (LNR) due to its value to the local community and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because of its high wildlife conservation value, such as its rare, vegetated shingle habitat and botanical species"

On top of which you can see a wide variety of ships going in and out of the Felixstowe docks as well as Harwich. Well worth visiting.

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