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This is intended to be mainly about my crafting stories, as a personal record of what I do. However, I interpret crafting quite widely, not just paper crafting but other things too. I have a butterfly mind and like to change from one thing to another depending on what I feel like on a given day - knitting, crochet, cross-stitch, cards, baking and several others, including my favourite right now, parchment, both traditional skills and Groovi, very relaxing and calming to do.

I have decided to put some structure into my blog so that each day will have something of a theme.
Monday- for Mindfulness; Tuesday - Tidy Up Day; Wednesday - What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday; Thursday - Technique and Tips; Friday - Finish Off Day; Saturday - Start Something New; Sunday - Anything Goes
These themes are not hard and fast and will be changed if I feel the need.

Thursday 29 May 2014

Post WOYWW Crop - Day 1

 If you saw my post from yesterday, you will know that I was away over the bank holiday, down in Wiltshire at the WOYWW Crop, which was Saturday.  There was no way that I was going to drive there and back in one day, so a B&B was the order of the day.

This was where I ended up - Upper Westcourt,  right on the edge of the village of Burbage.  What a gem!  A real home, welcoming, comfortable and peaceful, just the place to unwind and relax.  Comfy beds, everything you could need and an excellent breakfast - nothing was too much trouble.
This is just part of the lounge available to visitors, overlooking the lovely garden.  All round the house there were huge vases of home grown flowers filling the house with their perfume.  Even the bedroom had a small vase of lilies of the valley, a really nice touch.

I decided that it would make sense to spend another couple of days in the area to relax and do the touristy things.  I have never explored that area.  When I was young, we either drove straight through on our way down to the sea or went to Marlborough to visit my godmother.  She was a bit of a gypsy, in that she had at least two addresses in Lockeridge, one in Burbage and I know of two definite addresses in Marlborough itself. 

Sunday, the day after the Crop, I did have a semblance of a plan, in that I wanted to go to Avebury.  I found my way to the Visitor Centre, but decided that I really was not in the right frame of mind to get my buggy out and go all round, so I carried on into the village itself and parked up at the Red Lion pub.  It was getting towards coffee time, so I just sat in the sun and giggled at the odd things that the tourists were saying.  Opposite the pub was a victorian aged red brick cottage with a thatched roof, and one lady was asking the coach driver if it was an original Avebury house.  I am not sure what she thought it was original to, when it was surrounded by the stones of the circles.  The pub was far older, but she barely glanced at that.

This was the view I had from the pub.  The concrete bollards were put in some years ago to mark where stones had vanished from.  I liked Avebury.  It was so much more relaxed that Stonehenge seems to be.  You could walk freely among the stones and get the feeling of the place. There was no-one to pester you and hurry you on.

On the way to Avebury, I suddenly saw a signpost to Lockeridge and dived off to have a look.  I was actually a road too soon and came to Fyfield, but I think this was the church that my godmother had her youngest son christened at and chose me to be his godmother.  I still need to find the original photo to compare.

From Avebury, I decided that I might go and have a nose at Stonehenge.  I had intended to book a visit - you cannot just turn up on spec these days.  You even have to book a car park space and a visit for a definite time.  I foolishly thought I might just get close enough to get a photo - what a "mistaka to maka".  The queue was manic and I had to wait just to turn round to get out, totally disorganised as far as I could see.  The car park is miles from the monument itself, you cannot even see it over the hill.  I shall not bother to try that visit again, unless someone likes to helicopter me directly to the stones.  Avebury was much less stressful.

I decided that I would carry on down the main road south and see if there was a layby where I could pause for a photo.  No chance!  I could see it but no chance of stopping and it looked so small.  I looked at the other side of the road, two lines of stationary traffic and thought no way was I joining in that to go back. So I just took the next left turn, reprogrammed Jane to take me  roughly back in the right direction.  By now, I was starting to get a little peckish, so I was on the lookout for a decent pub to eat.  Eventually I found a place called the White Hart at Oare.  I would certainly recommend it to anyone - excellent food in comfortable surroundings and a welcoming couple as the owners.

The one downside of B&Bs is that they do like to have the house to themselves during the day to live their own lives.  After lunch, it was still too early to go back and I didn't have anything in particular on the agenda.  However, on my way to Avebury, I had noticed a car park right on top of a hill overlooking the surrounding countryside, so I pulled in there and just relaxed, watching the walkers and the general wildlife.  This was my view without even getting out of the car - perfect.  There was another advantage or disadvantage, depending on your outlook, there was no phone signal at all, absolutely zero reception.  You would expect that the top of a hill like that would give you good coverage, but I put it down to the magic of the stone circles just over the hill.

Back at Upper Westcourt, I decided I need to craft, but it had to be clean crafting.  I could not possible take paint and ink into that lovely house, so it was down to parchment work, clean as you could get.  This was what I did.  I had already done an ink drawing before going away and thrown the parchment tools into the car at the last minute.  I had forgotten how relaxing this craft is.  It was taken from a photo I took a couple of years ago down at Hunters Inn in North Devon, when the bird very obligingly posted perfectly for me.

That is all for today, but I will continue my break tomorrow for anyone who is interested.  Have a good day.

5 comments:

Debbie Rock said...

Glad the B&B turned out to be a good choice ... it does look such a lovely place. We nearly went to Avebury but didn't make it for some reason ... too busy getting lost on the myriad of footpaths around Burbage and I did have one or two naps at the caravan - which I justified by calling them part of my convalescence (am rarely that ill so have to milk it a little!) Still love that parchment peacock ... catches my breath every time I see it. Love Debbie xXx

Julia Dunnit said...

Wow, you managed to pack a lot in! west court looks very gracious! am delighted by your choice! My preference is Avebury, I think it's delightful!

shazsilverwolf said...

Hi Marg, its a glorious area isn't it? We went to Avebury after we left last year, and had a fabulously sunny day in which to explore. You seem to have made a fine choice with your B&B, thats one of those things you can never be sure about till you actually get there, isn't it? Glad it turned out well. Awesome peacock, the detail you have captured is amazing. Love Shaz xx

Linda Simpson said...

WOW fabulous photographs of your travels. I love the peacock it is fabulous.
Hugs
Linda xxx

Linda Simpson said...

WOW fabulous photographs of your travels. I love the peacock it is fabulous.
Hugs
Linda xxx