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A-Z of Somerset: Part 2

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My recap of the villages of Somerset continues… Click on the links to read the full posts…

F is for Farrington Gurney.

Not an Edwardian detective, but a 12th century village in the north of the county.

G is for Godney.

When one village just won’t do, why not have three?

H is for Haselbury Plucknett.

Detective Gurney has to have a nemesis, so strike forth, sir!

I is for Isle Abbots.

A river names Isle, and countryside perfection.

K is for Kingweston.

There are no Js in Somerset, so, instead, the first of two villages beginning with a K.

Next week, it’s K (Mk II) to O…

Architecture, art, Colour, history, Light, Nature, People, Photography, Religion, story, work

A-Z of Somerset: Part 1

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Lockdown 2021 has given a bit of an enforced break on my photographic journey around the villages of Somerset, so I thought it might be good to have a bit of a catch up of the places I have visited so far.

Over the next four Sundays, therefore, I will be having a bit of a recap.

Today, we look at A to E. (Click on the links to see the original posts.)

A is for Ashcott.

On the A39 between Wells and Bridgwater, Aschott sits on a hill overlooking the Somerset Moors around Shapwick.

B is for Baltonsborough.

Nestled on the moors to the south west of Shepton Mallet, the village is a prime place to view Glastonbury Tor.

C is for Charlton Mackrell.

A big house and a close neighbour, Charlton Mackrell is a quiet haven in the countryside.

D is for Dinder.

Quiet and unassuming, Dinder has a hidden secret, designed to protect the nearby city cathedral city.

E is for Evercreech.

A small village, home to a social drinker’s wily scheme…

Next week, villages F to J (ish)…

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Stile

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The path ahead was clear, there was just one hurdle to cross and their destination would be within spitting distance.

A couple of steps, two up and two down, would lead them into the field and they would be away.

The hill looked ominous ahead of them, it was almost a mirage, they felt that, no matter how long they kept walking towards it, it would never be within reach.

But they also knew that they had to try, had to keep on going.

Just two steps up, and two steps down…

Architecture, art, Colour, history, Light, Nature, People, Photography, Religion, story, Wildlife, work

Crack’d

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The stone had been like that for generations, from what he had been told. The chunk of granite had cracked from tip to base, that fateful night in 1874. Nothing else had been touched, no other graves affected, no other souls disturbed. Just this one stone.

The dedication had worn away decades before, the records lost to time. Nobody knew any more whose grave it was, nobody knew if their remains were still there. The rumour was that the devil himself had torn the stone asunder, ripping the body from the ground so that his own domain may remain unsullied.

Who could have been so evil that even the devil didn’t want them as his bedmate? What crimes must they have committed to anger Lucifer so?

And who came each month to lay flowers on the grave with no name?

Architecture, art, Book, history, Light, Monochrome, Nature, Photography, story, Wildlife, work

Mellifont Abbey

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The gate swung open unbidden. The creaking of the hinges shattered the calm of the trees surrounding him, bringing him sharply to his senses.

Beyond the gate he could make out a building. The windows were shuttered, but he had a feeling that the house wasn’t empty, merely sleeping, waiting for the moment when someone would arrive to wake it from its reverie.

The lawns were tended, and he wanted to take a step forward, to get a better look at the garden, but immediately felt as if he would be trespassing, unwanted, into grounds that had been perfectly manicured by a gardener who had every intention of keeping them that way, no matter what happened.

To walk forward or to turn and run? Intruders were definitely not welcome here, and, without any shadow of a doubt, he would be intruding. But he also felt that it was too late. With the opening of that gate, the barrier had been broken and he was left with only one choice.

He felt himself take a step towards the Abbey…