2 Comments CherryPie on Jun 3rd 2022
The first day of the bank holiday commemorating the Platinum Jubilee of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II saw us visiting Boscobel House. Boscobel House is famous as a hiding place for King Charles II when fleeing for his life after his defeat in the Civil War. He spent a night in one of priest holes in the hunting lodge.
King Charles II also spent a day hiding in a nearby Oak tree as Cromwell’s soldiers searched for him below. A descendant of the oak tree can be seen nearby in a place that would once have been covered in oak woodland. The vision of English Heritage is to repopulate the area with oak trees to reconnect the site with its heritage.
Within the house garden another Royal Connection can be found; a plaque beneath an oak tree commemorating the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.
This tree seedling from the Royal Oak in the adjacent field was planted by Augustus Bishop of Lichfield as a memorial of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.
The parent tree by sheltering King Charles II preserved the Royal Line from extinction.
The daughter tree commemorates the unexpectedly long reign (about 200 years later) of his illustrious successor.
English Heritage are developing the site so there is more to explore than there was previously. We were time constrained so it was not possibly to venture on the walk to the nearby White Ladies Priory.
6 Comments CherryPie on Jun 2nd 2022
June sees the return of the Civil Service Walking challenge. The challenge is to walk on average 10000 steps per day for the month of June which for me is around 4 miles per day.
A lot of my steps were taken whilst out and about shopping for essentials. There was however a window of opportunity in the afternoon to walk round my local town to see the shop windows decorated to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Whilst in town I took the opportunity to visit the Peace Garden and found it to be full of delightful blooms.
8 Comments CherryPie on Jun 1st 2022
The morning weather looked unpromising so we tried to find a rainy day option for our adventures. This proved challenging because the things that inspired us were surprisingly all shut on Sunday’s! We opted to have lunch at home followed by a trip to a garden centre. On the way we stopped off for me to photograph local Jubilee ‘post box topper’.
After the photo shoot we set off on our afternoon excursion. The rain stopped and the sun came out lighting up the leafy trees that lined our route. Our plans were short-lived, we failed to find the garden centre and on checking found that it was permanently closed. We quickly formulated a plan B and set off to the nearby Sugnall Walled Garden which is always a delight to visit. The in-car SatNav took us on a rather circuitous route but we got there eventually.
By the time we got there it was time for afternoon refreshments, we couldn’t resist the temptation of a ‘Naughty Cake’. Whilst we were waiting for the ladies to come back from delivering afternoon teas to a party in a garden room we got chatting to a regular visitor of the tea room. As we couldn’t decide on which cake to choose she suggested that we had two different ones and share them. We agreed this was a good idea and chose ‘ginger and rhubarb’ and ‘rosewater and pistachio’. The cake slices were split into two pieces and we were served our own individual portions. After the saga of our days adventure I wasn’t quite relaxed enough to remember to photograph the cake!
Naughty Cake consumed I enjoyed a walk around the walled garden whilst Mr C sat and kept tabs on what was happening in the Grand Prix. The garden was lush with vibrant green colours interspersed with the occasional flower. On the way back to the car I was treated with the unexpected delight of fluffy Moorhen chicks walking close to me.
2 Comments CherryPie on May 30th 2022
The first time it was warm enough to dine out at Chez Nous Mr C seized the opportunity for his first barbeque of the year. I took the photo before some chicken pieces were added.
After dining we lingered a while, the warmth of the burning embers taking the chill of the evening air.
4 Comments CherryPie on May 30th 2022
My medal for completing the first stage of my Lord of the Rings challenge has arrived. I promise to try to keep the ring secret and safe until I can throw it into the fires of Mount Doom. I am making good progress on the next stage of my journey which takes me to the Doors of Durin.
In other news I have completed my walking challenge of 100 miles for May’s National Walking month. My June challenge is step based and to achieve this challenge goal I will have to increase my average daily mileage by 0.75 miles.
Wish my luck 
2 Comments CherryPie on May 27th 2022
