Berkeley Castle is a beautiful and historic Castle, begun in 1154 and still the home of the Berkeley family. It is a great day-out for all the family, hosting special events during school holidays and throughout the year. Awarded TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence for the last five years.

The Castle, which dominates the Vale of Berkeley, is steeped in over 860 years of British history. It is best known as the scene of the brutal murder of Edward II in 1327 and for being besieged by Parliamentary troops in 1645. Over 24 generations of Berkeley’s have gradually transformed a Norman fortress into the lovely family home it is today.

The state apartments contain magnificent collections of furniture, rare paintings and English and continental tapestries. Some of the world famous Berkeley silver is on display in the Dining Room and many other rooms including the Great Hall, the Morning Room (the former mediaeval chapel, with its unique painted ceiling) and the kitchens are available to view.

The Castle is surrounded by lovely terraced gardens with flower borders, a lily pond, Elizabeth I’s bowling green and sweeping lawns. From May-September, the visit also includes the tropical Butterfly House in the Walled Garden, which is a tranquil environment for over twenty-five different species of tropical butterflies. Garden enthusiasts can enjoy a stunning display of roses and many rare plants and flowers in Berkeley Castle’s magnificent terraced gardens

Garden photos coming soon…

The following video covering the history of the house and estate is well worth a watch.

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Stretching across the River Severn, the world’s first iron bridge is one of the greatest symbols of the Industrial Revolution. But the Iron Bridge is now suffering from cracking and in need of repair.

To save the bridge for generations to come, English Heritage is embarking on its largest conservation project to date.

Each generation has done their bit to look after the Iron Bridge and now it’s our turn.

We are now undertaking a major conservation project on the Iron Bridge. The bridge is suffering due to stresses in its ironwork, and the project is vital to preserving it for the future. It’s going to take £3.6 million to carry out this work and will be the largest conservation project in our history.

As part of our project to save this historic structure, we’ve installed a temporary walkway beside the Iron Bridge. This gives visitors a special chance to learn more about the works and witness the conservation in action.

Walk alongside the bridge and read displays about the expert techniques being used. Windows and portholes give a unique perspective of the works taking place, with staff and volunteers on hand to give more information.

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Kilver Courts three and a half acre gardens were created at the beginning of the 1900’s by then owner Ernest Jardine (1859 – 1947). A progressive industrialist, Jardine ran a lace-making factory on the Kilver Court site and created the gardens as a recreational space for his employees. Jardine’s ‘model factory’ became known as ‘Jardines Park’ and were used as a place of recreation and relaxation for the busy, factory workforce.

By 1907, Jardine had employed 128 people and produced machinery for his lace-making business. The mill became a real community, with Ernest providing recreation rooms for his workers, as well as introducing a pub, the Ship Inn, to the site and even a schoolhouse for the workers’ children to attend. The old school house is today recognisable as the Mulberry Factory Outlet shop. At the back of the factory, Jardine restored the existing mill pond, transforming it into an ornamental lake with a small rowing boat for the employees. Fruit and vegetables were grown to provide lunchtime meals and allotments were created to encourage workers to grow their own food.

The Showering family have made cider in Shepton Mallet for over 200 years, and set up their first brewery at the former Ship Inn which sits at the front of the Kilver Court site. Part of the original brewery in Kilver Street still remains and is used for cider making. The Great Grandfather of the present Showering generation acquired the land on Kilver Street in 1843 and Francis Showering joined the family business in 1929, producing the experimental drink ‘Babycham’ in 1947

The success of the new drink prompted massive expansion and Showering’s acquired the Kilver Court buildings that sat alongside the River Sheppey to have as a production site.

Jardine’s Park and mill, which were lying empty, were obtained during further expansion in the late 1950’s. Francis Showering oversaw the landscaping of the gardens and in 1961 based his designs on the Chelsea Flower Show gold medal winning garden by Mr Whiteleg – who came himself to oversee the project.

Our rockery is based on the Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal winning rockery by George Whitelegg is a bold and modern design statement. It is a mature rockery built using sandstone boulders from the Forest of Dean to edge a man-made stream and waterfall.

Conifers provide the larger geometric blocks, featuring Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Filifera Aurea’, mid-green Picea abies ‘Albertiana Conica’ and the golden columns of Taxus baccata ‘Standishii’. Japanese acers show seasonal variation from delicate spring greens to deep autumnal rusts and purples (look out for the burgundy-leafed palmatum dissectum).

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I have just come inside from watching the stars and planets twinkling and rotating above my garden. The heavenly bodies were accompanied by a bat flitting about catching insects in the twilight. It was a perfect end to a perfect day.

It was Mr C’s birthday and we spent the day at Chester Zoo. The weather was perfect (glorious sunshine) which meant that some of the animals were more sensible that us humans, they were hiding in the shady parts of their domain. One of the animals that I was privileged to see was a newly born Zebra foal. I had no idea it was so young and wondered why there was a camera crew in front of the enclosure as we wandered past. Then Mr C overheard a comment about the lovely young Zebra being one day old.

After our day out we considered stopping off for dinner on the way home but dismissed that thought and decided ‘fine dining’ on the patio would be a more enjoyable option. It led to planets, stars and the occasional bat

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This morning I awoke to a particularly bright and sunny morning. Today was an auspicious day with the Spring Equinox coinciding with a partial Solar Eclipse. The sun was diffused by clouds giving it a pale yellow glow but the moon however was nowhere to be seen. The absence of the illusive moon led me to notice  ’my oak tree’ catching the morning sunlight so I took a photo.

I made my way to work and soon after I arrived the daylight dimmed and briefly took on a strange greenish tinge. After this brief interlude the light returned to the more sunny outlook that it had been on my short walk to the office. As to the Eclipse, a small sliver of moon was reported to have passed in front of the sun.

I was reminded of the Solar Eclipse of 11th August 1999. At the time I was working on the third floor of a building that had building wide glass windows. From my desk I was able to watch the sun and moon travelling towards each other. As the time of the eclipse approached I went outside to witness the eerie experience of totality as the moon passes in front of the sun causing the sun’s light to momentarily be erased from the sky.

New Scientist provides us with some interesting snippets regarding today’s partial eclipse.

It’s the first one since 1662 to coincide with the spring equinox. Another unusual feature is that it will beat a path over the Arctic, ending at the North Pole. A further coincidence is that the eclipse will come just a day after a lunar perigee, a point in the moon’s elliptical orbit when it swings closest to Earth and so appears larger than usual.

Coincidentally, a huge solar storm erupted on Tuesday this week and this could affect the eclipse. Researchers in Potsdam, Germany, will be watching closely to see if flares from the storm disrupt the geomagnetic signature of the eclipse, and checking the impact of the eclipse on space weather. There could, with luck, also be an aurora borealis at the same time, although such a coincidence has never been documented before. Eclipses also have a weird effect on gravity .

Footage from BBC News

Sheep may safely graze and pasture
In a watchful Shepherd’s sight.
Those who rule with wisdom guiding
Bring to hearts a peace abiding
Bless a land with joy made bright.

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Black triangle
Pink triangle
Green triangle
Red triangle
Blue triangle
Lilac triangle

And they wore the yellow triangle

When first they came for the criminals I did not speak
Then they began to take the jews
When they fetched the people who were members of trade unions
I did not speak

They took away the Bible students
Rounded up the the homosexuals
Then they gathered up the immigrants and the gypsies

I did not speak

I did not speak

Eventually they came for me but there was no one left to speak

Black triangle
Pink triangle
Green triangle
Red triangle
Blue triangle
Lilac triangle

And they wore the yellow triangle
And they wore the yellow triangle
And they wore the yellow triangle

I did not speak