Thursday – Home – The courgette bed needs weeding. The centre has been covered all winter by black membrane but various plants, including a lot of Forget-me-nots have grown around the edge along with Couch Grass. The soil is full of the runners from the grass, an impossibility to remove completely (as all the gardening experts airily say) but I get out as much as I can. Three cloches are placed on the bed and the one courgette seedling large enough is planted. More courgette seed has been purchased as the first sowing was poor. Some aubergine seed has also been sown. A few purple sprouting seedlings remained from the planting out and these are used to fill in the gaps where the first ones did not make it. Tomatoes in the greenhouse already need side shoots pinching out. The outdoor ones really need to go out soon, but who can trust our weather?
The resident Robin must think it is its birthday (which I suppose it may be) as there are plenty of worms exposed by the weeding and it certainly is not going to wait for me to get out of the way before it dashes in for its prize. The Chiffchaff is still calling a few gardens away. Three Blackbirds are on a nearby roof ridge.
Friday – Culmington – A village on the south-east side of Corvedale. Originally the three manors of Sireton, now Serifton, Comitome, now Culmington and Elsich were held by by the Saxon border Thane Edric the Wild. After the Conquest, they were passed to Roger of Montgomery. 12 villagers were recorded in the parish, with a total of 4 slaves. The Black Death of 1348 killed three successive parish rectors. In 1770 the Earl of Stafford owned the estate of Comitome. The estates of Comitome and Sirefton were sold to Gideon Bickerdike who left the estates to his nephew Benjamin Flounders who in 1838 during recession, built a tower at the conjunction of the four estates. It was hoped this would provide employment to the people.
The sky is grey again and there is rain in the air. Into the village following a somewhat extended drive due to road closures. The village lays around a square of streets off the B4365. The back street of the village is lined with houses and barn conversions. Culmington Court, which had been greatly extended, Dickens Cottage and the early 17th century Tudor Lodge. House Sparrows chatter noisily in hedges. A large 17th to 19th century barn at the road junction is being held up by steel jacks. Behind it, new houses are being built. Opposite is the large mid 19th century Culmington farmhouse with a long extension at the rear. A short track leads to All Saints church.
The building is Anglo-Saxon in origin with herringbone work on the nave walls. The rest of the building is 13th and 14th century. The west tower has a truncated conical broach spire with a 20th century aluminium superstructure. There is a ring of three 17th century bells made by the Shropshire bell-founder Thomas Clibury of Wellington. The entrance is through the tower where a font stands. A hatchment is over the door to the nave. Another, Norman font, originally in Burwarton old church, is in the nave. Iron rods with a screw device stretch between the nave walls. Large retaining flanges are on the outside walls. Organ pipes are high above the nave door. Fragmentary wall-paintings are in the nave walls, parts of the Ten Commandments. In the chancel is a tablet to Ralph and Margaret Greaves, from 1638. An empty 14th century canopy with ballflower decoration and figure-head corbels is in the south wall. The east window dates to about 1865.
In the churchyard, a headstone commemorates Robert Williams MA 1810-1881; Rector of Culmington, 1879-1881. He was author of the Lexicum Cornu-Britannicum, a dictionary of the ancient Celtic language of Cornwall and other books. The inscription is in Welsh. Also here is the tomb of Colonel Henry Swinnerton Dyer. He fought in Crimea and was leader of the employers in the lock-out and strike in the British engineering industry, which took place between July 1897 and January 1898, one of the most
bitter and protracted labour disputes of the 1890s. He was married to Amelia Susan Ward, daughter of John Ward and Henrietta Lister-Kaye.
Ravens are calling to each other around the churchyard. The River Corve flows on the other side of the churchyard wall. To the north-east is a motte and bailey, although little now shows on the ground. Culmington House stands on the edge of the village. It is early 18th century with 19th century additions and has been used as a school. The Ravens, four of them, fly around. Back along the back road and down past modern houses towards the main road. A terrace of Victorian houses is in red brick with black brick decoration. Greenfinch, Song Thrush, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Robin and Blackbird are all in song. Half a dozen Goldfinches fly up from a patch of rough ground. They are joined by a Wren. Carrion Crows bark nearby. At the junction with the main road are the former pub, The Royal Oak, and a blacksmiths, both now residences.
Sunday – Humber – Thirty Jackdaws are on the top of the Ash Tree in the garden. Off to Humber for the first round of the annual BTO Breeding Bird Survey. The sky is clear but the drive to Humber is through patches of mist. To the east are lines of pink and grey as the sunlight seeps through the thin cloud.
A good number of Skylarks are singing and there a lot of Blackbirds in the Steens Bridge Lane but only a couple of Whitethroats. A field at Hill Top Farm has cows and calves noisily chomping the grass. A Stock Dove is on a barn roof. Towards Humber over the Humber Brook. Greater Stitchwort, Red Campion and Dandelions flower beside the lane. Again, the bird life is sparse.
Leominster – Down to the railway bridge. Wood Pigeons and Jackdaws call. The Chiffchaff calls from the woods. A Wren bursts into song from the White Lion garden. A Song Thrush sings by the river. The water level in the River Lugg has remained the same as the last couple of weeks. Everything is temporary drowned out by the sound of screaming motorcycle engines has bikes race up the bypass. A Small White butterfly flits across Easters Meadow. A Skylark is singing above the fields on the other side of the bypass. Garlic mustard forms a wall of green and white with details of pink from Red Campion down the top of their river bank. The water level in Cheaton Brook has fallen but the water remains grey and muddy.
The market is larger this week but still not full. Plant sellers are beginning to turn up but the majority of the stalls are still cheap junk. The red Horse Chestnut is in flower either side of the Lugg at Ridgemore Bridge. Flowers are a beautiful cerise with yellow centres.
Along Paradise Walk to the Priory Bridge. The water level in the River Kenwater has also fallen and it is becoming clearer. The rides, trailers and lorries, along with caravans are in the car park. It is always a source of wonderment that last night Broad Street and Corn Square were full of noise, lights and people enjoying the May fair and now, this morning, the roads are empty.
Home – Despite putting rings of yoghourt pot plastic around the newly sown lettuces, some have still been eaten. Some more lettuces, Meschler, an Austrian variety dating from the 1700s, are sown. A row of cabbage seedlings, Webbs Kinver Globe, are planted out. Then I attack the Stinging Nettles under the greengage. The dead Jumbo apple sapling is removed. It is clear its roots did not develop, hence its demise.
Monday – Home – Stinging Nettle clearing continues in warm sunshine. Suddenly, the sound of summer as Swifts scream as they scythe through the air high above. A short time later a Red Kite slowly moves through in circles seemingly oblivious of the attentions of gulls. A few Romana lettuce seedlings are planted out into the places where slugs have devoured the first sowing. A tray of spinach, Emilia and Virginia, and some Pak Choi are sown. The sky clouds over in the afternoon as the atmosphere changes.
Thursday Home For the past two days I have been removing Ivy from the back wall. It is a filthy job with large tangled masses of dead stalks coming off the wall, then the living stalks being hauled down. I will have to go to the path over the back to get some of it off the top of the wall.
The potato and broad bean plants are looking good. Yesterday, the grass was mown and a lot of the cuttings were put on the potatoes. A wheelbarrow load of compost is added to them. The sun is shining brightly and it is getting hot too hot for the hanging baskets of tomatoes in the cold frame which are drooping. However, a good watering revives then quickly and they are hung on the hangers on the patio. One of the vines here has died and was cut down yesterday, the other is sending out numerous shoots. Broad beans are coming into flower.
Water Crowfoot is flowering in the pond. I have netted out some of the Duckweed but it soon returns. There were plenty of invertebrates but no tadpoles in the net. A piece of Song Thrush egg has appeared on the stump by the mound. Hopefully, this is because it has hatched and not the remains of a predator’s dinner.
Friday – Docklow – A quick visit to St Bartholomew’s church in Docklow. The Oak trees in the churchyard glow emerald with new leaves. Last time here the church was locked but now I can enter. A marble plaque by the tower arch records the Vicar, Henry Cooper and the Churchwarden Robert Heygate in post when Thomas Nicholson carried out the 1880 restoration. Above it is a plaque recording in 1720 an “augment of £400, £200” from the “bounty of Queen Anne”, the rest from the earl of Coningsby. Another remembers Arthur Evans of Buckland, “Commander and Supercargo” in the service of the “Honourable East India Company”, who died in 1775, aged only 52. His wife Mary died at the age of 63, the Revd George Evans who died in 1816 aged 61 and Sarah, died in 1776 aged 76 and Arthur-Henry who died in the East Indies at an unknown date or age. It also records there were three other children who died in infancy. Another plaque is a memorial to the above Robert Heygate, recording he was a Captain in the Royal West Kent Regiment, a Deputy Lieutenant and JP of Herefordshire dying in 1922, at the age of 64, born on Michaelmas Day, dying on Boxing Day. The east window has stained glass by W Done of Done and Davies, of Shrewsbury, dated 1880. The font is 19th century.
Brockhampton – Another revisit. The chapel stands on the edge of the valley in which the old manor house of Brockhampton stands. A seat gives a chance to just sit and look out over the countryside. Fields are surrounded by woodland. Blackbird, Blackcap, Wren and Chiffchaff are all in song. Jackdaws search the grassy slope. A white butterfly crosses the grass far down the hillside.
The chapel has a circular wall. Great Beech trees stand beside it. An old forged gate with a levered latch leads into the churchyard. The chapel was built in 1799 by George Byfield, with glass by William Eginton. The sanctuary was altered 1888-91 with reredos and glass by Powell’s. The building is locked.
Thornbury – A scattered village in the Frome valley. Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, who was beheaded in 1601, and Roger Mortimer, the last earl of March, were born in the manor. In Domesday the main manor of Thornbury was held by Siward in 1066 and by Alvred d’Epaignes in 1086. It was assessed at 6 hides. Alvred also held 1 hide that had been 3 manors in 1066, held by Leofric, Lyfing and Earnwig in 1066, but was waste in 1086.
The church of St Anna stands on a hill above a valley carrying one of the many tributaries of the River Frome. The far side of the valley rises up to Wall Hills Iron Age hill-fort. The building is on a Saxon site. It is 13th century with a massive tower with its narrow slit openings. A side aisle was used as a Lady Chapel. During the 16th century, following the Reformation, masses for the dead were no longer approved and the Lady Chapel was demolished. There was an extensive restoration in 1886 by F R Kempson. The chancel was rebuilt, under-floor heating was installed and a complete refurbishment took place. A new south porch and an oak shingled spire were also added. The spire caused the tower to bow and was removed in 1950 and replaced with a pyramid roof. In 1912, the small Nicholson pipe organ was donated and in 1926 the St Anna stained glass was installed. On the wall are four panels on which are written the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments and a prayer. On either side of the panels and along top of the walls are shields of various families. The font is decorated with a row of nested lozenges encircling it at the top, with framing rolls above and below. There are three bells: 1st, inscribed Sanctu. Mecahel ora pro nobis; 2nd, inscribed Sancta Anna par [ora] pro nobis; 3rd, inscribed Sanct Mecahel ora pro nobis, all in Lombardic capitals and late 14th or early 15th century, probably from the Worcester foundry. It is recorded that cannon balls have been dug out of the walls, after bombardment by Parliamentarians on their way to besiege Hereford in the Civil War.
Next to the church is Church House, an 18th century three storey building. Two towering Wellingtonias rise in front of house. In the lane leading to the church is the 19th century rectory.
Sunday – Leominster – Up at dawn and off up the Ludlow Road where I pick up some bags of horse manure. Jackdaws and Wood Pigeons strut about the roads seeking morsels to eat, flying off at the last moment. There have been displays of the Northern Lights over the last couple of nights, but of course I missed them, the first night I slept through it and the second night it was overcast. This morning there is a little fair weather cloud but otherwise the sky is blue. Across the Grange, down the churchyard and into the Millennium Park. There is a dawn chorus but to my ears it has diminished compared with a decade ago. Some Ransom leaves are gathered, they are coming to the end of their season.
Somewhat later it is off down the street to the railway bridge. Wrens, Robins and a Chiffchaff are in song. The water level in the River Lugg continues to fall and the water is getting clearer. Through Easters Meadow. A Song Thrush sings in the hedge by the bypass. A pair of motorised hang gliders pass over. Field Buttercups flower all over the meadow. A Small White butterfly flits across Stinging Nettles. Rich pink Red Campion grows in clumps. White plates of Hogweed flowers stand above the docks. A tall Black Poplar, festooned with balls of mistletoe, is one of the last trees to come into leaf. Ladies’ Smock flowers along the fence of Brightwells’ compound. Nearly all the cars have gone from the compound leaving just four of the desert army trucks, a long row of ambulances and the dust carts. A Chaffinch sings by Cheaton Brook.
The market is busy although not a large as it was on occasions last year. I purchase some bedding plants but nothing else.
Home – Two bags of the manure go into the compost bins, the other two will be dug into the sites for more courgettes. The last of the Ivy pulled off the back wall is bagged except for two large tangles which will either be left to rot or taken separately to the tip. Seven cucumber seedlings are potted on. Pots of aubergines in the bathroom have sprouted. The first three courgettes have been planted out and look good. Likewise, two rows of lettuces are coming on well. There are lots of flowers on the broad beans and some appearing on the peas.
Monday – Leominster – A thunderstorm passed last afternoon moving northwards up the country. There was a little rain but nothing as much as we would have liked. This morning the weather is very different to the last few days; the sky is overcast, there is a cool wind and a distinct freshness about the air. Along Worcester Road. Hedge mustard is in flower. Blackbirds squabble in a tree. There seem to be large lorries everywhere. One continental lorry is reversing into a loading bay barely wider than the trailer. I am always amazed at the skill of these drivers.
Along Southern Avenue. In the John Deere dealership there are the usual green John Deere tractors and equipment but also a good deal of machinery by manufacturers I have never heard of. Into Hereford Road then up the foot path to Cockcroft Lane. A field of cereal is spotted yellow with rogue oilseed rape. The same cereal crop on the other side of the path is almost completely free of the oil seed rape. The fields to the west of Cockcroft Lane are furrowed for potatoes. More fields are ploughed like this across the Arrow valley. A tractor is muck spreading across a meadow by Passa Lane.
Into Ryelands Road. Gulls drift on the wind. Above then Swifts sweep through the air.
Thursday – Cregina – We have a mini tour of mid-Wales starting at Cregina, a tiny village on the Afon Edw. The name has been recorded as Kerig rhyna. In the village is a mid 19th house originally known as Front House, and first shown on the 1889 Ordnance Survey. In 1908 it was bought for £50 by a Mr Morris for use as a Methodist Mission Room, which lasted until 1966 when it became a non-denominational mission room. The church of St David stands above the Afon Edw. A roughly circular wall runs around three sides with the fourth side dropping steeply down to the river. St David’s church was mentioned in a 1291 document detailing church taxation. The building is 13th century. It was badly restored in 1903 and repaired in 1958 by G Pace, architect, who rendered the exterior. A simple Norman tub font suggests an early medieval date. It is rather crudely carved without any decoration on the exterior of the bowl. The wooden chancel screen is late medieval. Sources refer to wall inscriptions by we fail to discern them. All walls, inside and out are white-washed. The roof is 15th century. A pretty harmonium stands in the nave but an electric organ is in the chancel. A number of chest tombs are in the graveyard but the damp air has eroded the carved inscriptions and covered them in mosses.
We move on and fail to find the church at Rhulen which I visited in February 2015. On down the Edw valley stopping at a pleasant riverside spot. The rocks in the river, Silurian mudstones formed between 443.8 million and 419.2 million years ago, have sheared so neatly one would think them machined. On through Aberedw and down the Wye valley. We the stop at Erwood station, a café and craft centre. The station stood on the Llanidloes to Brecon Mid Wales Railway line, opening in 1864. The last train was in December 1962. A Fowler 0-4-0 diesel shunter, built in Leeds in 1939, stands outside. Whilst we have a snack, a Nuthatch is vigorously attacking a fat ball.
Llansteffan - The church of Ysteffan stands in splendid isolation above the Wye valley. Its views of the valley and Black Mountains is stunning. The nave is 13th century and the chancel 14th. The large, squat tower is also probably from the 14th century. The chancel roof is a fine unceiled wagon roof. The interior was restored by Thomas Nicholson in 1867. He removed a fine rood screen and rebuilt the chancel arch. By the altar is a good reproduction on panel of Gentile da Fabriano’s Adoration retable, complete with triple floriated gabled frame and vignettes in the predella, given by Revd Morgan, vicar, in memory of his son killed in the Great War. In the churchyard is a spring in a stone setting. It is disputed as to whether or not it is a holy well. A sundial stands in far south-eastern corner of churchyard set in concrete on octagonal stem. It was made in 1795 in Birmingham. The grave of David Powell (who has a monument in the church) has a double headstone, one with his inscription, the other depicting a grieving woman.
Friday – Leominster – A cool, damp, overcast morning. Into the Millennium orchard. The cider apple trees have finished their blossom. The Michelin, Tom Putt, Herefordshire Redstreak and Genet Moyle all have tiny fruits. Elderflowers and Guelder Rose are coming into blossom. Hawthorn flowering has finished. Carrion Crows caw, Blue Tits squeak and Wood Pigeons hoot. A Wren, Blackbird and Blackcap sing. Gnats dance in the air. A chipping Great Spotted Woodpecker flies past.
The River Kenwater is flowing steadily. Into the churchyard. Chiffchaff, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Wood Pigeon, Blackcap and Robin are all heard. Then a Spotted Flycatcher which takes some locating. Long-tailed Tits flit past. Swifts are high overhead.
Home – Dwarf French beans are planted out. The fruit tree area is strimmed. The Forget-me-nots and Green Alkenet seem to suppressing the Ground Ivy.
Saturday – Home – Blackbirds have discovered the window feeder by the back door and are scarfing down the grain. A Starling lands on the nearby wall, an unusual occurrence as, for some reason, Starlings are rarely seen here these days. This causes great consternation to the House Sparrows who shout at it and flutter around until it departs.
Much time is spent weeding; the weeds grow faster and stronger than the vegetables. Three tomatoes are planted out beside the fruit cage. They are seldom very successful here as blight gets them before they ripen. The potatoes are earthed up. A Goldcrest appears above my head as I clear Ivy and Brambles by the Yew tree in the southern half of the garden. A small, spotted Robin fledgling hops down the path. The local Chiffchaff continues to call. Male Blackbirds sing and squabble.
In the late afternoon, two thunderstorms roll through. The first is prolonged but brings only a splatter of rain, the second shorter and this time there is a still brief but torrential downpour.
Sunday – Leominster – The morning sky is cloudless and the sun is already high and blazing. House Sparrows chatter, Jackdaws chack. The occasional gull flies over. A section of the road has been closed completely without any explanation other than the signs are from the water company. Certainly is nobody working here and no sign of any works having been undertaken. It looks like this may cause some confusion as this is a busy road indeed it was the old A44. Swifts scream overhead. The water level in the River Lugg is unchanged from last week; it is still not at its lowest but fairly shallow. Onto Easters Meadow. Stands of Meadow Buttercups are brightly yellow, Hogweed is growing tall and large discs of white umbels are opening. Patches of pink Red Campion are along the top of the river bank. The grass is saturated with dew. A Blackcap sings from a tall Hawthorn whose flowers are fading. Two long rows of supermarket lorry trailers have arrived in Brightwells’ compound. A Beautiful Demoiselle, a male with black wings and a metallic blue body, flutters over a bed of Stinging Nettles.
The market is large and very busy. The plant merchants do not have the surfinias we want, but I do get a couple of balls of garden twine. Back along Mill Street to Paradise Walk. Water level in the River Kenwater remains low. A thick swarm of flies sweep up and down across the surface.
Home – Yet more weeding. The volunteer potato plants on the bean bed are dug out producing a decent enough crop. Canes are set up for climbing beans. The root crop bed is hoed – again. The first sowing here failed completely, so the second was in trays in the greenhouse. The seedlings are not quite big enough yet to plant out. Three more courgette plants are put into the bed by the chicken run. Lettuces are progressing rapidly, we have some beautiful Lollo Rosso, a red lettuce and the later sown Romano are coming on well. Last year’s chard is bolting but there will be a few more weeks worth of leaves to harvest. In the greenhouse, some of the tomatoes already need tying to their supports.
Friday – Howey-Pontnewydd-ar-Wy – Fine drizzle falls from a grey sky. Down to the main road from a small modern estate on the edge of the village. A Blackbird sings and House Sparrows chirrup. Along the road. A short detour into the lane that leads to Howey Hall, a late Georgian villa. The road passes over the Heart of Wales railway line. Back to the main road. The roadside bank is dotted with Wild strawberries, Herb Robert, Garlic Mustard, Tufted Vetch and Lesser Stitchwort.
Modern houses stand at the southern end of Howey at Crossways. Goldfinches chase at the top of pollarded Oaks. A lane leads towards Pontnewydd-ar-Wy, Newbridge-on-Wye. A single carriage train passes. A Blackcap and Chiffchaff sing by the railway bridge. A field is full of sheep and lambs but others are empty. A Red Kite glides over. Rowan trees are in flower. Several houses constitute Newcastle which stands on the Roman road from Castell Collen near Llandrindod Wells down towards Brecon. Across the fields is the gap between Dol-y-Fan and Drum Ddu hills where the River Wye passes through. A Robin sings in a battered Larch. An early Dog Rose flower is a bright pink on the middle of the hedgerow.
The road descends steeply into the valley of the Afon Ieithon, River Ithon. On a tongue of land formed by the river is Disserth and St Cewydd’s church. The church is surrounded by static caravans. There are a couple of houses of possible 17th century build. The name Disserth seems to have derived from the Latin desertum meaning a deserted, wild place. It often was applied to a saint’s retreat or hermit’s cell. The absence of a village as such is not unusual, the church would have served a diffused population of farmers etc. However, there is a reference from 1721 to a “great fire” in Disserth with many suffering, so a village may have existed but been destroyed.
The church is a strange looking building, a long, low, white-washed building with an incongruous large stone tower attached. The two have no empathy with each other. The main body of the church is a nave and chancel. The south door is mediaeval, probably 14th century. The chancel has a 16th century window and an 18th century east window. The north window is thought to have been rebuilt in the 18th century. There are faded wall paintings. On the north wall of the nave is the Queen Anne Royal Arms. On the south wall is part of a plaster frame. In the chancel on the east wall is earlier stencilled fleur-de-lis, IHS monograms, a banner with chevrons and a fragment of a plant, probably a lily. The pews are all boxed and include a box either side of the altar. Names are stencilled on many of the box doors. These include the inscriptions, “T Williams Penrhew 1808”, “LCI 1708”, and “LP 1710” “In the Year of Our Lord God 1666” in raised letters over lozenge panels, and “EP 1714 IW”. A pew by the altar has “IG 1687” in raised letters, and may be contemporary with the pulpit, which bears the same monogram. A panelled polygonal pulpit stands by the south wall, inscribed “IG” in its door. Beside it is a later reading desk, which has a door inscribed “EE 1706” and a panelled front with round-headed patterned arches in low relief. The nave has a 5-bay arched-brace roof with tie beams and 2 tiers of cusped windbracing. A ceiling was removed in the 20th century. The octagonal font is mediaeval but has been remodelled. It sits on a squat base, making it rather low. There was a 15th century rood-screen but this was destroyed in the Reformation. There are three bells including one of about 1300 inscribed “JOHANNES”. The bells are not rung as two are cracked.
The churchyard has both old and new graves. Many of the older ones have illegible headstones. One is fenced in iron railings, the grave of Thomas Thomas, the rector in 1822. Swallows seek insects overhead. A Blackbird is in good voice along with several Chaffinches.
A short distance along the road is a bridge over the Afon Ieithon, which is a substantial river here. A large amount of debris had built up below, caused by large trees in the river. Noisy Canada Geese fly over before joining two others on the water. The Heart of Wales Trail crosses a field of buttercups. The path follows the river through Berth-Lŵyd wood before climbing up out of the valley. Cuckoo spit is on some grasses. Out onto fields of sheep and lambs. Across a lush green field to a strip of woodland beside a stone filled stream. It is noticeable that only Field Buttercups, Dock and Ladies Smock flowers in the grass and the meadow appears to be largely insect free. The next field, however, does have Rattle and Red Clover.
The trail meets the B4358 as it enters Pontnewydd-ar-Wy. A pair of Red Kites are acrobatically duelling just a few feet over the houses. Village stands on the old drovers trail and it is recorded there were at least a dozen public houses in the village now just two are trading. An old barn has been converted into a house. Behind it is a recreation ground. Behind a fence are long raised beds. Most have been cultivated, a couple are still covered in weeds. A path leads past an antique shop with a lot of brown furniture at unrealistic prices. The path comes to the A470. Opposite is the church of All Saints. Built in 1883 by S.W. Williams, architect of Rhayader, at a cost of over £4600. The contractor was Bowers and Mansfield of Hereford. The patrons were the Venables family of Llysdinam, on the Breconshire side of the River Wye near Newbridge. Interior carvings, and the pulpit and font are by Clarke of Hereford. A Geometrical style parish church. It is locked.
Across the road is a short terrace of Victorian houses. The Crown Hotel, Commercial and Temperance, still has a glass and iron canopy over the door. It now seems to be a private dwelling. The New Inn appears to be a pub still but is closed. Past a milestone. A path heads down near a stream, Dwfnant, passing under a railway bridge. The railway and station closed in 1964 and the site has been demolished and cleared. A track leads down to the Afon Gwy, the River Wye. A short way upstream is the modern road bridge. Back to the main road. The Golden Lion was built in the second half of the 19th century.
I decide to return by the same route. An Oak tree has a column of bright orange fungi, Sulphur Polypore, growing where a limb has been removed some time ago. Goldfinches sing in old Hawthorns. The steps back down to Disserth are a bit of a strain on my knees and the walk back to Howey finishes me off! Route
Sunday – Leominster – Rain fell heavily overnight and the sky is still grey with threatening clouds. Down the street to the sound of Wood Pigeons and Jackdaws. More trees beside the railway track have been severely pollarded. A rabbit bounces across the rails. A Chiffchaff calls from the woods. Despite the rain the water level in the River Lugg has fallen slightly. British White cattle are back on Lammas Meadow. A Song Thrush sings from one of the Black Poplars. Easters Meadow has numerous tall white heads of Hogweed. Plantains are in flower. The sun makes a brief appearance. An Amber Snail, Succinea putris climbs a Field Buttercup. Several Wrens sing loudly, a Chaffinch and Blackcap join in. Dog Roses flower on tall briars. Not much had changed in the Brightwell’s compound apart from the arrival of a Standard Ten car which must be over 60 years old as production ceased in 1961. A large bank of brambles is flowering profusely. The rain has had an effect on Cheaton Brook which is deeper and flowing vigorously.
Unsurprisingly given the weather the market is small. I see a stall advertising trays of leek seedlings. Mine have not done well this year so I think I will get some as an insurance but “No, we’ve sold out”. I then go to another stall. “Have you got any marigolds?” “Yes, I think there are some on the van.” Some time later, “Sorry can’t find them, maybe he didn’t put them on”. Not my day!
Along Paradise Walk. The edges have been strimmed so all the Dandelions are gone – not the chickens’ day either. The water level in the Kenwater has risen. The sky is getting darker. Bell practice starts at the Priory. A tour bus for the Watoto Children’s Choir stands in Bridge Street car park.
Home – The garden is, of course, saturated. A short row of “RZ” beetroots and a row of “Best of All” swedes are sown. It is the first time I have tried to grow the latter. A fledgling Robin looks on in interest. A couple of the climbing beans planted out already need tying to their poles. All but one of the courgettes are looking good, but I have sown a couple more for insurance. Aubergine seedlings are planted on and more runner beans and dwarf beans are sown. As I am doing this task in the shed, a thunderstorm passes over with one enormous clap directly overhead. Rain pours down. At least by putting the newly filled pots out in the deluge saves watering.
junction is being held up by steel jacks. Behind it, new houses are being built. Opposite is the large mid 19th century Culmington farmhouse with a long extension at the rear. A short track leads to All Saints church.
retaining flanges are on the outside walls. Organ pipes are high above the nave door. Fragmentary wall-paintings are in the nave walls, parts of the Ten Commandments. In the chancel is a tablet to Ralph and Margaret Greaves, from 1638. 
An empty 14th century canopy with ballflower decoration and figure-head corbels is in the south wall. The east window dates to about 1865.
Above it is a plaque recording in 1720 an “augment of £400, £200” from the “bounty of Queen Anne”, the rest from the earl of Coningsby. Another remembers Arthur Evans of Buckland, “Commander and Supercargo” in the service of the “Honourable East India Company”, who died in 1775, aged only 52. His wife Mary died at the age of 63, the Revd George Evans who died in 1816 aged 61 and Sarah, died in 1776 aged 76 and Arthur-Henry who died in the East Indies at an unknown date or age. It also records there were three other children who died in infancy. Another plaque is a memorial to the above Robert Heygate, recording he was a Captain in the Royal West Kent Regiment, a Deputy Lieutenant and JP of Herefordshire dying in 1922, at the age of 64, born on Michaelmas Day, dying on Boxing Day. The east window has stained glass by W Done of Done and Davies, of Shrewsbury, dated 1880. The font is 19th century.
was used as a Lady Chapel. During the 16th century, following the Reformation, masses for the dead were no longer approved and the Lady Chapel was demolished. There was an extensive restoration in 1886 by F R Kempson. The chancel was rebuilt, under-floor heating was installed and a complete refurbishment took place. A new south porch and an oak shingled spire were also added. The spire caused the 
tower to bow and was removed in 1950 and replaced with a pyramid roof. In 1912, the small Nicholson pipe organ was donated and in 1926 the St Anna stained glass was installed. On the wall are four panels on which are written the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments and a prayer. On either side of the panels and along top of the walls are shields of various families. The font is decorated with a row of nested lozenges encircling it at the top, with framing rolls above and below. There are three bells: 1st, inscribed Sanctu. Mecahel ora pro nobis; 2nd, inscribed Sancta Anna par [ora] pro nobis; 3rd, inscribed Sanct Mecahel ora pro nobis, all in Lombardic capitals and late 14th or early 15th century, probably from the Worcester foundry. It is recorded that cannon balls have been dug out of the walls, after bombardment by Parliamentarians on their way to besiege Hereford in the Civil War. 
and a distinct freshness about the air. Along Worcester Road. Hedge mustard is in flower. Blackbirds squabble in a tree. There seem to be large lorries everywhere. One continental lorry is reversing into a loading bay barely wider than the trailer. I am always amazed at the skill of these drivers.
the 1889 Ordnance Survey. In 1908 it was bought for £50 by a Mr Morris for use as a Methodist Mission Room, which lasted until 1966 when it became a non-denominational mission room. The church of St David stands above the Afon Edw. A roughly circular wall runs around three sides with the fourth side dropping steeply down to the river. St David’s church was 
mentioned in a 1291 document detailing church taxation. The building is 13th century. It was badly restored in 1903 and repaired in 1958 by G Pace, architect, who rendered the exterior. A simple Norman tub font suggests an early medieval date. It is rather crudely carved without any decoration on the exterior of the bowl. The wooden chancel screen is late medieval. Sources refer to wall inscriptions by we fail to discern them. All walls, inside and out are white-washed. The roof is 15th century. A pretty harmonium stands in the nave but an electric organ is in the chancel. A number of chest tombs are in the graveyard but the damp air has eroded the carved inscriptions and covered them in mosses.
station, a café and craft centre. The station stood on the Llanidloes to Brecon Mid Wales Railway line, opening in 1864. The last train was in December 1962. A Fowler 0-4-0 diesel shunter, built in Leeds in 1939, stands outside. Whilst 
we have a snack, a Nuthatch is vigorously attacking a fat ball.
are from the water company. Certainly is nobody working here and no sign of any works having been undertaken. It looks like this may cause some confusion as this is a busy road indeed it was the old A44. Swifts scream overhead. The water level in the River Lugg is unchanged from last week; it is still not at its lowest but fairly shallow. Onto Easters Meadow. Stands of Meadow Buttercups are brightly yellow, Hogweed is growing tall and large discs of white umbels are opening. Patches of pink Red Campion are along the top of the river bank. The grass is saturated with dew. A Blackcap sings from a tall Hawthorn whose flowers are fading. Two long rows of supermarket lorry trailers have arrived in Brightwells’ compound. A Beautiful Demoiselle, a male with black wings and a metallic blue body, flutters over a bed of Stinging Nettles.
stencilled fleur-de-lis, IHS monograms, a banner with chevrons and a fragment of a plant, probably a lily. The pews are all boxed and include a box either side of the altar. Names are stencilled on many of the box doors. These include the inscriptions, “T Williams Penrhew 1808”, “LCI 1708”, and “LP 1710” “In the Year of Our Lord God 1666” in raised letters over lozenge panels, and “EP 1714 IW”. A pew by the altar has “IG 1687” in raised letters, and may be contemporary with the pulpit, which bears the same monogram. A panelled polygonal pulpit stands by the south wall, inscribed “IG” in its door. Beside it is a later reading desk, which has a door inscribed “EE 1706” and a panelled front with round-headed patterned arches in low relief. The nave has a 5-bay arched-brace roof with tie beams and 2 tiers of cusped windbracing. A ceiling was removed in the 20th century. The octagonal font is mediaeval but has been remodelled. It sits on a squat base, making it rather low. There was a 15th century rood-screen but this was destroyed in the Reformation. There are three bells including one of about 1300 inscribed “JOHANNES”. The bells are not rung as two are cracked.
drovers trail and it is recorded there were at least a dozen public houses in the village now just two are trading. An old barn has been converted into a house. Behind it is a recreation ground. Behind a fence are long raised beds. Most 
have been cultivated, a couple are still covered in weeds. A path leads past an antique shop with a lot of brown furniture at unrealistic prices. The path comes to the A470. Opposite is the church of All Saints. Built in 1883 by S.W. Williams, architect of Rhayader, at a cost of over £4600. The contractor was Bowers and Mansfield of Hereford. The patrons were the Venables family of Llysdinam, on the Breconshire side of the River Wye near Newbridge. Interior carvings, and the pulpit and font are by Clarke of Hereford. A Geometrical style parish church. It is locked.