Wednesday – Bodenham Lake – An early morning splash of rain clears away but the sky remains cloudy with a strong wind. Shrubs and hedgerows are spotted with red berries, Haws, Rose hips, Wayfaring Tree and Spindle. Tiny green catkins hang on Hazels. There are a few late Blackberries, some still green, but no sloes. On the boating lake are a few Cormorants, a Little Egret and a large number of Canada Geese. Wood Pigeons and a Carrion Crow fly off from the meadow. Brown seed heads of Selfheal stand erect by the path.
On to the hide. A few Mallard are by the mainly submerged scrape. The drakes have regained their breeding plumage. A large flock of Canada Geese, a dozen Greylags and a Mute Swan drift across the water. Back to the meadow. Around fifty House Martins are overhead. A Great Tit is calling his two tone song from the top of a bush by the orchards. Sheep are in the dessert apple orchard.
Friday – Home – It has been the coldest night of the autumn so far, the temperature a little above 4°C. Before dawn, Orion is bright in the sky. A rocket body passes overhead, Cosmos 372, launched on 16th October 1970 from Plesetsk in Russia.
By morning there is a mistiness in the air and the autumnal scent of smoke. Onto The Grange. Robins sing lustily. The grass is sparkling with dew. Bright sunshine is yet to warm the air. Across the churchyard and on to Pinsley Mead. Round to the Millennium Orchard. Large quantities of Tom Putt apples are rotting. Dabinett and Ladies’ Fingers are still not falling. There are barely enough Genet Moyle or Michelin apples to bother with. The sky starts to cloud over during the afternoon. Kay points out to me that one of the large pieces of stone in the garden has a fossilised vertebrate in it, something we had never noticed before. I pluck the last two Coxes apples and a couple of Conference pears. I need to harvest the numerous courgettes as well as more beetroot and parsnips.
Sunday – Leominster – Thin grey cloud drifts northwards; above there is even thinner cloud. Down to Butts Bridge. The River Lugg runs grey but fairly clear and the water level is little changed. Just a few tweets, a burst of Robin song and an overhead cawing Carrion Crow is heard. A few flies, mainly tiny little specks, are visiting the flowering Ivy. A hoverfly appears but for some reason does not stop. Onto the meadow. Some of the grasses, Dandelion and Creeping Buttercup leaves are still green but much else is turning brown. Brown Umbellifer stalks host a good number of White-lipped Snails, some striped, others plain. Himalayan Balsam still flowers along the top of the river bank. A juvenile Cormorant flies overhead and joins two others in a dead tree by the confluence of the Rivers Lugg and Kenwater. They depart as I pass by. Many leaves are turning red and gold. The water level in Cheaton Brook is low. Likewise Ridgemoor Brook.
The market is small and there are not that many customers. However there are some quite interesting bits and pieces including what I assume is a 1950s picnic set with aluminium sandwich boxes. Of course, I would not use it and it would simply be cluttering the place up so I leave it for somebody else. Three sleek police motorcycles are in the garage forecourt. The officers stand around, chatting. Along Paradise Walk. The River Kenwater is flowing grey and fast. Across Pinsley Mead part of the old Priory buildings are under scaffolding.
Through Bridge Street car park. A Pied Wagtail flies overhead, squeaking like a rusty gate.
Wednesday – Leominster – The mornings are dark. Overnight rain has ceased. I collect another couple of bags of cider apples, one of Ladies’ Fingers and some more Dymock Reds.
Home – Conkers have been cascading down from the great Horse Chestnut. A Grey Squirrel bounces across the lawn with one in its mouth. It will probably bury it somewhere and we will find the sapling next summer. Kay undertakes the laborious task of bagging the conkers for the composting container at the tip. I crush and press the apples. Annoyingly, I am about two pints short of ten gallons i.e. two barrels. A Giant Woodwasp, Urocerus gigas, also known Banded Horntail or Greater Horntail Wasp, is on the summerhouse window. The rain returns on and off all day. The tomatoes are nearly finished now, a few green ones will probably not ripen. The cucumbers have finished and the plants have been cleared away. Two troughs of pak choi seedlings are planted, the trough of basil having been emptied. The two aubergines have grown but are still like small purple fingers. There are still numerous courgettes on the plants, not sure what to do with this glut. The hens are still laying but slightly fewer eggs between them now.
Friday – Leominster – The first frost of the autumn. The sky is cloudless. The bright sunshine is melting the frost rapidly. Last night there were extensive Northern lights aurora reaching well down into Herefordshire but unfortunately they would be difficult to see here because of the light pollution in the town. Onto Butts Bridge. The level of the River Lugg here is little changed although there are flood warnings south of Dinmore Hill.
Back over the bridge and round to the Millennium Park. A five-carriage Cardiff bound train passes. A chattering flock of Jackdaws flies over. High above the Edinburgh to Seville 737 leaves a brief vapour trail. A Class 67 diesel pushes a unit north to Manchester. An Amsterdam to Houston airbus is passing over Hay-on-Wye. A Nuthatch calls from the churchyard trees. Magpies stalk across the leaf litter. The River Kenwater is flowing well but not particularly deep. The thick undergrowth on the bank opposite has been completely cut down.
Into the churchyard. Grey Squirrels bounce across the grass seeking nuts, fruits and seeds. Blackbirds are in the leaf litter. Robins sing and Wood Pigeons clatter out of the trees. Twisted and tatty Parasol Mushrooms grow profusely under a large Yew filling the air with a musty scent. Birches and Beeches are rapidly turning gold but the Oak is slower. Blackbirds and Wood Pigeons pluck Rowan berries delicately. Work in the High Street is nearly complete. New pavements, kerbs and yellow tarmac!
Sunday – Leominster – A grey cool morning. A small flock of Fieldfares fly over heading west. Onto the railway bridge. Rabbits scurry away from the site of the old track into the undergrowth. Magpies chatter in the woods and Robins sing. On to Butts Bridge. Three Grey Wagtails fly upstream. The river level is much the same and the water is fairly clear. A Dipper is singing from the bottom step of the water monitoring station. Three geese pass over high in the sky heading south.
No market today, the field is too wet. Into the Millennium Orchard. The cooking apple crop is negligible. The cerise fruits of Spindle are opening to reveal a small orange seed ball. More geese can be heard flying high overhead. A Wren rattles its alarm call by the River Kenwater. The Minster bells toll the hour then ring out the call to prayer. A pair of Magpies, “Two for Joy”, search under the trees in the churchyard. Several Song Thrushes fly up into an Elder which is growing through a Yew. Great and Blue Tits flit between the trees.
Home – The climbing and dwarf beans are picked – they will rot before drying as it is so wet. The bed is hoed and raked. All the courgette plant leaves have turned black because of the recent frost, so the remaining courgettes are picked. Many have received the attentions of slugs. The small amount of compost left in the big wooden bin we have been slowly emptying is dug out and put on the newly cleared bed. Then the courgette plants go in. They seem to fill the bin but will soon rot and shrink considerably.
Tuesday – Bodenham Lake – A dull grey day with fine drizzle. A warbler is singing in a large Ash on the edge of the village. It sounds a bit like a Garden Warbler but this seems rather late in the year. A flock of Jackdaws is in the trees by the car park and flying to and fro from Westfield Wood. Down the track. A Mistle Thrush rasps. Blue Tits chatter. A Great Spotted Woodpecker chips. There are two Mallard, one Little Egret and a single Great Crested Grebe on the boating lake and nothing else. Looking towards the west end, there is another single Great Crested Grebe. Large numbers of apples are rotting in both orchards. A pair of cock Ring-necked Pheasants run across the lawn of the large house by the War Memorial.
Home – Everywhere is so wet. It would be preferable for the lawn and meadow to be cut before the leaves come down but it needs to dry out. Yesterday the plastic compost bins were emptied into one of the big wooden bins. The bin is full but it will soon reduce, usually by ⅔. A Goldcrest is with Long-tailed Tits in the trees at the bottom of the garden. The hens are now laying just two eggs a day.
Wednesday – Herefordshire – Heavy rain falls in waves across the area. We head to Hereford for an appointment at Osteopathy at the hospital. There is a large amount of standing water on the roads. The A49 is flooding south of Dinmore Hill with red run-off from the fields. On the return journey, the rain is lighter and some of the flooding has already drained away, but in other places the road edges are still deep in water. More heavy rain returns in the evening. A number of schools are flooded and will remain closed for several days.
Thursday – Leominster – The rain has moved on albeit temporarily. High wispy clouds are in a blue sky and the sun shines. Everywhere is still wet. Onto the railway bridge. A Manchester bound train pushed by a Class 67 diesel leaves the station. This suggests that the line which was closed last night has reopened.
Onto Butts Bridge. Unsurprisingly the water level in the River Lugg has risen considerably and it has burst its banks and flooded part of Easters Meadow. Water flows past the steps on either side of the east end of the bridge. The steps to the monitoring station are underwater and the station itself is surrounded by flood. The river flows rapidly, the water a pale brown. I speak to a couple of women who living Worcester Road who are going across to check the river level.
Round to the Millennium Park. A southbound train rumbles past, hidden by the hedgerow, slowing for the station. The River Kenwater rushes past, up to the top of the bank and creeping up the lawn of the house opposite. The roof of the Old Priory Centre is being replaced. Down the road to Priory Bridge where the Kenwater rushes under noisily. A Snowberry bush sways in the flow. There is water in the overflow channel beside a large DIY store car park. Through Bridge Street car park and onto Kenwater Bridge. The Kenwater almost reaches the top of the arches.
Reports come in about flooding across the county. The River Teme is flowing up the streets of Leintwardine. There are concerns about the Old Wye Bridge in Hereford. The parks on Widemarsh are flooded. In Shropshire, the A49 is closed near Church Stretton.
Sunday – Leominster – Drizzle and the brisk wind is the precursor to the arrival of Storm Ashley (named by the Met Éireann) which is sweeping across the Atlantic. Within a few moments the rain becomes heavier. The water level in the River Lugg has fallen considerably and the floods on Easters Meadow and around the water monitoring station have drained away. The river still flows swiftly and the water is coloured. A Common Buzzard mews plaintively somewhere to the north.
Through the Millennium Park. High above a Jackdaw seems to play on the strong wind. The water level in the River Kenwater has also fallen considerably. Into the churchyard. Fresh molehills have been thrown up but already the rain is washing them down again. The bells ring out, still a bit discordantly.
Home – As I am wet, I decide to clear the leaves off the chicken run roof immediately. It is a messy job and will need to be done regularly now as the Gladstone apple above the run sheds its leaves.
Wednesday – The Cotswolds – Ampney St Mary – We head towards Cirencester then along the A417. Into Ampney Crucis to see the church but there is a service taking place. We have a quick walk around the village. All the buildings are in the pale stone of the Cotswolds but many do not have a great age. We then drive on along the A417, the London Road. Ampney St Mary lies to the north-east but south of the road is the church of St Mary close to Ampney Brook. The church is detached from the village as it was abandoned in the 15th century because of the Black Death and the village moved north to Ashbrook, now called Ampney St Mary. The building became covered with a growth of Ivy which was finally cleared from the church in 1913. It is still called “The Ivy Church”. The church has an early 12th century nave with a 13th century chancel, all being restored in 1913, and a 14th century bellcote. A blocked north doorway has a tympanum showing a lion, representing Good, defeating a two-headed serpent, representing Evil, while a Griffin faces the lion. The nave and chancel have 14th century wagon roofs. There is a 13th century stone screen. Wall paintings survive from the 12th to 15th centuries. On the north wall is a large figure of St Christopher carrying the Christ child. To the west is a figure of St George slaying the dragon. The more faded paintings on the south wall are particularly interesting, for they appear to show scenes from daily life. There are domestic implements, and a wheelwright checking a wheel spoke for alignment. The font is Norman with chevron moulding. The east window has Victorian glass.
Ampney St Peters – We move on to Ampney St Peters which lays just east of a line between St Mary’s and Ampney St Mary. The church, dating to the 12th century is at the north end of the village. The original building consisted of a small nave and tower, with no chancel which is why there is a piscina at the east end of the nave, where the original altar would have stood. The chancel and chancel arch were added in the late 12th century, when the font was crafted. It was restored and extended in 1878 by Sir George Gilbert Scott. The reredos is in alabaster dated to 1887. In the north window is a peculiar carving of a seated king with an orb. This odd figure was found in Iveson Place, opposite from the church, in 1908. It is not thought to be old, but no one is quite sure what it is supposed to represent. On the north wall at the west end is a Saxon Sheela-na-gig, defaced, probably by Puritans.
Poulton – This village lays on a dogleg of the London Road. The church of St Michael and All Angels is on the south side of the village on the site of Poulton Priory. Sir Thomas Seymour built what became the Priory of St Mary. After Dissolution in 1539, the priory was used as Poulton’s parish church. It was demolished in 1873 and the current church was built that year by William Butterfield. It has a large nave with bellcote and south porch at west end, north aisle and chancel.
Fairford – I visited this large village in July 2019. We visit the church of St Mary and gaze upon the wondrous windows. Then on to Fairford Mill. The River Coln is running high and fast.
Lechlade – We are staying overnight in this town which was once a port, being the highest point on the River Thames navigable by ships and barges. The town is surrounded by lakes created from disused gravel extraction sites, forming parts of the Cotswold Water Park. William I gave the manor of Lechlade to Henry de Ferrers, who had accompanied him to England in 1066, and the manor is mentioned in the Domesday Book. The name comes from “a passage over the River Thames near the River Leach”. The River Coln also joins the Thames nearby. A charter granting market to the town was passed in 1210. Lechlade Priory was founded in the early 13th century and lasted until 1472. In the 1600s barges docked at the Riverside Wharf (where the Riverside Pub stands today) to take on stone (particularly the honey coloured Taynton Stone from Burford was shipped from the Wharf to London and was used to build iconic buildings, including St Paul’s Cathedral and Windsor Castle), salt from Cheshire brought by pack horse down the Old Salt Way, cheeses and wools, all for the London and Oxford markets. The Halfpenny Bridge, adjacent to the Riverside Wharf, was completed in 1782, when it replaced a ferry. Pedestrians crossing the bridge were charged ½d at the toll house on the bridge. This toll was abolished in 1839 following a rebellion by the people of Lechlade.
Into the Market Square dominated by a large town house, part of former Vicarage, built in the early 19th century, probably by Richard Pace. Nearby is the church of St Lawrence. It was founded in the 13th century but completely rebuilt in the 1470s. A clerestory and north porch were added in early 16th century. The church was restored 1882 by Waller. The 15th century octagonal font is at the west end. At the east end are several fine medieval brasses and marble monuments including one by Nicholas Read to Mrs Anne Simmons (died 1769) on south side of chancel. The main street, Burford Street, has many 17th century houses, many refaced older buildings. The Swan Inn was recorded in 1513; the present buildings are probably early 18th century to one side with originally a late 17th century frontage, altered after fire in the early 20th century to the other.
Thursday – Kelmscott – This rather isolated village in West Oxfordshire of large honey coloured houses is famous as the home of William and Jane Morris. A car park is next to the church of St George. It is late 12th century in construction with transepts of around 1260, a 15th century south porch and later additions and alterations. The church consists of a nave, chancel, north aisle, north and south transepts, and a south porch. There is a small bellcote over the east end of the nave with two bells, the northernmost of which dates to the early 13th century, making it one of the earliest bells in England. Inside there are many wall painting. Murals in north transept including early 14th century figures under trefoil-headed arches on east and west walls representing scenes from the Massacre of the Innocents, the Presentation in the Temple and the Cain and Abel cycle respectively. Adam and Eve in west reveal of north window which has remnants of a Last Judgement scene above. Fragments of medieval stained glass in nave show St George slaying the dragon. In the trees is the Morris tomb, designed in 1896 by Philip Webb. It is made of limestone, a curved ridge-shaped stone supported by stone blocks to each end. Inscriptions on south side to William Morris (1834-96) and Jane Morris (1839-1914) and on north side to their daughters, Jane Alice Morris (1861-1935) and May Morris (1862-1938).
A lane leads through the village. The village hall is dated 1934, designed by Ernest Gimson some years earlier and opened by George Bernard Shaw. Above, a Red Kite is being hassled by Jackdaws, which suddenly break off their harrying as a Peregrine Falcon appears and flies through. The Plough Inn was formerly a house built in 1690 and extended in the 18th century. The stump of a preaching cross stands outside on the junction. A pair of cottages were built in 1902 to the designs by Philip Webb for Jane Morris in memory of William Morris. It has a large plaque on the front depicting Morris by George Jack based on a drawing by Philip Webb. Kelmscott Manor was built around 1570 for Richard Turner as Lower Farm and extended around 1670, probably for Thomas Turner. In 1864 James Turner purchased the lordship of the manor and Lower Farm became “Kelmscott Manor”. On his death in 1870, the Manor and associated farm buildings passed to Turner’s wife’s nephew, Charles Hobbs. Hobbs intended to farm the land and use the outbuildings but had no use for the Manor itself and put it up for rent. It became the home of William and Jane Morris and their daughters, May and Jenny, between 1871 and 1896. The lease was shared with Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who did not share Morris’ love of the place. When William died, the tenancy passed to his wife Jane until 1913, when an opportunity to acquire it arose. The trustees of William’s bequest bought it for £4,000 to provide security for Jane. However, she died three months later in January 1914 and the estate then passed to May, the Morris’s younger daughter, and in 1923 she moved permanently to Kelmscott Manor until her death in 1938. After May’s death, the Manor was left firstly to her companion, Mary Lobb (who died in 1939) and then to Oxford University.
The house and surrounding buildings retain the spirit of a farm with a number of barns and outbuildings. The gardens are past their best now in the autumn. A large open space is bordered by Radcot Cut, a stream leading to the River Thames a short distance away, and dominated by a large Mulberry tree. A brick gardener’s shed and a three-seat privy are in the corners. A notable feature is the Yew topiary Icelandic Dragon, Fafnir, which featured in Morris’ Old Norse Volsunga saga. In the house there is a mixture of artworks, furniture and textiles by Morris’ family and that which they collected, including works by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Philip Webb, Pieter Bruegel the Younger and an extensive collection of pictures and artifacts from Iceland which Morris visited several times.
Sunday – Home – We have the biannual nonsense of the clocks changing. The only positive today is that it is lighter when I head out to collect my last batch of cider apples. The apples are processed and the demijohns sitting in the boiler cupboard are wracked off into two five gallon barrels. The last of the beetroot are harvested. There is also a good serving of purple sprouting ready.
Monday – Leominster – Clouds drift eastwards in a blustery breeze and the sun shines. A Manchester bound train leaves the station. On the other side of the tracks people await the Carmarthen train which draws in moments later. Onto Butts Bridge. The level of the River Lugg has not changed much since the flooding a couple of weeks ago but the water is clearer now. A Great Spotted Woodpecker chips nearby.
Through the Millennium Orchard. Some Bramley apples have fallen. I will check them out in the next couple of days; unless someone else has taken them I will gather them, too good to waste. Most of the cider apples have now fallen and many are rotting rapidly. Through to the town centre. High Street seems to be finished, new pavements, kerbs and yellow tarmac. Work is ongoing at Iron Cross and Corn Street and Square are still a mess. However, it does look like they will finish in time for the Victorian Market in early December.
Thin grey cloud drifts northwards; above there is even thinner cloud. Down to Butts Bridge. The River Lugg runs grey but fairly clear and the water level is little changed. Just a few tweets, a burst of Robin song and an overhead cawing Carrion Crow is heard. A few flies, mainly tiny little specks, are visiting the flowering Ivy. A hoverfly appears but for some reason does not stop. Onto the meadow. Some of the grasses, 
Dandelion and Creeping Buttercup leaves are still green but much else is turning brown. Brown Umbellifer stalks host a good number of White-lipped Snails, some striped, others plain. Himalayan Balsam still flowers along the top of the river bank. A juvenile Cormorant flies overhead and joins two others in a dead tree by the confluence of the Rivers Lugg and Kenwater. They depart as I pass by. Many leaves are turning red and gold. The water level in Cheaton Brook is low. Likewise Ridgemoor Brook.
Friday – Leominster – The first frost of the autumn. The sky is cloudless. The bright sunshine is melting the frost rapidly. Last night there were extensive Northern lights aurora reaching well down into Herefordshire but unfortunately they would be difficult to see here because of the light pollution in the town. Onto Butts Bridge. The level of the River Lugg here is little changed although there are flood warnings south of Dinmore Hill.
Thursday – Leominster – The rain has moved on albeit temporarily. High wispy clouds are in a blue sky and the sun shines. Everywhere is still wet. Onto the railway bridge. A Manchester bound train pushed by a Class 67 diesel leaves the station. This suggests that the line which was closed last night has reopened.
surrounded by flood. The river flows rapidly, the water a pale brown. I speak to a couple of women who living Worcester Road who are going across to check the river level.
Ampney St Mary lies to the north-east but south of the road is the church of St Mary close to Ampney Brook. The church is detached from the village as it was abandoned in the 15th century because of the Black Death and the village moved north to Ashbrook, now called Ampney St Mary. 
The building became covered with a growth of Ivy which was finally cleared from the church in 1913. It is still called “The Ivy Church”. The church has an early 12th century nave with a 13th century chancel, all being restored in 1913, and a 14th century bellcote. A blocked north doorway has a tympanum showing a lion, representing Good, defeating a two-headed serpent, representing Evil, while a Griffin faces the lion. The nave and chancel have 14th century wagon roofs. There is a 13th century stone screen. Wall paintings survive from the 12th to 15th centuries. On the north wall is a large figure of St Christopher carrying the Christ child. To the west is a figure of St George slaying the dragon. The more faded paintings on the south wall are particularly interesting, for they appear to show scenes from daily life. There are domestic implements, and a wheelwright checking a wheel spoke for alignment. The font is Norman with 
chevron moulding. The east window has Victorian glass.
was used to build iconic buildings, including St Paul’s Cathedral and Windsor Castle), salt from Cheshire brought by pack horse down the Old Salt Way, cheeses and wools, all for the London and Oxford markets. The Halfpenny Bridge, adjacent to the Riverside Wharf, was completed in 1782, when it replaced a ferry. Pedestrians crossing the bridge were charged ½d at the toll house on the bridge. This toll was abolished in 1839 following a rebellion by the people of Lechlade.
late 12th century in construction with transepts of around 1260, a 15th century south porch and later additions and alterations. The church consists of a nave, chancel, north aisle, north and south transepts, and a south porch. There is a small bellcote over the east end of the nave with two bells, the northernmost of which dates to the early 13th century, making it one of the earliest bells in England. Inside there are many wall 
painting. Murals in north transept including early 14th century figures under trefoil-headed arches on east and west walls representing scenes from the Massacre of the Innocents, the Presentation in the Temple and the Cain and Abel cycle respectively. Adam and Eve in west reveal of north window which has remnants of a Last Judgement scene above. Fragments of medieval stained glass in nave show St George slaying the dragon. In the trees is the Morris tomb, designed in 1896 by Philip Webb. It is made of limestone, a curved ridge-shaped stone supported by stone blocks to each end. Inscriptions on south side to William Morris (1834-96) and Jane Morris (1839-1914) and on north side to their daughters, Jane Alice Morris (1861-1935) and May Morris (1862-1938).
house built in 1690 and extended in the 18th century. The stump of a preaching cross stands outside on the junction. A pair of cottages were built in 1902 to the designs by Philip Webb for Jane Morris in memory of William Morris. It has a large plaque on the front depicting Morris by George Jack based on a drawing by Philip Webb. Kelmscott Manor was built around 1570 for Richard Turner as Lower Farm and extended around 1670, probably for Thomas Turner. In 1864 James Turner purchased the lordship of the manor and Lower Farm became “Kelmscott Manor”. On his death in 1870, the Manor and associated farm buildings passed to Turner’s wife’s nephew, Charles Hobbs. Hobbs intended to farm the land and use the outbuildings but had no use for the Manor itself and put it up for rent. It became the home of William and Jane Morris and their daughters, May and Jenny, between 1871 and 1896. The lease was shared with Dante Gabriel 
Rossetti, who did not share Morris’ love of the place. When William died, the tenancy passed to his wife Jane until 1913, when an opportunity to acquire it arose. The trustees of William’s bequest bought it for £4,000 to provide security for Jane. However, she died three months later in January 1914 and the estate then passed to May, the Morris’s younger daughter, and in 1923 she moved permanently to Kelmscott Manor until her death in 1938. After May’s death, the Manor was left firstly to her companion, Mary Lobb (who died in 1939) and then to Oxford University.