Across those well-loved fields - Malvern and Dymock

Easter Monday saw us rising at 3.45 a.m. to drive to the huge Fleamarket at Malvern.  It was dry but cool and the Fleamarket was packed out with buyers and sellers alike.  We bought some good stock and then, after a rest, headed back via Dymock, as I am compiling photos for a talk I've been asked to give on the Dymock Poets next month.

Above and below are photos across Malvern Vale.  a little fuzzy probably as I wasn't letting the camera focus properly before I took a photo.  Tiredness (I hadn't slept the night before, which was par for the course!)  The bright yellow fields of Oilseed Rape stood out well.

Above: long distance shot of walkers on the top of the Malvern Hills.  I've been up there but the once, over 35 years ago now.

I stopped the car on the road out of Malvern (which heads back down to the market town of Ledbury).  Some views across the fields.

Rain was heading our way!

Above: the cottage loaf type top of British Camp, which is an Iron Age hillfort.  I will direct you to the Wikipedia page, as that gives much better photographs than I could manage.  One of these days we will go there and just walk, instead of heading for home, exhausted by our early start and walking round the fair. We clocked up 18,000 + steps on Monday and walked for 5 hours.

A slightly blurry photo (again) of Bluebells in the woodland beside the layby.

Farmhouse just outside Ledbury, showing Oasthouses and newly-planted orchard.  There are new orchards being planted up throughout this area, as cider is so popular these days.  It is good to see the land being used to grow fruit trees, fruit bushes and vegetables.

The old train viaduct heading towards Ledbury.  It was completed and opened in 1861 and built by the respected Colwall engineer Stephen Ballard, who died the same year it was opened.  The 5 million bricks used to build it (by Ballard's brother Richard), were made on site, and the viaduct has 31 arches.

On to Dymock, and I stopped for photos whilst we were looking for the Dymock Poet's cottages. This may be May Hill in the distance (sorry for the pun!)

I dare say this landscape would seem quite alien if the Poets were suddenly to be reincarnated there today.  The fields would be much bigger, and the oilseed rape quite alien.

This tree would have been unrecognizable but makes a lovely shape in the current landscape.  More photos of the cottages will be over on my Edward Thomas blog (see sidebar) when I can get back to it.  We have a 2 day Antiques fair at the Botanic gardens this weekend, and sorting everything out for that is taking priority, with "spare" time being taken up with working on the Dymock Poets talk, gardening, and if I work the night-shift, redecorating down in mum's flat . . .  I think I need to be cloned . . .