Whalley Wander. 🦉

Ready for a gentle wander around Whalley? Here are a few photos from Sunday mornings stroll around this attractive Ribble Valley village, a couple of miles from my hometown of Clitheroe.

We parked near the impressive 48 arches of the red and blue bricked viaduct that spans the river Calder. Whalley Viaduct is the longest railway bridge in Lancashire and if you travel from Blackburn to Clitheroe by train, you will cross this impressive structure.

Whalley Arches.

A peek through the trees.

Nearby is the fourteenth century Whalley Abbey Gatehouse which belonged to the Cistercian abbey in the village. I can almost imagine the monks passing through the archway.

Whalley Abbey Gatehouse.

If you look closely in the trees around Whalley you may be surprised to see some life-like bird sculptures. Delighting those who spy them amongst the greenery, the wrens are lovingly handcrafted by a lady in the village. Most are sweet little wrens , but you never know who could be watching you from above.

Whalley Wren.

What a hoot !

A spot of quiet contemplation ? The peaceful garden of the English Church Of Martyrs nextdoor to Whalley Abbey is dotted with benches, full of flowers and there are several religious statues.

English Church of Martyrs was built in 1926.

We head to the River Calder via the pretty stone terraces on Calder Vale.

Calder Vale.

Spot the Barn Owl. 🙂

Pretty White House on the river.

Whalley Weir.

Whalley Weir.

Whalley Weir is a man made weir on the river and is said to be the reason why the monks of Whalley chose this spot for their abbey. It’s a tranquil place to watch the ducks. 🦆

Whalley Old Grammar School.

Back in the village and here is the Old Grammar School, now used as a pre school and for adult education. The War memorial is a focal point.

The Tooth Fairy resides here. 🧚

Whalley has many independent shops and cafes, no shortage of places to stop for a brew. We headed over to Cafe Autisan at Whalley Abbey. They do a wonderful rocky road, demolished before I remembered that I should of taken a photograph. 🤣

Whalley Abbey.

Another Wren.

The cafe service is still take away only, with outdoor seating in the courtyard.

Tudor houses across from Whalley Abbey.

Hope you enjoyed my bumble around a popular Ribble Valley village. 💖

Hawthorns Photo Scavenger Hunt ~ August. 📷

Here are Kate/Hawthorns words for this month’s Photo Scavenger Hunt. 📷

MOVING. I love this stainless steel fish sculpture in nearby Whalley. The fish appear as though they are moving in a circular motion. They represent the three local rivers in the area.

BOXES. I couldn’t find any boxes to photograph , so here’s a picture of a British beach that ticks all my boxes. Two years ago we visited North Uist in the Outer Hebrides. White sands and turquoise sea galore. At the moment a friend is filling my Facebook feed with images from an equally stunning Hebridean Island, Harris. Very envious indeed.

STARTS WITH ….D. A doggo of course. This is Bel the Bedlington Terrier who is totally the boss of our labrador. She always pinches Hugo’s bed whenever we go away with her family. Think Bel does suit pink better than Hugo though. 🙂

BREAKFAST. I snuck out for coffee and a pastry one morning whilst the Eat Out To Help Out offer was on. It was a lovely morning so I ate my breakfast 🥐 alfresco.

MAKING. I’m not really a crafter or maker , so here is a Jamie Oliver 5 Ingredient meal we were making for tea recently. It’s SicillianTuna Pasta and contains pasta, tuna, cherry tomatoes, oregano and capers.

MY OWN CHOICE. Walking past a church yesterday, and who should be walking along the wall but this cute chicken. 🐔

Thanks for dropping by. 😊

Whalley Abbey Wander.

Another weekend walk from home. On Sunday we decided to venture from Clitheroe to the nearby village of Whalley, via an old Roman road. The route took us 4 miles through muddy fields, eventually passing under a handsome red brick viaduct into Whalley. We found the cafe at Whalley Abbey was open for take away ( hurrah) and ate our lunch on the benches outside.

As I was meeting friends that afternoon I decided to chance it and catch the bus back, whilst Wil walked home with Hugo. Even though Whalley Abbey is practically on my doorstep, I have never actually explored the grounds. Well , they are beautiful. Can’t believe I haven’t taken time to look around this tranquil hidden gem in Whalley before. Unfortunately I only had about 20 minutes to whizz round taking photos before my bus arrived….so I will have to return and take my time. Whalley Abbey deserves a closer look.

Community woodland at Standen Hey.

Hugo finds a stick.

An old cross base.

Oak trees.

I thought the above few photos show the prettiest part of the walk. You can almost envisage the peddlers and horses & carts that wandered between Whalley and Clitheroe in days gone by.

Totem Pole in the woodland by Calderstone’s park.

Heading through the fields.

Obligatary cows.

Whalley Viaduct.

The abbey’s oldest building is The Gatehouse , it spans a narrow lane into Whalley.

The 49 red brick arches of Whalley Viaduct are a prominent feature in the village. Even these are overshadowed though by the former 14th century Cistercian abbey and it’s pretty gardens.

In 1296 Monks from the flooded Stanlow Abbey in Cheshire relocated to Whalley and work was started on building the monastery on the banks of the river Calder. It became one of the wealthiest abbey’s in the country, eventually dissolved in the reign of Henry VIII.

Below are some images of the abbey grounds. The later Elizabethan buildings are now used as a religious retreat.

It seemed that no time had passed before I had to hurry for the bus. At least I got to admire the beautiful stainless steel sculpture of Three Fishes near the bus stop. The fish possibly represent the three rivers in the area, the Calder, Hodder and Ribble.

Tudor style houses in the village.

Whose looking in my window…

Three Fishes Sculpture.

Do you have any abbey remains near you?

Dean Clough Reservoir Walk.

On Saturday we drove ten minutes out of town for our permitted socially distanced exercise. It’s the first time I have left Clitheroe in six weeks. Wil still drives to Blackburn for work five days a week, so he wasn’t as excited to be out in the car as I was. It’s been a while! Anyway I think the change of scenery did me good. Apart from the odd dog walker, it was fairly quiet at Dean Clough Reservoir, a pretty body of water above York village near Whalley. We parked in a lay by outside the village and soon found the footpath that leads down to the reservoir.

At this time of year the golden yellow gorse flowers are all in bloom, giving off a heavenly coconut fragrance. There were bees buzzing round bugles and I saw my first swallows of the year.

In a few weeks the Yellow Flag Irises will come into flower, for now they are letting the marsh marigolds and cuckoo flowers take all the glory.

On the water we saw various birds including cormorant, Canada geese, mallards and this gorgeous Great Crested Grebe.

Instead of following the path around the reservoir we took another trail up to some rocky outcrops and admired the views for a little while. Butterflies fluttered by in a gentle spring time breeze.

We took the path back into York which is a small hamlet with a nice looking pub called the Lord Nelson. Hopefully it will open back up in the coming months. Spied some belties at a nearby farm.

Back where we had parked the car, this was our view! A rather large man standing on a small hill.

It’s a sculpture of some kind but I haven’t been able to find any information online about why it’s there. In the future will have to walk up to it for a closer look. 😁

Thanks for reading & stay safe. x

A Festive Afternoon Tea at Mitton Hall.

There was a time when going out for Afternoon Tea was quite the norm for me. I think one year, I managed to devour ten. I know! But in 2018 I had not participated in this delightful institution until Sunday, when I joined some work colleagues for a Festive themed afternoon tea at Mitton Hall.

Mitton Hall near Whalley in Lancashire is a charming country house hotel. It’s the kind of olde worlde pile where a medieval banquet would not look out of place in its traditional oak panelled Great Hall. At this time of year a mahusive Christmas Tree welcomes you on arrival. 🙂 We immediately felt full of festive cheer.

Our Afternoon tea was booked for 5pm, so it was already dark when we arrived. After a quick refreshment in one of the cosy bars, we were lead to our table in the Brasserie.

It wasn’t long before our Afternoon Teas arrived, served on three tiers and piled high with goodies. We had all chosen the standard option which includes any hot drink of your choice and cost £17-50 each.

The bottom tier contained festive finger sandwiches, smoked salmon canopes and pigs in blankets. I always think it’s a shame that afternoon tea is more geared up for the sweet tooth. We would have loved a few more savoury items to feast upon.

However the cakes were to die for. And I am definitely a fan of cake! My personal favourite was the Lemon Drizzle..

Other sweet treats included a mince pie, a chocolate mousse ( unusually flavoured with mango, a hit with me but not for everyone) , a mini macaroon, a stollen bite and of course, plain and fruit scones, served with jam and clotted cream.

And after all that we just had to have a photo in front of the resplendent tree. 🙂

Will you be indulging in a Christmassy afternoon tea this year?

Photo an Hour Sat 24 September.

On Saturday I joined in with Janey and Louisa’s Photo An Hour challenge on Instagram. For me it was a different kind of day as Wil was away falling off a bike  mountain biking in deepest darkest Wales….so it was just me and the pets for most of the day.

8am. This is how I woke up. With furry faces in my face. 🙂

9am. Out in the park with Hugo and his doggie friend Mollie The Collie.

10am.  I take Hugo for a coffee ( he got a couple of treats ! ) at Escape in town. They are currently selling the most yummy Finch Bakery cupcakes, so well, I couldn’t resist!

11am. On the way back home Hugo poses with some scooters. Saturday was actually The Ribble Valley Mod Weekender so Clitheroe was packed with Vespas and Lambrettas.

12 Noon. I’m back in town running errands…and….shopping. 😉

1pm. Quick pasta lunch before catching the train to nearby Whalley to meet my sister and nephew.

2pm. We take Hugo for a walk by the River Calder. He hunts out an old tennis ball ( that dog has a snout for all things rubber!) so much fun is had. 🙂

3pm.  And no trip to Whalley is complete without refreshments in Benedicts. We loved this cafe with it’s smart decor and a-joining deli and gift shop. Pet friendly too!

4pm. Oooops no photo. The truth is when I got home I bobbed over to Bowland Beer Hall,  bought myself half a cider and promptly got the worst heartburn ever!!!  Luckily a glass of milk proved an amazing cure….but the experience put me off going out again that night.

5pm. Instead stayed in and watched The Addams Family. Class!

6pm. And put photos in my album. So rock n roll!!

7pm. So this is a totally staged photo of course. I am reading MIss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children ( and loving it 🙂 ), but Autumn leaves were not falling gently over me.lol. 🙂

8pm. Writing up my Sunday Sevens 25th September blog post.

9pm. New ankle boots that I purchased from Beryls in Clitheroe this morning. Weirdly I think these are my first pair of ankle boots since the nineties! Like the colour.

Cheers for reading. Maybe you can join in on Instagram next time. Look for the #photoanhour tag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February Photo An Hour.

So  before I got on with the challenge I set myself of giving up Facebook,Instagram and Pinterest for a month( 24 hours now and counting! ), I just had to join in with Janey’s  and Louisa’s  monthly Photo an Hour on Instagram.  The day chosen was Saturday which turned out to be pretty wet and miserable, but still a pretty good day all in all. Here’s my day by the hour.

8am. I’m up already as the pet’s decided to pounce all over us. Left Wil in bed as he had a bit of a heavy night out Friday. We are watching Breakfast Telly though Hugo is already thinking ahead to his walk..

9am. Slinky is watching the rain outside. And so am I! I know I have to get out in it soon. 😦

10am. Out and about. This is one wet dog! But he was enjoying himself. Honest!

11am. I’m home and tidying the bedroom. Slinky looks like she has been reading ‘I Let You Go’ by Clare Mackintosh. Well i do recommend it. It’s a real page turner thriller with a twist I did not see coming.

1pm. Oooops missed the Noon photo but this is my lunch. I’m out having a catch up with a friend. Were at Whalley Abbey in the cafe there. Yummy jacket potato.:)

2pm. Soggy snowdrops in the Abbey grounds. Still raining!

3pm. Home and a spot of reading.

4pm. Honestly my dog always looks depressed when I take a picture of him. Love you Hugo.x

5pm. Wil has treated me to tea in The Emporium. We are sharing a cheese board and an Antipasti board. Food Heaven!

7pm. We spend a couple of hours in the Emporium, where all surrounding furnishings are for sale.Even the chairs we were sat on!

Later… At a New Order tribute with friends. I kept forgetting to take any more photos. But a good night was had by all. 🙂

Hope you had a good weekend and Thanks for dropping by.x

 

Afternoon Tea at Cafe Autisan.

A couple of weeks ago it was my Birthday, so of course I had to celebrate with the obligatory Afternoon Tea!  I got the girls together and headed for the nearby village of Whalley, where in the grounds of a former Cistercian Abbey, a new cafe has sprang up.

Cafe Autisan is a beautiful space and perfect for parties. Indeed it is the perfect place to meet up with a group of friends. The furnishings are fun!

 

The Cafe’s name is a clever play on words. It was set up by the National Autistic Society and plans to give work experience to adults with autism. It is run by Autisan Creative Enterprises who help to improve  life skills and job prospects. 450,000 working age adults in Britain have autism but only 15% of them are currently in full time employment. Businesses like this hope to buck that trend. As well as a cafe here there are various artisan products for sale, such as fudge and soap, made by people with autism.

This image is from Cafe Autisan’s Facebook page.

But hey what about the Afternoon Tea? Well my pictures really do not do this scrumptious sandwich and cake selection justice!  The photo above does though. 🙂

The Afternoon Tea comes served on a three tiered slate cake stand which is laden with goodies. At the bottom there were three varieties of sandwiches and pork pies. Chutneys and coleslaw are provided as accompaniments.  The middle tier is all about the fruit scones which come with little jars of strawberry preserve,butter and jars of clotted cream. The piece de. resistance is the top tier where tasty diminutive desserts tempted and teased our taste buds. A selection of teas and other drinks are on offer. The service was friendly and efficient and at only around £7.50 per head was very good value indeed. 🙂

I also hear Cafe Autisan does a very good cheeseboard. I shall be back!

 

 

 

February ~ Photo an hour.

I  joined in again with Janey and  Louisas  #photoanhour on Instagram.  It was Saturday and for me, it involved pets, friends, food and booze. Just a typical weekend then. 😉

9am ~ Blueberries in my breakfast.

10am ~ Hugo is full of beans!

11am ~ Flicking through the NEXT catalogue.

Noon ~ Lunch in a pretty tea rooms  in Whalley with  a friend.

1pm ~ Pudding is yummy.Eton Mess.

2pm ~ I bought this wine.Purely for the label of course!

3pm ~ Walking through the castle grounds.

4pm ~ Admiring this Mermaid necklace in Chillimoon( my friends shop).

5pm ~ Enjoying a cup of raspberry tea at home.

6pm ~ Swapped tea for beer.Well Guiness actually. Down the local!

7pm ~ Our friends springer Mollie.A proper pub dog. 😀

8pm ~ Back home and its Sainsburys Indian for tea.

9pm ~ We are actually watching Greyfriars Bobby which I recorded on Freeview.

10pm ~ Saturday nights rock don’t they!  Here I am already thinking about going to snoozeville. But will Slinky let me in bed? zzzzzzzzz

So that was my day.How was yours?

ps ~ If you would like to follow me on Instagram you can here.

And my blog has a  facebook page too. 😀

I will be only to glad to follow you back….. X

Mellings Vegetarian Restaurant ~ Whalley.

My lovely friend Lisa and I decided to catch up over lunch yesterday. We headed to the nearby village of Whalley where our venue of choice was Mellings situated on King street ~ the main road through Whalley.

As soon as we stepped inside we knew it was going to be our kind of place. The lovely shabby chic interior dotted with vintage touches and fresh flowers welcomed us in from the cold breezy day outside.

Lisa is a vegetarian so we were intrigued to test out the menu. I think Mellings may be the only completely vegi place to dine in the Ribble Valley. They are also happy to cater for vegan and gluten free. We were pleased to see a varied selection of dishes on both the menu and the Specials board.

I had Chick pea cake with salad. Was delicious.

Lisa enjoyed her tempura vegetables.

Our food was home cooked and tasty. Although i’m not a vegetarian myself I was pleasantly surprised. I was also completely in love with the decor. 🙂

Of course we had to try out the puddings too!  Lisa had the fruit crumble and custard and I had the Mellings Mess. Oh so delicious. 🙂

Winter warming crumble.

Mellings mess.

We were so thrilled to discover this lovely restaurant right on our doorstep. It opens Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings too so I sense an evening out in Whalley coming on soon. Oh and they serve afternoon teas as well!

Vegetarian and Vintage. A tearoom treasure indeed!