Springtime in the English Countryside

Join Julie and I as we leisurely ramble through the Midlands of England for the next 15 days. Julie emigrated from this area 43 years ago so our travels are filled with many fond memories for her to share with me. I with camera in hand will enjoy documentiing our experience. This is my sixth trip to England and having seen the major "must see" sites we are both happy to wander the countryside in search of bucolic views, historic National Trust sites and charming pub lunches.

First Stop - a delightful small farm in the Village of Napton On the Hill. Our lovely accommodations are in a former stable beautifully renovated by our hostess Rita Bagshaw. Her farm is appropriately called Napton Fields. Along with her skills of raising her herd of 700 sheep she is also an expert cabinetmaker and has made many of the features in our apartment.

Rita, upon our arrival introduced us to her latest additions and allowed Julie to feed the lambs who had been either abandoned by their Mum or their Mum didn't have enough milk supply. What a precious sight to see these little fellows gallop all in a line from across the field as soon as they saw Rita with her bucket of bottles.

We received a quick primer on sheep production and learned that we were arriving at peak "lambing"season. Two new lambs were added to the herd the evening we arrived. Rita markets her sheep for both their wool and for consumption, a thought that we would rather not think about as we feed these darlings. England once known as a supplier to the world of wool does not adequately reward sheep farmers for their fleeces. Rita tells us that the wool barely covers the cost of sheering. We see sheep all throughout the countryside however we learn that trade agreements with New Zealand flood the stores with lamb priced considerably less than local lamb. Fresh local lamb however is worth the price!

"Eh Yank...Take My Picture"

Spending our first full day in England we took the morning to explore the village of Napton on the Hill. The Village resides in an idyllic setting surrounded by farm fields complete with a small village square, a church on the hill and a very nice "local" pub. We are so fortunate that our first day was filled with sunshine and billowing clouds. We can't hope to be so lucky for the next 15 days.

Driving along the village roads we were taken back by the ubiquitous hedge rows all in bloom with a delicate white flower. We stopped for lunch at the local Kings Head Pub and were treated to their award winning Sausage and Mash which was indeed worthy of the title.

The afternoon was spent reuniting with Julie's niece Marilyn who brought along Louise, Julie's daughter, who arrived earlier this morning in London to attend Marilyn's Dad's funeral. We followed their car up to Combe Abbey in Coventry. I am getting the hang of Round-a-Bouts and have solicited a few horn honks and hand gestures from friendly motorists welcoming us to the country.

Tomorrow we will be meeting Julie's family so I am anxious to return to our stable to rest up for the busy day and practice my best behavior. On our way out of the Abbey we caught sight of this humorous road sign which could only be seen in England.  

Ta Ta for now, I'll post again after the family gatherings are over.