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O, To Be In England...

Stormkhan said:
Somewhere around, buried under the detritus of time, I've got a photograph of a font in a church on the Isle of Wight. It's clearly carved with pentacles!
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Which church? I might just have a photo...
 
Stormkhan said:
IIRC it was Brading.
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This is my only photo of the font at Brading, if it was this one then it must be on the other side:

St._Mary_the_Virgin's_Church,_Brading,_Isle_of_Wight_04.jpg
 
The photos are excellent. The one that appears to show a faceless monk is especially interesting, amongst what I assume are 'merely' saints and memento mori - is it perhaps, a record of a renowned local haunting? It seems too early, historically, for it to be some kind of anti-Catholic propaganda...
 
Steven said:
The photos are excellent. The one that appears to show a faceless monk is especially interesting, amongst what I assume are 'merely' saints and memento mori - is it perhaps, a record of a renowned local haunting? It seems too early, historically, for it to be some kind of anti-Catholic propaganda...
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The monument apparently dates to 1681, so still plenty of religious tension - the Civil War still in living memory.

Edit: I think I have seen the faceless monk carving used on the cover of a ghost book in my collection, I'll have to have a dig around now.
 
Herr Cloaca said:
The pentangle was a Christian symbol in the Middle Ages and features prominently in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
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Isn't it dependent of which way up it is? ... seem to remember an arguement about that on some mb or other. But what do I know?
 
As far as I'm aware, the 'Satanic' version is with the point down, because you might - if you squint a bit - be able to impose a horned goat's head on it. Beard in bottom point, ears next up then horns at top.
 
Hiking in the West Country today, Taunton to Wiveliscombe, idyllic. Have to give a shout for West Country cider, 2 pubs, spoilt for choice, and two ciders I've never tried before, Sheppy's and Devon Red. Sheppy's is rather nice, Devon Red has a strange cheesy tang after a pint of Sheppy's. I'm staying in a 17th century coaching inn suspected of being older. Fingers crossed for a ghost tonight, but not very hopeful:
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SimonBurchell said:
Hiking in the West Country today, Taunton to Wiveliscombe, idyllic. Have to give a shout for West Country cider, 2 pubs, spoilt for choice, and two ciders I've never tried before, Sheppy's and Devon Red. Sheppy's is rather nice, Devon Red has a strange cheesy tang after a pint of Sheppy's. I'm staying in a 17th century coaching inn suspected of being older. Fingers crossed for a ghost tonight, but not very hopeful:
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After all this ciders, you'll certainly be seeing spirits....
 
SimonBurchell said:
Hiking in the West Country today, Taunton to Wiveliscombe, idyllic. Have to give a shout for West Country cider, 2 pubs, spoilt for choice, and two ciders I've never tried before, Sheppy's and Devon Red. Sheppy's is rather nice, Devon Red has a strange cheesy tang after a pint of Sheppy's. I'm staying in a 17th century coaching inn suspected of being older. Fingers crossed for a ghost tonight, but not very hopeful:
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You need proper West Country cider - Thatcher's is the best. Or if you've got a strong stomach,then scrumpy is rather tasty,but a little stronger. We in the West Country know cider and cheese.
 
Grumpyoldwoman said:
You need proper West Country cider - Thatcher's is the best. Or if you've got a strong stomach,then scrumpy is rather tasty,but a little stronger. We in the West Country know cider and cheese.
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Barbers cruncher? Beautiful.
 
Grumpyoldwoman said:
You need proper West Country cider - Thatcher's is the best. Or if you've got a strong stomach,then scrumpy is rather tasty,but a little stronger. We in the West Country know cider and cheese.
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I do, of course, drink Thatchers all the time... but you can buy it anywhere, and I rather like trying out new ciders... Having said that, I stayed at the Anchor, Exebridge last night, and they only had Thatchers. Never mind, I had to shut up and make do. Sigh.
 
Having worked a while in Cornwall, I developed a taste for good, dry scrumpy.
Thatcher's isn't bad ... but I prefer Old Rosie. When not down there for availability.
I'd always pick up a gallon or two of 'the good stuff' from the Callestock Cider Farm. Nowadays it's all changed ... they actually have self-catering holiday accommodation. Hmmmmm.
 
Thatcher's is OK, I used to drink Thatcher's Heritage but haven't seen it for a few years now. Similarly Sheppy's, who used to make a pleasant, easy drinking cider called Goldfinch that I haven't seen around for a while.

Of the smaller producers I quite like some from the Gloucestershire / Herefordshire area - Severn Cider do some very nice cider and perry and also Gwatkin.
 
I hiked from Exebridge to Exford today, across Exmoor. The reason I took this particular route was to see the Caratacus Stone:
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Sub-Roman, 6th century maybe, incomplete Latin inscription honouring someone claiming to be a descendent of Caratacus, king of the Catuvellauni, who famously resisted the Romans, and was spared after giving a particularly eloquent speech in Greek, after he was captured and carted off to Rome. The dating of the stone places it roughly in the epoch of Arthurian myth. It actually made me a little sad when I saw it... this little stone is all that remains of this unknown person's legacy, in the bleak expanse of Exmoor, his very name obliterated by the elements, only that of his illustrious ancestor remaining.

Thanks to late breakfast serving at the Anchor in Exebridge, I was still on the moors well after dark, with a spectacular starfield above, and a lot of wind-blown ice crystals. And I delighted myself imagining Ursula Faskelyne, the Walking Death (@Tunn11), pic here. Her boots crunching on the icy mud in the darkness behind me, as the bitter wind cut me to my soul. Perhaps hearing her filthy breath whistling between her rotting teeth, and an evil chuckle behind my ear. Then I passed near Herne's Barrow, although I could not see it, and I imagined Herne the Hunter riding across the sky, with a full pack of hell hounds. Sometimes it's really great to be on the moors after dark.
 

Public rights of way blocked in 32,000 places​



Walkers wanting to enjoy footpaths across the British countryside are being blocked or obstructed in nearly 32,000 places across England and Wales.

But they are fighting back, with one rambler even training as a lawyer to force councils to keep the way clear.

A BBC investigation found councils which have responsibility for footpaths had 4,000 more access issues on public rights of way in 2023 than in 2022.
Campaigners said this showed a "growing abuse and neglect" of the path network.
Local authorities said "funding constraints" limited what they can do.

In Cornwall, which has 2,796 miles (4,500km) of public rights of way, Lucy Wilson is one walker determined to make sure countryside footpaths are kept useable.

Campaigner Lucy Wilson has trained as a lawyer in order to challenge her local council's work on access

Standing on a footpath tucked into the folds of the Tamar Valley, Mrs Wilson points up at a sheer muddy bank, topped with a thicket of brambles.

"That's where the path should go," she says. "You can't see anything. It's just gone."
Her finger traces the registered right of way on a map on her phone. We scramble up the bank but have no chance of forcing our way past the thorns.

She explains that people have been trying for five years to get Cornwall Council to make this path accessible.

"The council doesn't have the resources - but that's not an excuse, because they have a statutory duty to do this. It's not a choice," she explains.

All landowners have a duty to keep paths clear but the ultimate responsibility rests with the local highways authority - usually the local county or unitary council or national park authority.

The BBC asked 118 local authorities how many obstacles, blockages and inaccessible footpaths they had in their areas.

Meanwhile, across England and Wales, The Ramblers - Britain's walking charity - say they are coming across similar problems - but the true scale of blocked and obstructed footpaths has so far remained unknown.

So the BBC used Environmental Information Regulations to ask 118 local councils outside of London and national park authorities how many blockages and obstructions were recorded at the end of 2022 and on a specific day - 31 October 2023.

Seventy-three authorities were able to provide the data, with 31,816 obstructions - ranging from overgrown vegetation to deliberately fenced-off paths - recorded on 31 October, an increase from 27,696 at the end of 2022.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67937253
 
Floyd1 said:

Public rights of way blocked in 32,000 places​



Walkers wanting to enjoy footpaths across the British countryside are being blocked or obstructed in nearly 32,000 places across England and Wales.

But they are fighting back, with one rambler even training as a lawyer to force councils to keep the way clear.

A BBC investigation found councils which have responsibility for footpaths had 4,000 more access issues on public rights of way in 2023 than in 2022.
Campaigners said this showed a "growing abuse and neglect" of the path network.
Local authorities said "funding constraints" limited what they can do.

In Cornwall, which has 2,796 miles (4,500km) of public rights of way, Lucy Wilson is one walker determined to make sure countryside footpaths are kept useable.

Campaigner Lucy Wilson has trained as a lawyer in order to challenge her local council's work on access

Standing on a footpath tucked into the folds of the Tamar Valley, Mrs Wilson points up at a sheer muddy bank, topped with a thicket of brambles.

"That's where the path should go," she says. "You can't see anything. It's just gone."
Her finger traces the registered right of way on a map on her phone. We scramble up the bank but have no chance of forcing our way past the thorns.

She explains that people have been trying for five years to get Cornwall Council to make this path accessible.

"The council doesn't have the resources - but that's not an excuse, because they have a statutory duty to do this. It's not a choice," she explains.

All landowners have a duty to keep paths clear but the ultimate responsibility rests with the local highways authority - usually the local county or unitary council or national park authority.

The BBC asked 118 local authorities how many obstacles, blockages and inaccessible footpaths they had in their areas.

Meanwhile, across England and Wales, The Ramblers - Britain's walking charity - say they are coming across similar problems - but the true scale of blocked and obstructed footpaths has so far remained unknown.

So the BBC used Environmental Information Regulations to ask 118 local councils outside of London and national park authorities how many blockages and obstructions were recorded at the end of 2022 and on a specific day - 31 October 2023.

Seventy-three authorities were able to provide the data, with 31,816 obstructions - ranging from overgrown vegetation to deliberately fenced-off paths - recorded on 31 October, an increase from 27,696 at the end of 2022.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67937253
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Tell me about it. I often have to use creative navigation. Only the day before yesterday I came across a farm gate solidly bolted closed, causing a bit of a detour around a field edge, and adding a few hundred yards distance to my hike... it all adds up. I should have just climbed over the bloody thing.
 
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