Saturday 2 September 2017

Beautiful day

The view on my header was photographed about three miles from my front door.   Yes, that is the sort of wonderful countryside we live in.  I hope we all appreciate how lucky we are.

Several folk have commented on the dry stone walls.   Obviously there is a lot of natural stone occurring around here and it was the obvious material both to build the old cottages and to build the stone walls between the fields and create enclosures.   Now, in more modern days, some of the old, derelict barns are being demolished bit by bit and the stone is being used for other things.

The stone walls remain in many places but sadly they don't last as a permanent barrier, attacked as they are by wind, rain and sheep to name but three attackers.   And dry stone walling as a career is not as popular as it once was so it is not always possible to find someone to repair a broken down wall - and when someone is found the work is costly.   So inevitably the walls in many areas of the Dales are falling down and farmers are using
wire fencing to cover the gaps and keep the sheep in.

Most of our little Dales villages are very attractive, roads lined as they are with pretty stone cottages, but there is a snag here too.   When the cottages were built cars had not been invented and the cottages were built close together and at higgledy piggledy angles so that the cars have to be left on the side of the road rather than in a garage and that often leads to congestion on our roads, especially in the Summer time.

But we can't have everything can we?   As it is we live in a beautiful area and we are grateful for that beauty.   The countryside is a miracle at every time of the year from the fields of wild flowers in the Spring through to the snowy tops in mid-winter and I for one would not live anywhere else on earth.

16 comments:

Gwil W said...

It's a "beautiful day" and if Wales can win at Cardiff tonight and the home crowd is in good voice it will be perfect. ;)

Jules said...

You live in a truly stunning part of the world. I don't blame you for not wanting to be anywhere else. It's a beautiful day here today. X

Joanne Noragon said...

I do love how we all are particularly attached to our part of the world and describe its beauty to anyone.

Doc said...

As a child I spent hours on end exploring our stone walls and the hedgerows, finding all sorts of creatures to take home including hedgehogs. This post stirs up so many memories.

Simone said...

The new header is stunning. I would walk for miles if I lived in countryside like that. :)

justjill said...

It is beautiful. We have stone dykes (walls) up here in the NE of Scotland. And too the wire where the stone has collapsed. The Scottish National Trust possibly the English one too have courses on dry stone walling. They should have preservation notices on ! The walls I mean not the NT!

Bovey Belle said...

A misty start here, but then it warmed up and we shed layers as we wandered round the Antique Fair at Builth.

We have very narrow lanes around here and the first rule of country driving is to learn to REVERSE! You probably won't be surprised at how many folk can't. One of mum's carers once lost her car in flood water because she had never had the confidence to reverse.

We have dry stone walls in parts around here. Quite often they are built into a bank at the base. As you say though, they go to rack and ruin because it is so expensive to rebuild them and few craftsman around now with that skill.

You have some superb views so close to home and I shan't complain as so do we. I count myself blessed to live in such beautiful surroundings.

Rachel Phillips said...

The beauty of the countryside comes in many different guises.

Hill Top Post said...

What a lovely post about a lovely land. Your header picture is wondrous; will be hard to take that one down.

Susan Heather said...

Quite a few old stone walls here in Whangarei at the north of the North Island of New Zealand. They are built out of the volcanic rock that had to be cleared from the fields.

Peter said...

There is something for your poetry group, Mending Walls by Robert Frost. Here in New England our woods are filled with old stone walls, mostly fallen down and serving no purpose. Beautiful post!
Peter

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Such beauty. I love the stone walls and the stone houses. I really like watching "Escape to the Country" on youtube - I think I've watched every episode since 2011 - such a great show, for those of us who can't travel to your area. I don't know what locals think of the show - but we over here adore it. We get glimpses of places we'd only hoped to see in our life time, and the old buildings are spectacular. We have nothing like the barn conversions over here in the US - our barns are wood and often are just left to deteriorate instead of being refurbished - but then they don't have the life expectancy of a building built of solid stone. The scenery is breathtaking - as is your new header. I've always said that England is the most beautiful place in the entire world.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thank you Peter - we have had the Frost poem many times. It is lovely.
I am glad you all like the header. Thanks for calling.

thousandflower said...

I so love your part of the world.

Jennyff said...

Your new header made me gasp with delight, feeling homesick now and ther doesn't usually happen until late autumn.

Unknown said...

They are built out of the volcanic rock that had to be cleared from the fields.


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