Three French Abbeys

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This is probably one of the most famous lavender fields in all of France. It is cultivated by the monks of the Abbaye de Sénanque and blooms in early summer. By the time we got here it was all over. We hadn’t intended to come but the road from Venasque to Gordes was closed at Sénanque and we could go no further, so we turned around in the car park. That was the nearest we got. Continue reading “Three French Abbeys”

Frames of reference

New River, Blue River

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Myddleton House was named after Hugh Myddleton who built the New River, an aqueduct carrying fresh water into London. Over the years its course has changed but originally in 1613 it flowed through here, beneath these iron railings marking an earlier bridge. Continue reading “New River, Blue River”

Frames of reference

Banstead Wood & Mayfield

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In France in early August we’d been too late to see the famous Luberon lavender, but back in England it’s not harvested until September. We went down to Banstead in Surrey to visit Mayfield’s lavender farm. The flowers bloomed in the late August sunshine and the fragrant fields buzzed with intoxicated bees and butterflies and other lavender enthusiasts. Continue reading “Banstead Wood & Mayfield”

Frames of reference

Château La Coste

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Château la Coste is a vineyard 15km north of Aix-en-Provence which, since 2004, has become home to a remarkable collection of art and architecture. Signs have been kept to a minimum and the entrance was not immediately obvious, but we eventually found our way to the elegant, new art centre designed by Tadao Ando and emerged alongside Crouching Spider by Louise Bourgeois. Continue reading “Château La Coste”

Frames of reference

Rue Des Roues

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This is the Street of Wheels in L’Isle sur la Sorgue, Provence, France. The town once had seventy waterwheels, all powered by the Sorgue river, driving mills for grinding grain, making paper and weaving silk. Nowadays the river turns fourteen vestigial wheels driving the tourist circuit around the town. We came here on holiday and stayed in the house on the right by the street lamp. Continue reading “Rue Des Roues”

Frames of reference

Jerusalem, Topography & Typography

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Last Christmas I was given two books that I found inspirational in different ways: Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi’s Jerusalem and Simon Sebag Montefiore’s Jerusalem the Biography.

To summarise briefly, the first book has become my cooking bible, and is a testament to inspirational cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians, and the second book reveals the city’s complex history and the sources of controversy that have plagued her continuously. Continue reading “Jerusalem, Topography & Typography”

Frames of reference

The Fields Of Fyfield

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I’m getting behind. Too many posts and not enough time. This one’s long overdue. We walked this way a month ago or more. It was another suggestion from Christopher Somerville. We printed out the map and the directions only to find when we arrived in Fyfield that I’d left the map at home. The directions were good but occasionally a map would have clarified things. It led to a few differences of opinion and a few trial and error wrong turns and turnarounds. 7½ miles turned out to be more like 10. Continue reading “The Fields Of Fyfield”

Frames of reference

From Saffron Walden

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This walk begins where In Epping Forest ended. Butlers Retreat turned out to be the perfect place for breakfast, with possibly the best coffee in Essex. It kick started our trip up to Saffron Walden. Along the way we passed huge fields of cultivated rapeseed and roadside banks of wild cowslips, a yellow landscape that was once purple with crocus grown for their precious saffron. Continue reading “From Saffron Walden”

Frames of reference

In Epping Forest

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On May Day, a public holiday given over to celebrations of fertility we went looking for maypoles and morris dancers. We went out to Epping Forest and parked by Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge. Straightaway, even before leaving the car, there were grand old characterful trees springing back into life, bursting with new born leaves. Maypoles and morris dancers proved more elusive. Continue reading “In Epping Forest”

Frames of reference

Chequers

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Suddenly last weekend there was unexpected sunshine. I fancied the coast, Sue wanted to go west, we wasted time weighing pros and cons and set out later than we should have. We finally settled on the Chilterns, Sue’s homeland and we began our walk from Butler’s Cross at the foot of Coombe Hill, site of geography field trips to the trig point at its summit. The surrounding hedgerows suggested snakes & ladders as much as chequers and the soundtrack was the song of the skylark. Continue reading “Chequers”

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