Tag Archives: Abbey

A Thousand Miles of History VI: Nice weather for ducks and Drake…

Posted on July 20, 2018 by

  It was raining when we finally found our way through the mists. It was still raining when we arrived in Tavistock, to be welcomed by a surprising figure. Sir Francis Drake… privateer to Queen Elizabeth I, circumnavigator of the … Continue reading →

Posted in albion, Books, Don and Wen, historic sites, Photography, Stuart France and Sue Vincent | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

The land of the ‘stone father’

Posted on February 11, 2018 by

At the heart of an ancient landscape is the Dorset village of Cerne Abbas. The village grew up around a Benedictine Abbey founded there over a thousand years ago and it is still a place where folklore, myth and legend … Continue reading →

Posted in The Silent Eye | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Microfiction #writephoto: Carp by Jane Dougherty

Posted on March 4, 2017 by

The stream ran over the ancient stones as it had done for almost a thousand years, but the carp pool was empty. No fish had grown fat in its crystal bright waters for so long that few remembered what the … Continue reading →

Posted in photo prompt, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Going west – The poet’s yew

Posted on July 14, 2016 by

The rain continued as we walked from the Abbey to the church, the sky heavy and grey. Even the shelter of the trees was not enough to protect the lens from the constant drops, but it began to ease as … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient sites, Art, Birds, Churches, flight, History, Photography, Spirituality, Stuart France and Sue Vincent, Wales | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Five days: 5 – Lover’s knot

Posted on June 14, 2015 by

The final photo challenge day… and I choose this simple picture. Nothing spectacular, just a bit of worn stone. But it is a special thing to me, a lover’s knot carved on the base of one of the pillars of … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient sites, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Discovering Albion – day 9: Interwoven threads

Posted on February 14, 2015 by

We walked down the Norman nave, passing Abbot Hugh’s pillar, identical to those at Durham cathedral where we had been the day before. Was it only the previous day? Similar too to the great carved columns of Dunfermline a few … Continue reading →

Posted in adventure, Photography, scotland road trip, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Discovering Albion – day 9: Dignity and memories

Posted on February 14, 2015 by

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of AD 779 mentions a settlement called Seletun. Arcahaeological remains show it to have been first settled by the Vikings and there was an extensive Roman presence. Today the little town of Selby still straddles the banks … Continue reading →

Posted in adventure, Photography, scotland road trip, travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Discovering Albion – day 6: St Andrews… the Abbey

Posted on February 5, 2015 by

We didn’t go to the Roman Catholic Cathedral where the relics of St Andrew are housed. We were here to see the ancient places where they had once been… lost now to time, buried perhaps somewhere in the vast graveyard … Continue reading →

Posted in adventure, Ancient sites, Photography, scotland road trip, travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Discovering Albion – day 6: The elasticity of time.

Posted on February 5, 2015 by

According to the map we covered another two hundred miles that day. More, if you take into account that we did it all on the back roads , being very gentle with the ailing car and sticking to the coast … Continue reading →

Posted in adventure, Ancient sites, Photography, scotland road trip, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Discovering Albion – day 6 – Dunfermline Abbey

Posted on February 4, 2015 by

They were locking the door on half of the Abbey Church as we arrived. The new bit, built on the site of the old choir, was opened in 1821 and houses the tombs of Queen Margaret (later canonised as St … Continue reading →

Posted in adventure, Ancient sites, Churches, History, Photography, scotland road trip | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments