Europe Archives - Page 4 of 4 - What Stacy Did

Sunset on Golden Bay

Destinations, Europe, Malta · November 13, 2015

Sunset on Golden Bay

A Maltese Day Out

Destinations, Europe, Malta · November 11, 2015

A Maltese Day Out

The rock houses at Kinver Age date back centuries.

The rock houses at Kinver Age date back centuries. Infact, up until just after WWII they were lived in. Consisting of 11 cottages of 46 residents, complete with kitchen ranges, chimneys, a well and delightful vegetable gardens to make them completely self sufficient.

Although there is no proof that Tolkien ever visited here, it is hugely possible and may have been inspired by the dwellings here to create Hobbiton. It even had the iconic round green Hobbit hole door.

In the early 1930s, Tolkien was pursuing an academic career at Oxford, when one day, while marking exam papers, he discovered a blank page. Overcome by sudden inspiration, he wrote the first line of the book:

“In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit.”

Asides from the numerous similarities between the descriptions and look of the Hobbit homes, Tolkien even includes local Kinver legends.

There is a story that once a terrible fight broke out between the giants of Kinver and those of Enville over a pretty giantess, resulting in the Enville giant being driven out of Kinver. To remind him never to come back the Kinver giant threw a great boulder after him which landed near the village of Compton. Another version of the legend is that the Enville giant was struck by lightning while the sun was still shining and turned to stone. There are unmistakable parallels to these stories in Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit. In chapter II, Roast Mutton, Bilbo Baggins and his companions are trapped by three unpleasant trolls who are tricked into arguing until dawn when the sunlight turns them to stone. Later in the story they must hide in a cave during a storm to avoid rocks that are being thrown around by mountain giants.

While Tolkien never revealed the names of the places that inspired his stories, he did admit that many of them were based on his experiences in the English Midlands where he lived as a youth. Kinver is situated less than 20 miles from Birmingham where Tolkien lived, and at that time it was a popular day out from the city. Tolkien also hated living inside the City of Birmingham and took every opportunity to explore the surrounding countryside.

So what do you think? Real life Hobbiton?

Happy Friday 😊 It’s Heidi’s 5th birthday to

Happy Friday 😊 It’s Heidi’s 5th birthday today so we’re going to be taking her down to Kent to see all her cousins. She doesn’t know yet, she’s going to be so excited when she realises!

Today I thought I’d share with you my favourite garden in the whole of England - @gresgarthhall

Gresgarth Hall in Lancashire is the most magical place. Created over a period of 40 years by its owner, the renowned garden designer Arabella Lennox-Boyd, this is truly a garden to get lost in and a worthy tribute of a lifetimes work. I’ve been a couple of times to visit this masterpiece of a garden and every time I struggle to tear my eyes away from admiring the dreamy reflections of the house cast on the lake. I’m hoping to pay another visit soon so shall show you around properly in stories. Until then, I hope you enjoy these images from last year 💚

Happy Sunday! Let’s have some Lake District fu

Happy Sunday!

Let’s have some Lake District fun facts 😊

1 - Despite being home to 16 bodies of water, only one of these has lake in its name, Bassenthwaite Lake. All the others are meres, tarns and waters.
2 - A lot of old Cumbrian words come from Old Norse. Fell comes from “fjall”, meaning mountain. Tarn comes from “tjorn”, meaning teardrop, and is often the name of mountain lakes. Beck comes from “bekkr”, meaning stream.
3 - The Lake District was formed by volcanic activity about 450 million years ago. The mountains in the Lake District are actually older than the Himalayas, which are only about 50 million years old.
4 - On a clear day, from the Lake District you can see Wales, Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man 😍
5 - The region is home to 6 times more sheep than people! With over 3 million in the county of Cumbria and a population of only 500,000.
6 - The lakes are known for the tens of thousands of Herdwick Sheep that roam the land. Beatrix Potter played a large part in the conservation of this strong, hardy breed, instructing her farmers to keep and breed Herdwicks, and was even president of the breed association! Did you know they change colour as they get older? They start out a blackish brown and go grey as they get older.
7 - Speaking of Beatrix Potter, she visited often as she was growing up and was of course inspired by much of the Lake District’s wildlife for her stories, including the famous Peter Rabbit. But did you know she bought her house, Hill Top cottage, with the profits of her first book?
8 - The Lake District also inspired poet William Wordsworth. In 1810 he published his Guide to Lakes. Amazingly, the famous romantic poet only wrote the travellers’ guidebook because he needed the money!
9 - There are approximately 14,560 archaeological sites and monuments. These include remains of homes from the Bronze Age and rock carvings that are believed to be up to 6,000 years old 😯😳
10 - Did you know that the Lake District is so popular that more than a quarter of the UK’s population visits each year - that’s approximately 17 million visitors annually!

📸 taken on a tour booked with @getyourguide (paid partnership)

Let me tell you a story. Athelstan, the first Ki

Let me tell you a story.

Athelstan, the first King of England and grandson to Alfred the Great, died in 939AD at the height of his power. He was brought to Malmesbury Abbey, which sits right next door to Abbey House Gardens, to be buried. His bones were somehow lost but he is commemorated by an empty 15th century tomb. William of Malmesbury however, wrote some time later, that Athelstan’s body had been removed from the Abbey and placed in the Abbot’s garden to avoid desecration. The former Abbot’s garden is modern day Abbey House Garden, which means somewhere in this magical place is the body of the first King of England 😯

Oh, and there are two saints that were thrown down the well too 🤫😳

Happy Thursday!

I spent last week up in the beautiful Lake Distric

I spent last week up in the beautiful Lake District and whilst I was up there I booked myself a stay @rydalhall . Built in the 16th Century, Rydal Hall was the home of the le Fleming family. The house has subsequently been much altered, including the addition of the formal garden out front - more photos on that soon!

This wee beauty is St Mary’s Church, situated next to Rydal Hall. The chapel of St Mary was built by Lady le Fleming in 1824 at a cost of £1500 which is the equivalent of about £182,000 today. William Wordsworth himself helped to choose the site, which was originally an orchard. William and his family, who lived at nearby at Rydal Mount, used to come and worship here at this church and their family pews are on each side of the aisle at the front of the church. Wordsworth was even church warden from 1833-1834, and you can come here and see a memorial plaque to him.

You could so easily just drive past this church and be none the wiser as to how much history and how many stories there are to it. Is it any wonder I can’t go anywhere without trying to find out what tales a place has to tell?! 😂

Happy weekend! This truly iconic Lake District f

Happy Friday! As you may have seen I’m up in the

Happy Friday! As you may have seen I’m up in the Lakes, exploring this gorgeous region 😍 I’m saving all my stories in the ‘Lake District’ highlight reel on my feed if you want to catch up with where I’ve been. For my first post let me begin by sharing this cute wee house in Ambleside which is arguably the most famous in the Lake District.

It’s story begins with The Braithwaites who were an incredibly influential family and originally built Bridge House to access their lands on the other side of Stock Beck and also to store apples from their orchards, which surrounded Bridge House. It’s pretty spectacular that this little house has survived through the centuries as Ambleside has changed and developed around it!

Over the years it’s been used as a counting house for the mills of Rattle Ghyll, a tea-room, a weaving shop, a cobbler's, a chair maker's and was even once home to a family of eight! Can you imagine??

In 1858, Harriet Martineau wrote in her popular Guide to the Lake District: "the odd little grey dwelling ... is the ancient house which is considered the most curious relic in Ambleside of the olden time… it is the one which every artist sketches as he passes by." It even attracted the attention of the likes of Turner and Lewis Pinhorn Wood.

Unfortunately, by the 1920s the Bridge House was in desperate need of repair. Famous residents like Beatrix Potter (who we have to thank for preserving A LOT in this region), who lived nearby, visited Bridge House when it was in a poor state and the council had threatened to demolish it. Notable members of the community knew they had to save this little house, they were the wife of the National Trust’s founder Canon Rawnsley, William Wordsworth’s grandson and William Heelis who was Beatrix Potter’s husband. They all pitched in together and raised funds to the sum of £1,244, 11s, 10d in 1926. With the money, they bought the Bridge House in Ambleside and donated it to the National Trust. Ever since then, it has remained their property and is taken care of for us all to visit to this day ❤️ Have I mentioned how much I love the @nationaltrust ?? 🙌

Have a wonderful start to your weekend!

One of the things I love most about living in the

One of the things I love most about living in the UK is the sheer amount of history that we have at our fingertips. Much in the form of architecture like this incredible 13th century moated manor house.

Birtsmorton Court dates to 1241 and can be found just a few miles west of the historic market town of Tewksbury which was the site of one of the most decisive battles in the War of the Roses in 1471. A battle that is re-enacted every year and attracts thousands of tourists.

I’m a sucker for a moated Manor House, there’s something so charming about them. There are around 5500 moated sites surviving in Britain, of which no more than 30 still contain water and only a handful have a double moat like the one at @birtscourt . The moat here is still full of fish, a reminder of the days when they would once have supplied the larder of the house. The moat is filled from the streams of the Malvern Hills via a large collecting pond to the west of the house, known as the Westminster pool. Tradition has it that the Pool has the same dimensions as the nave of Westminster Abbey and was dug in the same year of its consecration, which would date it to 1269 or earlier.

My favourite part though is of course the gardens. They really were gorgeous with the abundance of climbing roses that adorned the walls of the formal garden. The borders in full bloom with peonies, delphiniums, lupins, and even more roses. It had such a beautiful perfume. Not to mention the spectacular White Garden which makes for one seriously photogenic wedding spot 🥰

Keep an eye out on the @nationalgardenscheme website for their opening dates next year ❤️ I’m certain you’ll love this one! It’s only open to the pubic one day a year so make sure to bookmark it. It’s one of the best gardens I’ve seen all year. Or if you can’t wait for the annual open day, there are a couple of lovely cottages and luxury shepherds huts so you could book yourself a weekend away here instead!

Fun fact: Birtsmorton Court was the setting for William Samuel Symonds’ historical novel ‘Malvern Chase’.

P.S. The doggies in these photos are Ruby and Pearl and they call this gorgeous place home 🐶

If there’s one thing I love about warm summer da

If there’s one thing I love about warm summer days, it’s getting outdoors and enjoying a picnic! I feel like we’ve not had that many decent days for it this year, that might all just be in my imagination 😅 but I checked the forecast for here in the Midlands this week and it looks like we’re in for some sunshine and 20+ temperatures. Which means…picnic time 😍 So I thought I’d share some of my favourite picnic spots here in Derbyshire 🧺🥖🍾🧀

1. Ashford-in-the-Water - My favourite. I love sitting by the river watching the willow tree brush the water, taking in the views towards the charming cottage on the other side of the bank and the old sheep wash bridge..listening to the sound of the ducks while we enjoy local nibbles, either purchased from the village itself or from just down the road in Bakewell.

2. Bakewell - Another great place to sit by the river and enjoy some local treats. There are two fantastic shops (Bloomers of Bakewell and The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop) where you can pick up famous Bakewell Puddings amongst many other delicious local pies and tarts. Or treat yourself to fish & chips and park yourself on a bench and do a spot of people watching down by the riverfront.

3. Tissington - A delightful village with an old hall and cute cottages but my favourite bit is the village green complete with duck pond 😍 This is usually where we pop a blanket down and enjoy some treats from @herberts_fine_english_tearooms

4. Carsington Water - Take your bikes and a backpack full of treats to Carsington Water, a man-made attraction, but beautiful nonetheless. An ideal location for a family day out, there are toilet facilities in the visitor centre, a park for the little ones to run around in and loads of grassy spots to sit down and enjoy your picnic with peaceful views over Carsington Water. We’ve spent many a summer picnicking here.

5. Chatsworth House - It isn’t summer if I haven’t been to Chatsworth House for a picnic! I love to sit across the river in front of the house so I get to enjoy the best views with my basket of goodies from the Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop. If it’s a super hot day you can even cool off with a swim in the river.

Copyright © 2021 What Stacy Did

Theme by 17th Avenue

Copyright © 2021 · Pippa on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in