Autumn festivals, woodlands, cakes and birthdays

I love that my birthday is in autumn, my favourite season. Tis a season for long misty walks, harvesting veggies from the garden, foraging for fruits, roots and mushrooms, and baking delicious cakes. Tis also a season for music and celebrating the land, both of which were in abundance at this year's Rivenstone festival, held on the beautiful Dartmoor landscape.

Weaving looms with the land

An offering

Nigel Shaw and Carolyn Hillyer performing at Rivenstone

Early autumn walks in Foxley wood

Anticipation of autumn gathering

Autumn cakes made with Foxley blackberries!

Advent Tour 2009

I am pleased to be participating in yet another Virtual Advent Tour, and seeing as today is the 21st of December, I would like to share a little about the winter solstice with you, along with some photos of my solstice celebrations yesterday (i.e. snowy woodland frolics!).

The winter solstice is both an astronomical and cultural event. In its astronomical meaning, the solstice occurs when the tilt of the earth's axis is furthest away from the sun, thus for people in the higher latitudes, this is observed as the shortest day of the year. The seasonal significance of this is that from this day on each year, the days begin to lengthen, and light returns to the world. It is this that has been celebrated each year for millenia, with the first records of the festival celebrated by the Germanic peoples in the 4th century, though it will likely have originated much earlier.

Yule was traditionally celebrated with feasting, drinking and general merriment, as pagans rejoiced in the banishing of the winter months. Other traditions that have since been incorporated into the winter festivals of many other cultures and religions include decorating homes with evergreens, yule logs (of the wood or chocolate varieties!), singing and christmas carols (known as wassailing) and the giving of gifts.

Yule is still celebrated around the world, by pagans, and others alike, with the festival undertaking many changes with other cultures and religions taking on facets, but all include a celebration of light. As today is unfortunately a work day, I celebrated Yule yesterday with a long walk through woodlands and past the frozen lake of the Blickling estate which was beautifully covered in snow. On Christmas eve I will be joining my family for a few days feasting, followed by my last historical excursion of the year, Hampton Court, assuming I can make it there in the snow!

So here is wishing you all a very festive Yule, Christmas and New Year, and any other traditions you may be celebrating. May the light return swiftly for us all.

Felbrigg Hall

Continuing my summer visits of old stately homes, two weeks ago I visited Felbrigg Hall, a 17th century country house and estate in north Norfolk, close to Blickling Hall. Also owned by the National Trust, Felbrigg is renowned for its unaltered (and somewhat mishmash) architecture. The estate covers over 1700 acres of parkland, including the 520 acre Great Wood, which I spent much of the afternoon walking through. It was a really unusual house, with a lot of character and a lovely cosy library compared to the grandeur I expect from most stately houses. We did the usual tour of the house followed by a lovely afternoon tea and cake (!) and a long walk in the woods.

But perhaps the best part was intentionally getting ourselves a little lost on the way there and back, through some of the most confusing and windiest lanes I have seen in a long time, all the while discovering some of Norfolk’s loveliest hidden villages.

Felbrigg Hall

View from a window at Felbrigg

The woodlands at Felbrigg

Meadows

Taking a break!

Making a new friend (with cake!)

Folk by the Oak at Hatfield House

A few weeks ago, I visited Hatfield House, a stunning stately home in Hertfordshire, best known for it's links to the royal Tudors. The house was built in the grounds formerly owned by Henry VIII, and the Old Palace, which still stands in the grounds, was the childhood home of his children, including Queen Elizabeth I. In fact, it was in the grounds of Hatfield that Elizabeth learned of her accession to the throne.

Built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, first Earl of Salisbury, and the son of Elizabeth's chief advisor. Today the house stands in 1000 acres of park and gardens, and is home to some of England's finest oak. I have visited the house and grounds often as a child, and again each year for the annual Living Crafts fayre. But this trip was primarily to enjoy Folk by the Oak, the second folk festival hosted in the grounds, with two of my favourite musicians performing, Kate Rusby and Kathryn Tickell. I also got to see several other groups and musicians play for the first time, including the award winning Lau, The Shee and Karine Polwart. Armed with picnic and rainproof clothing, we had a fabulous day, enjoying the delights of the house and gardens in the morning and folk music in the evening. Summer doesn't get much better!

The Old Palace at Hatfield

Hatfield House

A Hatfield rose

Trying to be a little arty!

The friendly face of a green man

The Shee

USA adventures...part three

After leaving Montana, I headed west through some of the most stunningly beautiful parts of Washington State (with the most fantastic rain clouds I have seen since leaving China!), past Seattle and into the Olympic Peninsular. There I drove through Port Angeles and into Forks, of Twilight fame, a quaint little town very much reliant on the books' fame but full of hidden gems and interesting people. Then I hiked a trail I have long wanted to visit, the Hoh River Rainforest Trail, full of stunning forests covered in moss, and little beasties that popped up to greet me. Ending my trip in Seattle was a little disappointing after all that wildlife (though I did spend a day shopping in The Elliot Bay Book Company, where I returned with many a read!! All in all, an excellent trip!

Deer in Glacier National Park

Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park

The Hoh River Rainforest

Hungry squirrel!

Hummingbird

A very watchful young elk

My beloved Pacific Ocean!

USA adventures...part two

After a fabulous few days hiking in Yellowstone, I drove up through the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana, and through the lovely town of Kalispell, to the very quaint town of Whitefish. Just outside, I joined the highlight of my travels, the Bar W Guest Ranch where I stayed for several days. The weather was suprisingly hot for this time of year, and I spent my hours, riding, walking, eating, riding, riding some more (!), arena skills such as barrel racing and pole bending, and practised my hand at roping cows and team penning. In the evenings we had delicious meals cooked in the beautiful homestead, bbqs out in the gazebo by the lake, rides in the horsedrawn cart and drinking beers to piano and guitar music on the porch with excellent company. Fabulous. I really did not want to leave, but afterwards I got to spend a day in the stunning Glacier National Park, possibly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Where I was also lucky enough to see a grizzly up close. I shall definitely be returning to Montana.

Bar W Ranch, Whitefish, Montana

Bar W Ranch, Whitefish, Montana

Chilling out after a long morning trail ride

Barrel racing

Frolics!

Team penning

Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park

USA adventures...part one

Bit late in my holiday posts but things continue to be manic in old Norfolk!

My trip to the States was primarily to spend a week in Minnesota catching up with old friends from Hawaii, and celebrating my dear friend Susie's wedding. But after going all that way, I decided to make the most of the trip and travel across country, visiting some of the sites I have longed to see. I hired a car and drived from Minneapolis to Seattle, making a few stops along the way...

Badlands, South Dakota

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

Crazy Horse Mountain, Sout Dakota

Crazy Horse Mountain...a work in progress..

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Early spring in Yellowstone

Old Faithful