A-Z Challenge 2018 - British Rivers: 'Z'

I must be a dunce to think that I could find a British river beginning with 'Z'. But then I remembered that 'z' is the last letter of the alphabet - 

Bridge, Buckland Mill, Devon

 showing two of the arches across the River Duntz.

In 1986 the BBC Domesday project included this is part of the "View of Buckland Brewer."

"In our area we have two rivers called Yeo and Duntz. They have quite a lot of small streams joining them. The Duntz is quite narrow with pebbles at the bottom. The Duntz joins the River Yeo which joins the River Torridge. The valleys have gently sloping sides and level floors.

The bridges crossing over the Yeo and Duntz are stone."

To hide the scars from this years A-Z and to maintain the mill connection I discovered a west country stream that rises in Wiltshire and which flows north east for 8.1 miles before joining the Bristol Avon (you could say that that has brought us back from 'Z' to 'A'.)

Mill Lane, Colston runs alongside Gauze Brook

That's all folks!

Photo attributions:

• Bridge, Buckland Mill: 16 February 2008 ex geograph.org.uk by Derek Harper - CC BY-SA 2.0 Licence
• Mill Lane Colston: 24 January 2007  ex geograph.org.uk by Roger Comfort - CC BY-SA 2.0 Licence.

A-Z Challenge 2018 - British Rivers: 'P'

At this stage of the Challenge it's time to mind my Ps and Qs. 

In East Devon when a visit by Queen Victoria was planned the names of some places where changed to '_____puddle', presumably to save her blushes.

In Dorset next to a church at Alton Pancras a small stream has its source.

River Piddle at Alton Pancras

Piddle in Old English simply means 'marsh' of 'fen".

The course of the Piddle takes it south/south east to Wareham where together with the River Frome it exits into Poole Harbour.

Afpuddle  is one of the small villages in East Dorset, situated in the heart of " Hardy's country " and on the banks of the little River Piddle, from which it derives its name.

Afpuddle on the River Piddle

An advert called Paradise for Sale inspired Ogden Nash to write this poem.

Had I the shillings, pounds and pence,

I'd pull up stakes and hie me hence,

I'd buy that small mixed farm in Dorset

Which has an inglenook and faucet--

Kiddles Farm, Piddletrenthide,

In the valley of the River Piddle.

I'd quit these vehement environs

Of diesel fumes and horn and sirens,

This manic, fulminating ruction

Of demolition and construction

For Kiddles Farm, Piddletrenthide,

In the valley of the River Piddle.

yes, quit for quietude seraphic

Con Edison's embrangled traffic,

To sit reflecting that the skylark,

Which once was Shelley's now is my lark,

At Kiddles Farm, Piddletrenthide,

In the valley of the River Piddle.

I'm sure the gods could not but bless

The man who lives at that address,

And revenue agents would wash their hands

And cease to forward their demands

To Kiddle Farm, Piddletrenthide,

In the valley of the River Piddle.

Oh, the fiddles I'd fiddle,

The riddles I'd riddle,

The skittles I'd scatter,

The winks I would tiddle!

Then, hey diddle diddle diddle!

I'll jump from the griddle

And live out my days

To the end from the middle

On Kiddles Farm, Piddletrenthide

In the valley of the River Piddle.

For those of you with a musical bent you may sing along with this at  Ogden Nash Paradise for Sale - Lewin 4

The village of Piddletrenthide is mentioned in the Domesday Book as an estate on the River Piddle assessed at thirty (trent) hides.

If you are a movie buff I'll bet you didn't know that the African Queen was shot in part on the River Piddle when they used the reeds at the river mouth for where Bogart pulled the Queen along.

 The river passes next to the garden of a pub at Piddletrenthide just the place to stop at - no comment needed.

Photo attributions:

• River Piddle at Alton Pancras: 30 December 2008 ex geograph.org.uk by Nigel Mykura - CC BY-SA 2.0 licence
• Afpuddle on the River Piddle: c1903 Newberry Publications, published by Raphael Tuck & Sons - Public Domain
• Sign for the Piddle Inn: 4 October 2008 ex geograph.org.uk by Trish Steel - CC BY-SA 2.0 licence

A-Z Challenge 2018 - British Rivers: 'O' Ouse, Otter

There are several British rivers named Ouse from the Sanskrit word for water. The Great Ouse is the longest at 160 miles but it is the North Yorkshire Ouse with which I am most familiar.

This is a continuation  of the River Ure; the Ure/Ouse combination at 129 miles makes it the sixth longest in the UK. Tributaries include the Aire and the Nidd (earlier Challenge entries). Its catchment areas drain much of the Yorkshire Dales and the North Yorks Moors.

Map of the River Ouse and its catchment area

The Ouse and the River Trent combine to form the Humber Estuary (see A-Z 'H'.)

As the city of York knows to its cost the Ouse is prone to severe flooding. York is a place that we know well but again I have only one decent photo of the river as it flows through the city.

River Ouse in York - 2006

There are many bridges over the river that give great opportunities for photography.

The Ouse from Skeldergate Bridge with the Ouse Bridge in the background.

Shame I haven't taken any.

I have chosen the Somerset/Devon River Otter because of its name. It's only c20 miles long from its source to where it runs into the English Channel at Lyme Bay on the Jurassic Coast.

River Otter near Otterton

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1771-18340 wrote the 'Sonnet to the River Otter'.

Dear native brook! wild streamlet to the West!

How many various-fated years have past,

What happy, and what mournful hours since last

I skimmed the smooth thin stone along thy breast,

Numbering its light leaps! yet so deep imprest

Sink the sweet scenes of childhood, that mine eyes

I never shut amid the sunny ray,

But straight with all their tints thy waters rise,

Thy crossing plank, thy marge with willows grey,

And bedded sand that, veined with various dyes,

Gleamed through thy bright transparence! On my way,

Visions of childhood! oft have ye beguiled

Lone manhood's cares, yet waking fondest sighs:

Ah! that once more I were a careless child!

I wonder if he wrote that today whether he would also sing the praises of the beavers that have reappeared in the river in recent years. The Otter is the only river in England known to have a breeding population of this industrious animal.

Mouth of the River Otter at Budleigh Salterton

The pebble beach and cliffs at Budleigh Salterton are part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.

Photo attributions:

• River Ouse - catchment area map: 5 March 2014 ex Ordnance Survey OpenData by Nil j Fanion - CC BY-SA 3.0 licence
• River Ouse in York from Skeldergate Bridge: 30 September 2007 by Chris Wood - CC BY-SA 3.0 licence
• River Otter near Otterton: 30 July 2008 by Liz Moon - CC BY-SA 2.0 licence
• Mouth of River Otter at Budleigh Salterton: 18 March 2012 by Barry Lewis - CC BY 2.0 licence,

A-Z Challenge 2018 - British Rivers: 'B' Blyth, Bovey

When I chose the River Blyth in Northumberland I had no idea that there was another of the same name in Suffolk.

Their Old English name means gentle, cheerful, quiet or merry. I'll let you judge the truth of that.

River Blyth in Humford Woods, Northumberland

It has a tributary, the River Pont which at 11 miles long is only just less than half the Blyth's 27 miles as it wends its way through south Northumberland to enter the North Sea at the port of Blyth.

The River Blyth in Suffolk enters the North Sea much further south than Northumberland

Boat moorings on the Suffolk River Blyth, looking downstream from the Southwold-Walberswick footbridge.

River cruises are run on the Blyth Estuary which is a haven for birds like the marsh harrier, herons and cormorants The cruise lasts about 3.1/2 hours and stops off for a pub lunch.

River Bovey at Bovey Tracey, with Tracey Mill Park on the left.

The River Bovey rises on the eastern side of Dartmoor in Devon; it is a tributary of the River Teign which enters the English Channel at Teignmouth

It gives its name to the Bovey geological formation, the source in Roman times of ball clay which they used for ceramics. Later these clays were also used to make tobacco pipes.

Photo attributions:

• River Blyth at Humford Woods, Northumberland: 5 Nov 2006 ex geograph.org.uk by George Burrell - CC BY-SA 2.0 licence
• Boat moorings on the Suffolk River Blyth: 7 Dec 2008 ex geograph.org.uk by Bob Jones - CC BY-SA 2.0 licence
• River Bovey at Bovey Tracey: 13 Feb 2010 ex geograph.org.uk by David Hawgood - CC BY-SA 2.0 licence

A-Z 2018 Challenge: British Rivers - 'A': Aire, Axe

The problem with my researching British rivers is that it is easy to be sidetracked and this has happened immediately with both the Aire and the River Axe.

Horses cooling off in the River Aire

The river rises at Malham Tarn in North Yorkshire, and drains the central  Pennines to flow south-east through West Yorkshire until it joins the River Ouse. Its upper reaches are in the valley of Airedale - where the Airedale terrier originated.

But not this one!

After leaving the Pennines it crosses the Yorkshire coal field to be joined by its major tributary, the River Calder. Leeds is the principal city on its route.

The River Axe gets its name from an ancient Celtic word meaning 'abounding in fish.' I thought I knew where the river was located but now I've found there are two rivers with that name located in the South West.

One rises or rather emerges from the limestone caves at Wookey Hole.

Wookey Hole and mill leat

This flows westward and northward through Somerset, splitting into two Axes before reuniting and entering the Bristol Channel at Weston Bay.

My other Axe flows south and enters the sea on the south coast at Lyme Bay.

The river rises in Dorset but passes through Somerset and Devon. The photo taken in 2007 shows cattle standing within a meander likely to have become an island by now as the river eroded the neck. The houses are at the northern end of the town of Axminster (famous for its carpets).

Photo attributions:

• River Aire Close to Woodhouse Railway Bridge: 22 June 2005, ex geograph.org.uk, by Mick Melvin  ; CC BY-SA 2.0 Licence.
• Wookey Hole and mill leat: 18 Feb 2005, ex geograph.org.uk by Pierre Terre CC BY-SA 2.0 Licence
• River Axe (Lyme Bay): 17 May 2007, ex geograph.org.uk, by Derek Harper CC By-SA 2.0 Licence

Swings and Roundabouts - Sepia Saturday

Three famous fairs came to my mind as soon as I saw this week's 'merry-go-round' (or is it a Noah's Ark?).

Some of you may recognise this place.

Scarborough - 1981

Just in case you've forgotten here's a little reminder about Scarborough Fair.

Scarborough Fair - Simon & Garfunkel

Scarborough Fair originated from a charter granted by King Henry III in 1253. The charter gave Scarborough the privilege of a yearly fair to be held from the Feast of the Assumption until the Feast of St Michael. The 45-day fair started on August 15th and was a huge trading event. In the early 17th century competition from other towns' markets and fairs made Scarborough's fair financially untenable. Scarborough Fair ended in 1788.

Widdecombe Fair is much younger taking place on the second Tuesday in September since c1850 in the Dartmoor village of Widdecombe-in-the-Moor in Devon. It's the subject of a folk song, also called Tam Pierce, known all over the world.

Tam Pierce - Burl Ives

Originally described as a cattle fair Widdecombe Fair soon was known for other livestock especially the local-bred sheep and Dartmoor Ponies. A sports day for schoolchildren and stalls for rural arts and crafts were introduced in the 1920s and 30s. Today visitors will see, in addition to the livestock, displays of farm produce, vintage farm machinery, bale tossing, a dog show and terrier racing. The terrier racing replaced pony classes cancelled in 1989 after an outbreak of equine flu. 

Naturally Uncle Tom Cobley makes a traditional appearance riding a grey mare.

For my last fair I'm coming back to Yarm where I lived for over 20 years.The charter for a fair was granted to Yarm by King John in the early 13th century. Originally the fair saw the sale of cattle, horses, sheep and cheese and at one time the fair was the biggest fair for cheese in North East England. In the early 1900s over 500 tons of cheese would be traded from unprotected stacks on the pavement. There would be no chance of that happening these days.

Fair in c.1949

Modern ride at Yarm fair

In 1901 the High Street was packed with shows, roundabouts, cattle and sightseers The modern fair consists of white knuckle rides, fortune tellers, lots of bright lights and loud music. Many businesses now close down while the fair is in town and the horse trading has been moved away from the main street.

Yarm High Street

(Photo by Ian Britton - www.freephoto.com - Creative Commons licence)

Yarm Town Hall

(Photo by Ian Britton - www.freephoto.com - Creative Commons licence)

At one time hundreds of horses would be bought and sold after being put through their paces. In his book, The Yarm of Yesterday, Malcolm Race tells the story of a young boy left in charge of a horse while his grandfather was in one of Yarm’s many pubs.  The boy was only too pleased the lead the animal up and down the High Street for a prospective buyer. The man had handed over £50 and was leading the horse away when he discovered that the horse was blind. The boy had long since disappeared!

Yarm Fair - rides surround the Town Hall

(Photo by thornej - www.flickr.com - Creative Commons Licence)

For more fun of the fair I suggest you visit Sepia-saturday-131 where I'm sure you will find some more to make you dizzy.

Okehampton Castle and The Carriage of Bones

A-Z Challenge 2012 - O

 Okehampton Castle and the Carriage of Bones

Okehampton Castle is one of the largest castle ruins in the South West of England

Okehampton Castle 2004

The castle was built in Norman times and is mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086) when it was part of the estate of the Sheriff of Devon, Baldwin de Brionne. The motte and bailey castle sat on an outcrop in a wooded spur above the River Okemont. The stone keep was added in the 11^th century, and further buildings added in the early 14^th century.

The castle was abandoned in 1538 after its owner, Henry, Marquis of Exeter, was convicted of conspiracy and executed by Henry VII.

The ruins including the bulk of the keep and the curtain walls are now in the care of English Heritage.

Okehampton Castle Motte - 2009

The most dramatic of the stories linked to Okehampton is that of Lady Mary Howard, her ghost, a spectral dog and the carriage of bones.

“My ladye hath a sable coach,

And horses two and four,

My ladye hath a black blood-hound

That runneth on before.

My ladye’s coach hath nodding plumes,

The driver hath no head;

My ladye is an ashen white,

And one that long is dead.”

At the tender age of 9 Mary Fitz inherited a fortune when her father, John Fitz, committed suicide. It should be no surprise that many had designs on her wealth. James I sold her to the Earl of Northumberland who married her off to his brother, Sir Alan Percy. Percy had no time to enjoy his ill gotten gains as he caught a fever while on a hunting trip and died.

Mary set out to find true love with Mr Darcy (No! Not the Austen one) with whom she eloped only for him to die after a few months. Undaunted at being the target for fortune hunters Mary married yet again. She had secured her wealth so no man could get to it; unsurprisingly her third husband was not amused but he lost more that Mary’s fortune when he followed his predecessors and died of causes unknown. Naturally tongues began to wag

Mary married her third husband, Sir John Howard, in 1612; he died in 1622. She remarried in 1628, this time to Sir Richard Grenville – this marriage ended in divorce and she reverted to the Howard name.

It wasn’t long before stories arose about the perceived evil woman who had lost four husbands. The legend has her travelling each night from Fitz House in Tavistock to Okehampton Castle in a carriage made from the bones of her husbands and driven by a headless driver. A huge black dog with crimson eyes precedes the coach whose horses are lashed on by the headless driver. As the coach passes the ghostly white figure of a lady can be seen sitting in the back.

At the castle the black dog plucks a blade of grass which on return to Fitz House is laid on a granite slab. Only after all the grass has been removed from the castle mound will Mary be allowed to rest in peace.

Check out the lush grass left; it seems the coach will be travelling for a long time yet.

Both Hilary and I chose Nottingham Castle  but with a different emphasis; so be sure to follow the link.

Note: Post delayed due to internet connection failure for 36hours

Attributions:

• Okehampton Castle looking down into the bailey – 2004; author Mortimer Cat: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
• Okehampton Castle Motte, 2009 A 'close-up' view of the ruined building atop the motte inside Okehampton Castle; author Oliver Hunter; Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 license