Oh yes. Perfick! Perfick sunshine, blue skies and yes, even warmth. Time for hibernation to end and for Mr F. and I to down the wallpaper paste and scissors and to get out and enjoy the beginning of spring.
Stourport came into being because of the construction of the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal built by James Brindley to meet the River Severn and provide good transport links in the 18th century. Shortly after it was built, Stourport became the busiest port after London. During the 20th century it became somewhere to spend a traditional day out for families from the Black Country as it was so near. It still has a funfair and amusement arcades, as well as tacky gift shops. But just a short stroll away from all that noise and awfulness you can still see the beauty of this Georgian town. Its river and canal basins are full of brightly coloured, imaginitively named narrowboats still traditionally painted with roses and castles.
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From FEB2012
Elegant Georgian properties are everywhere in the town and it is easy to imagine the merchants and tradesmen who might have lived and worked here during its heyday as a port.
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From FEB2012
Today, we took a walk along the canal rather than the river. This was a stretch of towpath that we had never walked before and I was intrigues to see a graveyard across the canal. It was easy to see that the graves were at least a hundred years old and I was intrigued because I couldn't see a church. Then suddenly a bridge labellled Mitton Chapel Bridge came into view and I just had to investigate.
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So it was across the bridge and through a wrought iron gate and a steep climb up these well worn steps
and into the churchyard itself.
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From FEB2012
Imagine our surprise when we saw not a church but a ruin. |
It looked beautiful with the sunlight warming the stone
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and we intend to find out how the church fell into ruin. Happily, there is a new church built within the ruins of the old one, although I haven't pictured it here. It was certainly an unexpected find on my canal walk.Churches
and graveyards fascinate me and I can spend ages wandering through reading the ancient names on the stones, imagining
what those people's lives might have been like. |
After our little detour we decided it must be time to turn back and retrace our route along the towpath
I loved this little Georgian house and quite fancy the idea of canalside living.
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From FEB2012
Of course, I'm never one to miss a tea room, |
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From FEB2012
so it was carefully over the lock |
for a lovely cup of tea. It was so warm, we were able to sit outside next to the lock, but let me tell you I was torn. Inside, the tea shop was full of Cath Kidstonesque fabrics and vintage pieces and I did fancy having a nose around but the sunshine won out today.
