A Foreshortened Trip

Another foreshortened trip to Parkham as we had to return after 5 days because of family ill health back in the Midlands.  However, we still managed to pack a fair amount into our 4-5 days in the village.

As well as attending a coffee morning in aid of the village church we were able to watch a range of tractors, old and new heading off on the annual tractor run from the village hall. in aid of a local charity.

We caught up with friends in The Bell which seems to be getting busier every time we visit as business builds back up to pre-fire levels.

The weather was good again and we had some glorious walks on the beach at Instow, Northam and Appledore.

Northam Burrows

Instow from Northam/Greysands

Appledore

Sadly we were unable to complete some of our planned jobs on the cottage.  The decking seems to require re-painting every 12 months, due I think to North Devon's wet weather particular over the winter months and the front door also needs a coat of gloss paint.  The flat roof is due to be replaced with fibreglass in April and we will now leave these jobs until that work has been completed.

Our early return was made harder by the lovely sunshine as we left the village with the hedgerows full of primroses and the first bluebells just coming into flower.

Prior to our visit we were very happy to host for a weekend friends from Parkham on their first visit to Stourbridge.  Having friends to stay always makes you look at your home area with fresh eyes and do things which you would not normally do.

We visited the local town of Bridgnorth the last station on the Severn Valley Railway which runs from Kidderminster.  There was a weekend 'steam' event and we were able to get up close to a number of different  locomotives as they arrived or left for Kidderminster.

I have visited Bridgnorth on many occasions but never been on the funicular cliff railway which runs from High Town to Low Town  http://www.bridgnorthcliffrailway.co.uk/  although we had travelled on the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway www.cliffrailwaylynton.co.uk last  year. The Bridgnorth railway was much shorter than the Lynton railway and is no longer water-powered however it gave us some great views over the town and the river Severn.

I can now understand more clearly why some Parkham villagers like to read a different perspective on their village in this blog.

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