Frome

Last weekend it was Father's Day and P decided that he'd like us to go for a stroll and a cup of tea in Frome, a town not too far away which is one of our favourite places to shop and pootle around in. We haven't been for a while and the afternoon was warm and sunny, so it was perfect for a bit of leisurely wandering.

Frome (pronounced froom) is a pretty Somerset town on the river Frome founded by the Romans, then the Saxons and mentioned in the Domesday Book. It has a rich history and has a high concentration of listed buildings, originally based around the wool and cloth industry. Most of its terraced cottages are weavers' cottages and are three stories high with the top floor originally a work space housing the weavers' looms. After falling a little into decline in recent years it has been rejuvenated and is now a thriving centre for arts and culture with a distinctly bohemian flavour, with an annual festival as well as regular artisan markets and vintage fairs. 

We headed to St Catherine's Hill, a cobbled, steeply winding street which runs up and out of the centre and is the artisan quarter of Frome.

It's full of little independent shops of the vintage, craft, recycled and antiques variety, and is a fascinating place to while away an hour or so. Most of these shops are only open from Wednesday to Saturday, so as we were there on a Sunday they were closed, which is probably a good thing from my purse's point of view. As we wandered down I took photos of the shop fronts which we passed. There are reflections on some of them as it was such a sunny day it was hard to find angles to take my photos from. 

Are you ready for a wander? Right, off we go ...

Here's my favourite yarn shop. The owners are very imaginative with their window displays and are always friendly and helpful.

Their window displays are usually seasonally-themed and I love to look at the crocheted blankets and knitted bunting and tea cosies.

This is a pretty shop full of lovely homewares and woolly sheep.

Next is my favourite bead shop.

I loved these colourful baskets in the window of another shop.

There are some gorgeous vintage clothes shops too.

As we walked down the hill, views of winding alleys and high pavements appeared around corners.

Here's a gorgeous sewing shop which sells the most wonderfully colourful collection of fabrics and pretty trimmings.

And now a shop selling soaps and toiletries made with herbs and natural ingredients. When it's open the scent wafting down the hill is very fragrant.

It was quite quiet on the hill with not many people around, which made photography much easier.

Some of the shops are quite quirky with some interesting objects like this old sign.

The vintage clothes shops are very appealing with pretty floral dresses in the windows.

Another quirky and creative little shop.

And this one which is an artists' collective - the felt masks were amazing.

Finally a lovely homewares shop which I've bought presents from many times, as well as things for our home.

After our stroll up and down the hill it was time for a coffee and a cake here, at one of our favourite cafes. There is a little courtyard garden at the back which was full on this sunny day, so we headed for the new 'next door' section where we all enjoyed a cake and hot drink.

It's a delicious-smelling vegetarian cafe which is also a wholefood shop. We have always enjoyed a snack here, and definitely approved of the new extension to the cafe. One day I'll show you the garden with its herbs, pots, water feature and quince tree. Here's the cosy interior.

Back at the bottom of the hill, it was time to head for home. I hope you enjoyed our little wander around this very old and pretty little town. Next time we visit I'll show you around a bit more x

A Day Out

Today P and I are back to work and D is back at school and we've had some very wintry weather - high winds, heavy rain and snow, all in one day! But just for a little bit I'm going to take us back to half term last week, so grab a cup of tea and make yourself comfortable, and I'll tell you about our day trip.
 P had booked a couple of days off work, and we had planned to go to the coast, but when we saw the weather forecast we changed our minds about the location, and indeed the next morning we awoke to pouring rain. We decided to head for Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire which isn't too far away. D's boyfriend came too, and we arrived there mid-morning in heavy rain. However we were not disheartened and headed off for some hot drinks to warm up before we decided what to do first. Lacock is a very pretty and unspoilt village with a country house which was originally a nunnery 800 years ago.

There is also a photography exhibition there as William Henry Fox Talbot, one of the inventors of photography, lived in the Abbey. I enjoyed looking at these very early cameras.

I couldn't help comparing them to my own tiny, easy-to-use compact digital camera.

Despite the cold rain there were carpets of lovely spring flowers along the approach to the house - purple and yellow crocuses ...

... gorgeous yellow aconites

looking very drippy in the rain ...

...and drifts of snowdrops, pure white and delicate.

Lacock Abbey is an attractive, imposing house in a mixture of medieval and other styles.

I liked its quirky features, like this offset window.

The abbey has been a film location in several of the Harry Potter films, and this cloistered courtyard featured in the first film. Perhaps you recognise it? The vaulted ceilings are very beautiful indeed.

The stone window-frames open onto a very tranquil scene.

Here's the sacristry which was very cold on such a wet day. I do love medieval architecture with its sense of history and solidity.

This is the warming room (where the nuns would have gone to warm up), and this giant cauldron is hundreds of years old.

I'm always fascinated by the domestic side of large country houses, like these shelves which house copper pans and old irons,

and this range.My mum tells me stories of growing up with a smaller version in her house which had to be regularly covered with black grate polish. How lucky we are to have modern appliances!

Along the corridor we passed through some sweet bedrooms which were homely and old-fashioned.

The wallpaper designs seemed quite modern. You can just about see the pattern in this photo.

Here's a tiny and, I imagine, rather drafty bathroom.

I especially liked this wallpaper in the next bedroom, depicting flowers and birds.

I'm sure I've seen modern designs like this in magazines.

This sweet little room looks quite cosy with its trailing flowers on the walls.

On to the dining room, and I was impressed by the printed 'information' tablecloth and place settings - a really clever idea.

Finally we finished up in the great hall with its rather lovely Tudor stained glass windows. In fact Lacock Abbey currently has a starring role in 'Wolf Hall', the brilliant adaptation of Hilary Mantel's novels about Thomas Cromwell which is showing on tv at the moment. P and I are completely addicted to it and I can recommend it if you like period/historical dramas, or just like a cracking good story.

Outside we stopped to look at the Tudor courtyard, and then into the warm again for some lunch at the nearby National Trust tearooms.

After lunch we ventured outside again into the village itself. By now the rain had eased and so we didn't need our umbrellas as much.

Lacock village is mainly medieval, and is unbelievably picturesque. Like the abbey, it has featured in many film and tv productions including the Harry Potter films, Pride and Prejudice and Cranford.

I noticed that there are no street lights, tv aerials or satellite dishes - I wonder if it's a great inconvenience to the residents when the production companies descend on the village.

The half-timbered houses are very striking ...

... and the weathered stone is mellow and reassuringly aged.

These worn, and very chunky moss-covered tiles look very old indeed.

One of the guides told us that Harry Potter and Dumbledore walk along this street in one of the films,

and the house on the right stars as Professor Slughorn's house.

I love the way medieval houses overhang the street.



Some of them are quite wobbly-looking, and uneven.

The tearoom in front of the church is very quaint and pretty indeed. On a warm, sunny day the tea garden would be very appealing.

We had a lovely day out despite the cold and wet, and I enjoyed a fascinating slice of history. However, we all agreed that it was good to be back in a warm car, and as soon as we got indoors I put the kettle on for a warming cup of tea! I hope you've enjoyed this long post, and that we can all enjoy some more sunshine soon x