Getting into the Christmas Spirit

Our house with festive lights and mistletoe on the front door

Yes, yes - I know. 

The long-promised post on the house has not yet come to fruition. There are a number of reasons for that, but I hope to finally publish something over the Christmas or New Year period.

In the meantime, I thought I would share some images of the lead-up to Christmas here in Ledbury, and the wider Herefordshire / Worcestershire region.

The mistletoe was a gift from a friend who, handily, has a tree in her garden that tipped over
in a storm... meaning the mistletoe can be reached without an industrial crane!

Our first festive event was the excellent Traditional Christmas Market in the grounds of Great Malvern Priory, only a 15-minute drive from home. I am pleased to report this was a very stylish market - a tat-free zone, with lots of high quality artisans selling delicious food and drink, handcrafted items and festive decorations. Unfortunately it was *very* wet and although we braved the stalls clad in rain jackets and armed with umbrellas, after an hour we decided we'd had enough. The Priory gave us some respite - it had been decorated, there were choirs performing, lots of activities for children and they even had a café set up. But due to the inclement weather outside, it was rammed, so not particularly conducive to lingering.

Still, we very much look forward to next year's market which - fingers crossed - might be blessed with better weather conditions.

We arrived at the Traditional Christmas Market at Great Malvern Priory just as it started to rain

Christmas carols with a difference:
the Worcester Ukele Club doing the honours at the Traditional Christmas Market, Great Malvern Priory

Now, on to Ledbury.

Man, this town loves a festival! Since we moved here in July there have been numerous large events where the main street is closed off to accommodate food vans, tractor parades, rides for the kiddies and musical performances. There must have been at least one each month, and of course Christmas is no exception.

Along with thousands of other locals, a few weeks ago we attended the Christmas Lights Switch-On. By way of entertainment there were a brass band accompanied by carol singers, Morris dancers and a local youth rock band. And of course the magical moment when the Town Crier (who attends the same 06:30 strength training circuit class that we do on a Wednesday morning) did the countdown and - * hey presto! *Ledbury was lit up, generating a spontaneous cheer from the crowd. What a joyful moment, and an interesting modern phenomenon. I can understand that in 'olden days' it was quite exciting when large-scale electric lighting was activated, but it's somehow pleasing that such a simple thing can elicit celebration, even in jaded old 2025.

One of the many food vans offering seasonal treats to the revellers of Ledbury,
at the Christmas Lights Switch-On

A member of Ledbury's canine residents, rugged up in his Christmas pudding festive jumper ♥️

Morris dancers shootin' the breeze before their next performance
at the Ledbury Christmas Lights Switch-On

Big crowds enjoying the festivities at Ledbury's Christmas Lights Switch-On
(this is the main street)

Just by luck we happened to be standing right underneath the fake snow blower
at Ledbury's Market Hall when it was switched on!

The Market Hall and Christmas tree do provide festive cheer on these cold, dark and long evenings

A couple of weeks later Ledbury hosted its special Christmas Late Night Shopping event. Stores across the town had decorated their windows and were serving mulled wine, Prosecco, mince pies and other treats to the hardy customers who braved what was, sadly, another windy and very wet evening. You've got to feel for the retailers as numbers were definitely down. The poor carollers were up an alley, huddled under the shelter of a canopy!

They woz robbed!
One of the local opticians has the best decorated window in Ledbury, but it was only a runner-up in the shopfront decoration competition.
(the winning window was rubbish... they must have paid off the judges, ha-ha)

The brass band stoically playing on under the shelter of the Ledbury Market Hall,
with the wind and rain all around them!

The Chocolate Box only opened its doors in November.
It stocks high-end (and very pricey!) chocolate and I hope it survives the current difficult financial environment

Black-and-white buildings in Church Lane, decorated for Christmas

More black-and-white splendour and festive decoration in Ledbury - the Feathers Hotel

At the top end of Ledbury's high street - we love the upper windows, each illuminated with a single star

This house is just opposite the top of our street.
They (and their neighbours) have done an elegant job of Christmas decorating!

In between the Christmas Lights Switch-On and the Late Night Shopping we very much enjoyed a wine tasting evening in the historic St Katherine's hall, once part of St Katherine's Hospital which was founded in 1232 by Bishop Hugh Foliot. The hall itself was built around 1330-40. This event was hosted by Hay's Wines, a superb specialist wine and spirits store just across the high street from the hall. What fun! Hard to beat an evening where a couple of hundred people lurch from table to table, enthusiastically sampling everything from fizz, white, rosé and red to dessert wine and port... and getting gradually more tipsy! Representatives from individual vineyards and wine wholesalers were available to advise on tipples from Europe, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, the USA, the UK and even lesser known wine regions such as Georgia (former Soviet Union republic). There were spittoons provided but I only saw one person use one - and just the once, ha-ha!

Our festive season activities have not been confined to the local area. In early December we nipped over to the north-western side of Herefordshire to visit two National Trust properties near Leominster, about 50 minutes' drive from Ledbury but only 10-15 minutes' drive from each other.

We were fortunate to have one of those gorgeous, sunny-but-frosty winter days requiring hats, gloves and scarves, and Croft Castle was a sight to behold against a cerulean blue sky. We did a tour of the house, in which some of the rooms were decorated for Christmas in the Victorian style. Although there's been a building on the site from around 1085 when the estate was established by the Croft family and baronets, the current building dates from the 1660s. We also visited the lovely church, which actually pre-dates the house by several centuries.

Croft Castle and St Michael's and All Angels Church, on a gloriously sunny winter's day

The dining room of Croft Castle, decorated for Christmas in Victorian style 

The western side of Croft Castle, near Leominster

The bell tower of St Michael and All Angels Church (13th century)
- Croft Castle, near Leominster

The light-filled interior of St Michael and All Angels church with its ornate tiled floor
- Croft Castle

Berrington Hall was less impressive! Ugh - what a spectacularly ugly building in red sandstone, which Wikipedia rather kindly describes as having 'a somewhat austere exterior' but with 'delicate interiors.' We'll have to take their word for the latter, and that of the National Trust, because unfortunately we'd just missed the last of the guided house tours when we arrived. 

Pictured below are some of the Berrington Hall yew balls, which were relocated from another spot earlier this year and which immediately started to fail, due to the shock of transplanting combined with the driest spring and hottest summer on record. Still, the National Trust gardeners have made the best of a bad lot by decorating the brown Christmas pudding shaped balls as... giant Christmas puddings!

Berrington Hall, near Leominster, in all its 'austere' splendour - not to my taste!

Fine views from the exterior of National Trust property Berrington Hall
near Leominster, Herefordshire

A trail of destruction at Berrington Hall!
Ancient yew balls that were relocated earlier this year - the shock of the relocation,
combined with the driest spring and hottest summer on record, meant they have all but died...

...but at least somebody had the clever idea of dressing them up as giant Christmas puddings!

Another view of Berrington Hall (and another one of those damaged yew balls), near Leominster

Today we've jaunted over to the Oxfordshire part of The Cotswolds to meet up with dear friends Roy and Tracey for a pre-Christmas lunch. I don't think we'd been to Burford for possibly ten years or so, and gosh how nice it was to be reminded that it is a very charming town. We had an hour to wander up and down the high street and its surrounds before our booking, and I spent no small portion of that time ooh-ing and aah-ing at beautifully decorated windows and gorgeous Christmas wreath-clad front doors of cute cottages. That golden Cotswolds stone takes some beating when it comes to architecture.

A very pleasing wreath on a lovely Cotswold cottage in Burford
- The Vicarage

The Church of St John the Baptist in Burford, Oxfordshire

These Burford people really know how to decorate a front entrance!
And just look at that Arts & Crafts wall lantern... *swoon*

One of Burford's lovely gift stores along its high street

A long avenue of pollarded trees and golden Cotswolds stone cottages
- Burford high street

Our lunch venue - the cosy and welcoming The Angel pub in Burford

Festive splendour around the specials board in the bar area of The Angel in Burford, Oxfordshire

We have invited about ten of our neighbours to Christmas drinks on the 22nd of December and we're looking forward to having more than just the usual quick doorstep conversation. The people in the street are a friendly bunch but when we see each other, one of us is always just about to head off somewhere, or we are halfway up a ladder cutting back a shrub etc. We have fingers crossed for our sitting room ceiling, a big chunk of which fell onto the floor a few weeks ago, followed by a steady ingress of rain. The leak has been repaired, but the 125-year-old lath-and-plaster ceiling is being completely replaced the week prior to our little soirée, and we have doubts that we'll manage to get it painted before the New Year...

As for Christmas itself, we'll be spending it in a small cottage in the picturesque Lake District village of Troutbeck, which is not far from Windermere. We have Christmas Eve dinner booked at the local pub, with hopes that it won't rain *every* day (it's a very wet part of the country), though if it's cold enough for the rain to turn into snow we'll be happy indeed.

And finally, a few more random festive shots...

One of Great Malvern's nicest gift stores has a whole basement level
dedicated to Christmas decorations!

Impressive decorations from this coffee place in nearby Hereford

'The Vegan Yorkie'
- lunch with former London work colleagues Julianne and Sam, at the Malbury Café, just 5 mins from home.
It's essentially a giant Yorkshire pudding filled with roast vegetables and vegan sausages! ♥️

15th century local pub The Prince of Wales, looking splendid for Christmas

Well, hopefully these images have helped to get you in the Christmas spirit, particularly those of you in Australia who are already suffering through extreme heat and bushfires. Here's hoping there is some relief in sight for you.

Wishing my readers a Christmas that brings you joy, whether that's a big family gathering or a quiet little celebration like ours. And particular thanks to friends and family abroad who send cards and gifts each year. It reminds us that, though we are very far away, we have people who love us scattered across the world.

Winter sunrise through the mist in Ledbury
(taken from a moving car on the way home from our obscenely early weights-circuit class)

Until next time,

- Maree  xo

A wee trip up to Scotland

The spectacular view from our hotel room, across the Firth of Clyde
- sunrise on the Isle of Arran, Western Scotland

Greetings from a very wet and blustery England, where Ledbury is currently feeling the edge of Storm Amy. We're only getting a small taste of it, fortunately, unlike Northern Ireland and Western Scotland which are battening down the hatches against gale force winds. Of course, just yesterday morning I had our exterior windows cleaned (grrrrrr....) but I'm not complaining too loudly in the circumstances.

We are not long back from a quick trip to Scotland, the primary purpose of which was to meet up with an old friend whom I had not seen since 1988. But prior to that we decided to head to the Isle of Arran for a few days. We love the western isles of Scotland and I was keen to visit another one. Kevin had made a brief exploration of Arran back in 2017 while we were cat-sitting in Ayrshire; one fine day he took himself off on the ferry, cycled around the island, and got the ferry back.

En route from Ledbury we stopped at a National Trust property just outside Omskirk in Lancashire - Rufford Old Hall, a timber-framed Tudor manor house built in the late 15th / early 16th century, of which only the great hall remains. A brick, Jacobean-style wing was later added in 1661, and then a further wing during the Victorian era. This was just a quick, but most welcome, break for lunch in the roughly six-hour drive to Troon on Scotland's west coast, where we would take the ferry across to Arran.

The Tudor section of National Trust property Rufford Old Hall, not far from Omskirk.
It was built in in the late 15th / early 16th century

The Great Hall inside the Tudor section of Rufford Old Hall, near Omskirk

Eeek... this suit of armour well and truly triggered my claustrophobia!
- in the Great Hall at National Trust property, Rufford Old Hall

View of the Jacobean brick part of Rufford Old Hall, at the rear of the house

Arran is a gorgeous place. It's also large enough that if Scotland does its usual weather thing, there are a few sheltered sights to see as well as enough hotels, pubs, restaurants and galleries to fill the wet hours. At 432 square kms it's Scotland's seventh-largest island, with a permanent population of about 4,600. People do describe it as being 'Scotland in miniature' as its landscape is quite varied, from rugged and soaring peaks to beautiful sandy beaches, lochs and forests, and with a good dose of history thrown in. 

Our ferry journeys from Troon to Brodick and back were a treat, with the boat being accompanied by pods of dolphins cavorting alongside for some considerable time. On Arran we stayed at The Corrie Hotel, about 15 minutes drive north of the ferry terminal town of Brodick, and our room afforded us a gorgeous view across the Firth of Clyde. Built in 1850 from local red sandstone, this is a TV-free small hotel which offers very comfortable rooms and good quality food, as well as a dedicated whisky bar, which Kevin appreciated. It's also dog-friendly - not only is there a supply of dog toys to borrow, and towels for cleaning up muddy paws, there is a dedicated dog menu by gourmet dog food company Sir Woofchester 😀

The ferry port at Brodick on the Isle of Arran

Pods of cavorting dolphins accompanied our ferry journeys to and from Arran

A magical ferry trip from Troon to the Isle of Arran, across the Firth of Clyde
- early evening, late September

Sunrise viewed from our bedroom window in Corrie, Isle of Arran

Our accommodation on Arran - The Corrie Hotel

Weather-wise we were fortunate; it did bucket down on one of the days but the rest of the time it was pleasantly sunny / slightly overcast with perfect temperatures for walking (about 14-15ºC). On the one rainy day we took the opportunity of visiting Brodick Castle which was handed over to the National Trust For Scotland in 1958 in lieu of death duties. There's been a fortress on this site since at least the 5th century, though most of the current building was constructed in 1844, increasing the size of the castle threefold. The site has been controlled or occupied by Norse kings and English and Scots royalty throughout the centuries. 

Not only did we tour the house, which is beautifully furnished and has an exceptional art collection, we stoically braved the rain and walked a reasonable percentage of the gardens. We almost gave up trying to find the squirrel hide which is in steep woodland but thankfully persevered, as it was well worth it. Since the introduction of grey squirrels from North America in the 19th century, Britain's native red squirrels have all but disappeared, with small colonies found in only a few areas of the UK. In England there are only two - on the Isle of Wight, and in the Lake District. Thankfully Scotland fares a little better and we were thrilled to sit in the hide and be entertained by two tiny red creatures feeding on nuts (see photo below). I do also have video of the squirrels' antics but unfortunately I've hit my limit on this cost-free blogging platform; over the past 11 years I've posted a number of short videos and apparently the limit is cumulative ☹️ 

Yours truly braving the rain with rain jacket and brolly
- at Brodick Castle, Isle of Arran

Brodick Castle on the Isle of Arran, Western Scotland

A sea of fuchsias at Brodick Castle, Isle of Arran

Red squirrel lifting the lid of a feeding box, seeking out nuts
- at Brodick Castle's squirrel hide

 

Kevin emerging from the squirrel hide in the grounds of Brodick Castle, Isle of Arran

Coincidentally, my friend Lynn's daughter Tayler was visiting Arran at the same time of us, with a couple of Norwegian friends, what's more! We ran into them at the castle - I knew they were planning to visit that day and I heard an Aussie accent from a young woman accompanied by two tall-ish creatures with blond hair and unblemished porcelain skin... didn't take too much effort to join the dots. All three were friendly, interesting women and we ended up meeting them for dinner that evening at The Kinloch Hotel in Blackwaterfoot on the western side of the island. The following day we bumped into them again as we all made the most of the gorgeous weather to explore some of Arran's best-known attractions, the standing stones at Machrie Moor and King's Caves near Blackwaterfoot, the latter being a roughly two-hour loop hike from the car parking area with some steep climbing. The caves were formed around 10,000 to 6,000 years ago during an ice age and there is a legend that Robert the Bruce sheltered there just prior to the Battle of Bannockburn, but this is unproven. 

How nice it was to meet and spend time with Tayler, who hadn't yet been born the last time I saw her mother in 1988.

The truly lovely walk through fields to reach the standing stones at Machrie, on Arran's west coast.
It takes about an hour to walk out there and back again

A slightly awkward shot of several of the Machrie standing stones.
Some wally and two of his friends were hogging the site for ages, taking endless selfies just on the other side of the stone in the foreground - totally oblivious to others hoping to view the stones from that side

View over Machrie Bay on the 4.7km loop hike from the car park to the King's Caves and back, near Blackwaterfoot on Arran's west coast

Obviously I didn't go inside any of the caves because of my claustrophobia!
- King's Caves, near Blackwaterfoot, Isle of Arran

We spent our last couple of hours on Arran driving the coast road around the southern part of the island, heading back towards the Brodick ferry port. Truly, what a beautiful place and we'd happily return.

Here are some further shots of this gorgeous, scenic island...

Cioch na h-Oighe (the pointy peak) and the Devil’s Punchbowl (Coire na Ciche),
from a viewpoint between North Sannox and Lochranza, Isle of Arran

View towards Lochranza Castle on Arran's north-west coast

16th century Lochranza Castle, Isle of Arran

View of the bay in front of Lochranza Castle, Isle of Arran

Rippling waves on the Isle of Arran's west coast

And so, after three days on Arran, we took the ferry back to the Scottish mainland and did the short drive into the centre of Glasgow (less than an hour), a city we've visited multiple times. 

Glasgow is not a photographer's dream; this city has quite a hard edge to it, there are numerous buildings that have seen better days and quite a few homeless people. But we've always enjoyed the edgy character of Scotland's largest city.

Upon walking to our hotel we were somewhat taken aback to pass a long queue of perhaps 200 people, all dressed in Victorian attire, and period carriages parked along several streets and squares. Turns out the area right near our hotel had for some days been transformed into the 19th century for an upcoming Joel Coen film Jack of Spades. It's a gothic mystery film set in 1880s Scotland, featuring a cast that includes Josh O'Connor, Frances McDormand, Lesley Manville and Damian Lewis. Sadly the evening we arrived was the final day of filming there so we didn't have the opportunity to spot any of the stars or observe scenes being shot.

The Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow

Pride rainbow on Wilson Street in Glasgow, with two of the city's many murals in the background
- Keeper of Light (left) and Bow Down, Honour the Roots (right)

A closer shot of Keeper of Light, one of Glasgow's murals

Gritty Glasgow.
The old City of Glasgow College building (the Met Tower) has been vacant for 10 years.
Redevelopment plans were shelved in 2024, with economic woes cited as the reason

Clearing up after the area near our Glasgow hotel was transformed into a Victorian-era streetscape,
as part of filming for a new Joel Coen film, Jack of Spades

There were a LOT of carriages!
Just around the corner from our hotel in Glasgow - filming for the new Joel Coen film Jack of Spades

The next day we finally met up with Lynn at one of Glasgow's quirkiest bars, The Last Bookstore, on Hope Street.

Lynn and I had worked together for a while in Sydney in the early 1980s, and then Lynn continued her adventures around Australia for a few years before returning to the UK (she's from Glasgow originally). I did visit her in Bristol in 1988, when she and her husband were running a pub there, and we continued to be in touch for a number of years after that. Sadly, the combination of each of us moving cities and countries a number of times and Lynn changing her surname meant we lost contact.

Happily, Lynn found me on Facebook last year. She retrained as a teacher and has been living in a fairly remote part of Western Australia for the past decade or so. What a lucky coincidence that she also had a trip lined up back home to Scotland for a few weeks this year, and consequently I eagerly made plans for us to head up that way.

Poor Kevin suffered through lengthy reminiscences of people she and I had worked with, but we both sat in rapt fascination as Lynn regaled us with her life stories, including a 12-month trip around Australia with her husband back in 2021-22, which she blogged about. It's fascinating stuff, particularly if you have an interest in the more remote parts of Australia. You can access Lynn's blog here:

https://flannerysfootprints.wordpress.com/

The Last Bookstore in Glasgow - venue for my reunion with Lynn

Corridor in the upstairs dining area of The Last Bookstore

The bar area on the ground floor of The Last Bookstore in Hope Street, Glasgow

Unbelievably, neither Lynn nor I remembered to whip out our phones and capture the meeting for posterity - kind of amazing, given we are both accomplished bloggers and publishers on social media! Ah well, the occasion will just have to live on in our memories.

Meanwhile, Kevin and I are congratulating ourselves on having selected last week for our jaunt to western Scotland rather than this week. Most of the ferry services in Scotland have been cancelled due to Storm Amy and it would indeed have been a bit miserable - not to mention potentially dangerous - travelling about in gale force winds and rain, much as we are usually very stoic when it comes to weather.

The author and Kevin, with Cioch na h-Oighe and the Devil’s Punchbowl in the background
- Isle of Arran, Western Scotland

Bidding farewell to the Isle of Arran, on the ferry back to Troon

A post on our new house is still forthcoming... just awaiting the arrival of another rug and an armchair!

Until next time.

- Maree  xo