Monday, July 13, 2020

Monday and a walk

Last night I watched the 'slow' canal trip along the Kennet and Avon Canal.  Two hours of watching the scenery slip by as the canal boat slipped through the water from Bath to Dundas Aquaduct.  In truth I did not watch all of it, fast forwarding now and then.  It was a walk I did often in my 30 year stay in Bath, leaving the car at Bathampton and walking to Bradford on Avon to see that medieval wonder, the great 13th century tithe barn. 
No-one has taken this beautiful barn and turned it into a mod-con house, protected for evermore by English Heritage, it belonged to those monks who took their gold from the land and piled it high in their barns.  Images taken from the net. 



A forested wonder - stone and wood


I suppose being married to an archaeologist my eyes were opened to this historic world around me, there were plenty of books to read and contemplate past lives, weekend trips but this barn was to me one of the seven wonders of England, I did my thesis on Wiltshire abbeys, those self-sufficient islands of beauty and industry. When Paul and I moved up to Yorkshire, my first thought was Cistercian abbeys.

But that is too digress, I was walking the canal path from Bath to Bradford on Avon, a distance of about 6 miles and you could catch the train back to Bath if you did not want to walk back.

This walk went through some beautiful countryside, at Claverton  Water pumping station, where water from the River Avon was pumped up to the canal above, people came and swam in the weir there.  Then further on you would come to the Dundas Aqueduct, a beautiful construction of Bath stone.  At this pinch point in the valley,  you would have the A46 road, the railway line, the River Avon and then the Kennet and Avon canal taken over the river, a graceful engineering masterpiece from the last part of the 18th century.


Dundas Aquaduct

The walk over time became more frustrating though, it turned into a cycle path as well, and with a couple of dogs to be kept on the lead almost impossible.  Not sure walkers and cyclists should be together, the cyclists were still to be trained in their use of the bell, it tends to make you jump when a cyclist came up behind you silently.
One of the things I have forgotten was almost opposite the Water Pump station, on the other side of the valley was the American Museum, another beautiful old building with gardens.  Its chief glory was American style rooms, and quilts exhibitions.  There was also a small building in the garden devoted to naive American art.  I notice that the gardens have been redone to a different pattern as well, see this virtual tour.











15 comments:

  1. It's a long time since I was last at Claverton - would love to return, mainly for the quilts.

    I am glad you enjoyed your virtual walk - it must have brought back some memories. I didn't know your specialist interest was Wiltshire abbeys, as you seem more rooted in prehistory.

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  2. I think the prehistory came later Jennie. I threw all my notes out last year, Harold Brakespeare (19th century) was the person for Wiltshire Abbeys. I did my Viva with Glyn Daniels, I was youngish but he was very kind.

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    1. You are a good deal more educated than I Thelma. You were fortunate to meet Glyn Daniels. Charles Thomas was my hero, and got a copy of my dissertation at the behest of my personal tutor at Uni.

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  3. At my Grammar school near the Cathedral in Lincoln we had our lunch in a tithe barn. I don't remember ever being told about its history at all. Abbeys - we are quite well off for them in Yorkshire aren't we?
    I really think my favourite (and nearest of course) is Jervaulx. As much for its simplicity as anything.

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    1. Yorkshire has lovely abbeys Pat, but it was probably due to the fact that it was a wilderness the Cistercian monks were looking for when they ended up in its lands.

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  4. Beautiful aqueduct. I do like your new header, too.

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    1. It is a small aqueduct Joanne but the spot attracts many people. This canal walk is popular.

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  5. What a lovely, peaceful looking area. Something to treasure in a time like ours.

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    1. The countryside round Bath is very beautiful Rain, this valley particularly. Bath stone was used for many of the buildings, it is a soft creamy colour.

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  6. The tithe barn looks wonderful - the beams and rafters are an accidental work of art - like being inside a whale. It is not an area I know. Down South is largely a netherworld to me. Thanks for the window view.

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  7. I am glad you are a little impressed with the scenery down South Neil. The town of Bradford-on-Avon is very picturesque, it also has an old complete Saxon church which was only discovered in the 19th century. Over the centuries it had been used for many other purposes.

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  8. The Tithe Barn - one of my favourite places. I was all set to do more work for the American Museum, then you-know-what happened. Bollyollyocks.

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    1. Wretched bad luck, a summer working in the garden of the museum with afternoon delicious teas, not something to be missed.

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  9. Thanks for sharing the link. It's been a number of years since I visited the actual gardens at Mt Vernon--even though I only live about 50 miles away. Interesting to see the replication over there. I must say English gardens are my favorite--especially the dense, variety rich ones--a bit on the wild side. Guess it is understandable since I grew up in the UK. My British mother tried to replicate an English garden when we came back to the US, but wasn't easy in this area (e.g. often brutally cold winters and fiercely hot, humid summers). Not exactly a temperate environment.

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  10. Glad you enjoyed the video Mary. English gardens mature over time, there are some really beautiful ones, which the original owner would never have seen the fruition of with their grown-up trees and shrubs.

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