Bearizona, Williams, Arizona

On our last few trips to Williams I’ve wanted to visit Bearizona www.bearizona.com but DB has always been worried about taking his truck through in case it got scratched by any of the animals.   He’s thinking of the safari parks at home when years ago the monkeys used to sit on your bonnet (hood) and dismantle the windscreen wipers!

 

Having been reassured that we wouldn’t suddenly find a bear sitting on the bonnet (hood) doing the same thing, we paid our entrance fees and off we went.   The best time to visit Bearizona is in the morning or the evening when the animals are more active.

 

Our first stop was the 3.00 p.m. raptor show, I wasn’t at all sure what was meant by a ‘free flight’ show, but I soon found out.  It means that the birds fly inches above your head, if you’re like me and don’t particularly like birds, you’d be better off sitting outside that area.   I was ready to move but DB assured me I’d be fine, I was I closed my eyes and ducked!

 

George the owl

 

They have some cheeky crows who snatch a $1 bill from you

 

 and drop it into a collecting box. 

I tried to take photograph of DB handing the crow a $1 bill, but boy do they move fast!

After the raptor show we went to see the bear cubs, they are so cute you really just want to hug them, although it probably wouldn’t be such a good idea.

Obviously on the drive through section doors and windows have to be locked and if the animals start to move towards you, you’re advised to move on.

Some of the animals we saw were:

White Bison

and a very sleepy rather large adult bear, I wouldn't have wanted to disturb his beauty sleep!

 

There’s lots more to see and we had a great visit, although as we drove out DB did give a huge sigh of relief that we’d made it through without a scratch on his beloved truck.

 

Have fun, we are!

What a genius!

Who was a genius?  Why whoever invented air conditioning, I really don't know how people survived the summer desert heat without it.   When we left home it was chilly, cool, with grey skies and decidedly wet, when we arrived in Tucson, it was sunshine, blue skies, decidedly hot and we just loved to hear the gentle hum of the air conditioner keeping us cool!

 

We picked up BT and the Cougar and headed for Lazy Days to check into the campground and have the Cougars annual brake safety check.   The brake safety check takes about 4 hours, so it was late afternoon and about 100F when we were setting up.   It didn’t take long to set up but setting up in that sort of heat isn’t much fun and we were absolutely exhausted by the time we’d finished.

                                        

The plan, we always have some sort of plan, was that we’d leave Tucson on Sunday and head to the blessedly cooler climes of Prescott.   Sadly, a package we were expecting before 5.00 p.m. Friday didn’t arrive.   What no-one thought to tell us was that because we placed the order after 3.00 p.m. Eastern time, next day actually meant Monday, not Friday! 

 

We love Tucson, but in August it is waaaay too hot for us, thankfully our package arrived mid-morning Monday, so we finally escaped the heat on Tuesday.    

 

Our timing was good and we got through Phoenix around 10ish after the rush hour although even then the temperature was hitting 100F!   When we arrived at The Fairgrounds RV Park in Prescott Valley, it was a nice cool 89F, we never thought we’d think 89F was cool!

 

Have fun, we are!

Two Men and a Dog, Again

Parking in the village of Arley,

 

DB, a friend and Meg the Dog stopped for coffee at a nice tea room in a pretty spot on the edge of the River Severn

Meg was in and out of the river and parts of the riverbank were very muddy in places.

The quayside in Bewdley

They stopped at a nice spot along the river for a pint, before following the footpath back to Arley on the other side of the river. 

The remains of an old railway bridge.

A quiet stretch of the river.

Victoria Bridge takes the Severn Valley Railway over the river.

The round trip walk was about 10 miles, part of the path was slippy, muddy and overgrown and other parts of the path were in good condition and very well walked.

Have fun, we are!

Lazy Sunny Afternoons

Even though they’ve been few and far between this summer we’ve had some gloriously sunny days, on a few of those days we’ve been exploring towpaths far and wide. 

 

Of course, this entailed driving down some narrow winding country lanes.

 

Looking back up one of the sets of steps we used to reach the towpath.

This heron danced around just a few feet in front of us for ages, we were amazed at how close we got to it before it flew away.

The bridge supports on either side of the canal are all that remain of one of the many local railway lines that were closed during the 1960’s.

Long term moorings conveniently located close to a pub, which sadly, was closed when we were there.

 

Old lock keepers cottages, although I assume they're private houses now.

 

Everywhere we went there were masses of wildflowers.

and best of all it was quiet, very quiet and mostly we had the towpaths to ourselves.

Have fun, we are!

Two Men and a Dog

One sunny afternoon, DB, a friend and Meg the dog headed off to the pretty little village of Overton-on-Dee (Owrtyn in Welsh).   Overton-on-Dee is a small town not far from Wrexham in North Wales. 

 

Overton was granted a Royal Charter in 1292 by Edward I. The churchyard of St Mary the Virgin is renowned for its ancient yew trees which are thought to be between 1,500 and 2,000 years old.  They are one of the Seven Wonders of Wales which are celebrated in an anonymous rhyme.

 

Pistyll Rhaeadr and Wrexham steeple,

Snowdon's mountain without its people,

Overton yew trees, St Winefride wells,

Llangollen bridge, and Gresford bells.

 

In 1992 Overton celebrated its 700th anniversay with a royal visit from the Queen who planted a new yew tree.

 

Meg gathered an admiring crowd as they followed the footpath

down to the River Dee where Meg enjoyed herself splashing about in the shallows.

 Their walk took them past the old mill and weir at Erbistock

and continued along the river,

before heading back to the pub in Overton for what they tell me was an excellent pint of Joules before heading home.   The walk was about 6 miles from start to finish.

As for me, where was I while they were off enjoying their walk?  I was busy working!

Have fun, we are!

Lilleshall Abbey, Shropshire

Many times on our travels we’ve driven past a narrow winding country lane at the top of which stands a brown heritage sign pointing the way to ‘Lilleshall Abbey’.   I’ve said ‘Let’s go’, DB has always replied, ‘Not now we haven’t got time’.   Well a few weeks ago on a gorgeous sunny afternoon we finally found time to turn down that lane and visit. 

The lane winds up and down between hedges and trees before another brown heritage sign points you to the Abbey ruins partway down a narrow farm track with a small parking area.

The main entrance to the Abbey church.

Founded by Arrouasian Cannons in the mid 12 century and later absorbed into the Augustinian Order, Lilleshall Abbey is built of deep red triassic sandstone and lies on the edge of Abbey Wood about a mile south of the village of Lilleshall which is reputed to date back to Saxon times. 

Inside the main Abbey church.

The name Lilleshall is believed to originate from ‘Lillers Hill’.   Liller was a servant of Edwin, King of Northumbria and it is thought the village was given to him for services rendered to the Crown.  The village is also mentioned in the Doomsday Book as having a population of about 150 people.

A beautifully carved ceremonial doorway.

Owning extensive tracts of farmland, water mills and other properties, including the right to charge tolls on Atcham Bridge over the river Severn, Lilleshall Abbey prospered for 400 years.

King Henry III is said to have twice visited the Abbey during hunting trips in the area.

In 1538 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII Lilleshall Abbey was closed and the lands granted to the Cavendish family who later sold them to James Leveson of Wolverhampton.

This archway is one of the entrances to a narrow passage, called a slype or parlour,  that once had doors at each end.  The passage may have given access to the canons infirmary and it's thought was used as a place where important matters could be discussed without breaking the cloister rule of silence.

Two spiral staircases remain, one of which you can climb to the top, it even has some 19th century graffiti on the wall at the bottom.   Although I’m not over keen on climbing this kind of stair case, up is fine, as for down, well, let’s just say I prefer to have someone in front of me.

There is even some 19th century graffiti on the wall at the bottom of the stairs.

There is a nice view of the Abbey pond from the top

During the English Civil War the Abbey was fortified for King Charles I by Sir Richard Leveson and besieged by Parliamentarian troops in 1645. 

Reputed to be haunted, the Abbey has been visited by various ghost hunters over the years including the famous ghost hunter the late Elliott O’Donnell. 

 

Visitors have reported seeing what looks like the figure of a monk passing from the church to the sacristy; others have heard soft footsteps along the path from the cemetery.    During the 1930’s a boy who lived in nearby Abbey Cottage couldn’t sleep because of strange noises during the night, one of which sounded like someone turning the pages of a large book. 

I'm glad to say that as we visited on a lovely sunny afternoon, we, thankfully, neither saw nor heard anything remotely spooky.

The site is now administered by English Heritage http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/lilleshall-abbey/ entry is free and this year it is open from April to the end of September.

Have fun, we are!

An English country estate

On what, for once, turned out to be a gloriously warm sunny day I (DB decided to stay in the garden) took myself off to visit Doddington Hall on the Cheshire/Staffordshire borders.  

 

Doddington Hall is a privately owned historic country estate, home to the Delves Broughton family for over 650 years with an interesting history.

 

Sir John De Delves purchased the manor of Doddington in 1352 and later fought with the Black Prince (the son of King Edward III) as one of four squires with Lord Audley at the battle of Poitiers in September 1356.

 

Described as a ‘Goodly Mansion’ when it was built in 1364 the sandstone tower is the only thing that remains of the original Elizabethan Doddington Hall, which was surrounded by formal gardens and a deer park. 

 

Sandstone statues of the four squires stand at the bottom of the tower, but I have no idea which one is Delves of Doddington.

Garrisoned by Parliamentary forces during the English Civil War the original Doddington Hall was demolished in 1762 leaving only the sandstone tower.

The new hall built between 1777 and 1798 was constructed to the designs of Samuel Wyatt and later landscaped by Capability Brown.   

Access to the house is through the door under the curving stone steps, which leads to the ground floor and I assume was once the servants’ entrance.

Iron railings follow the curve of the stone stairs to the main doors and through into the entrance hall

From the entrance hall, double doors unique to Doddington Hall and one other house which I believe is somewhere in the USA lead into different rooms, including the circular saloon below.

The double doors are somehow engineered so that when one door is opened the other opens automatically, which must’ve been very handy for the servants.

A new, narrow flight of wooden stairs takes you out onto the roof which was one of the renovations partially funded by English Heritage.

Another view of the house showing the circular saloon from the outside.

One side of the stables.

Now silent horse boxes.

In the undergrowth just outside the stables is a bear cage where Sir Henry Delves Broughton (Jock of ‘White Mischief’ fame) kept 3 Himalayan bears he used to take out for walks around the grounds. 

During WWII French sailors camped at Doddington and Polish refugees camped there until 1960. 

In 1943 Doddington became a Ministry of Defence camp, the family left the hall when it was requisitioned by General Dwight Eisenhower and became the European Headquarters for the American Army. 

After WWII a girls school occupied the building until the mid-1980’s since then the hall has been unoccupied.

I enjoyed my visit to Doddington, the hall is a lovely building, very Pride and Prejudice, I almost expected to bump into Mr Darcy!

Have fun, we are!