Herefordshire fields

Herefordshire is an agricultural county. Where it is known elsewhere in the world it is usually for its breed of cattle. On a recent walk we looked north from the slopes of Penyard Park woods at the chequerboard of fields bordered with hedges that stretched away to the horizon and considered what we could see. Rows of blackcurrant bushes, tree nurseries or orchards, pasture with cattle and sheep, wheat, barley, bright yellow oilseed rape and polytunnels, probably over strawberries, were all visible. And, here and there, prepared but unplanted fields of characteristic red soil added contrast to the landscape.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Snow on the fields and woods

The weather forecast predicted heavy snow that materialised as light snow. But it was enough for us to put our boots on and venture out quite early to see if there were photographs to be found. Quite a few people had the same idea. This photograph shows the narrow section of woodland that connects Penyard Park and Chase Wood on the hills overlooking Ross on Wye. The man in the red coat gave the cold looking scene a single spot of colour. Ten or so minutes later the steep hill he is climbing was dotted with parents, children and sledges.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Sweet chestnut leaves

Sweet chestnuts (Castanea sativa) are thought to have been introduced to Britain by the Romans. They made a porridge of the ground nuts and milk called polenta. However, the nuts must have been imported because only the hottest British summers allow them to grow large enough to eat. Most of the sweet chestnut trees we see today were planted for decorative reasons. But can that be true in Herefordshire where they are extremely common? Regardless of why they were planted they do offer a colourful autumn spectacle, the leaves showing green, brown/orange and yellow simultaneouly, much like the beech.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

The blue Malvern Hills

As we walked along the side of the the prominent wooded hill known as Penyard Park, near the village of Western under Penyard, we kept getting views of the the autumn coloured Herefordshire landscape below. Fields of ploughed red soil contrasted with the fresh green of sprouting winter wheat and sheep-cropped pastures. Russet and yellow tints marked the hedgerow trees and small copses as the green leaves took on their final colours of the year. And above it all was the blue ribbon of the distant Malvern Hills, about fifteen miles away as the crow (or local raven) flies.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Sheep in shade

On a walk that took in paths in and around the woodland known as Penyard Park we came upon meadows and fields of maize and wheat. Climbing the stile out of one of the latter we stepped down into a pasture holding a large flock of sheep which, despite the extensive nature of the field, were tightly packed in the shade of a large oak tree. The day was hot and humid with clouds and long periods of sunshine, the sort that invites sitting or laying out of the sun and the sheep were all of that mind. As we approached a few stood up, thinking to get out of our way, so we gave them a wider berth not wishing to spoil their pleasure.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Birches Barn, Weston under Penyard

We came upon this Birches Barn on a walk that took in the edge of the woodland near Ross on Wye known as Penyard Park. It has the characteristics of quite a few old barns I've seen in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire - two-storey, stone built, slate roof, full height doors on both long elevations. What was odd, however, were the two lean-to extensions and the fact that the pointing (and the roof and timber) looked quite recent. A little research suggests that the barn was part of an old farm site that had been the subject of a planning application (refused) to turn it into a dwelling. That could explain the work done on it. Barns such as these provide landscape interest and a tangible link to the past. It's good that some of them endure. Incidentally, the splash of blue on the wood edge is bluebells and the nearby white, ramsons, also known as wild garlic and stinking onions.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Autumn becomes winter

The photograph above was taken in Penyard Park woods near Ross on Wye, Herefordshire, on the morning of the first of December, the first day of "meteorological winter". Yellow tinged winter sunlight was penetrating the woods through trees almost stripped of leaves, and still illuminating the conifers, the dying bracken and the leaves of the undergrowth. The orange remnants of autumn together with the sunlight are what elevates the picture. As winter progresses it will be interesting to see if such a photograph is possible before the spring growth appears.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2