Wednesday, August 13, 2014

FOOTLOOSE AND BUZZING

The two of us got out together for a walk late Sunday morning. A few people had the same idea, some walking, others checking things in little  boats which were tied up in harbour.  To avoid  constantly tramping on tarmac roads, we worked out a route that took us a little  'off piste'. 

The last occupants of the estate workers homes decanted about fifteen years ago, the other cottages were already well decayed and open to the weather. The chimney breast in the picture is what is left of one of those ruins.   The field, now gone wild, in which the couple are strolling, would have been used by the estate employees.

Country-Sea -Sand-Dunes


The estate house is  long gone, a fire engulfed the ruins. There are still the very thick enclosing walls in which there are arches which serve a double purpose. Though you can't see them in the picture, there are rough overgrown steps that lead you to a road.  You can just make out the harbour wall.  And yes, the darker shade of light blue you see through the wall arch is the sea. 


However, the arch  has a dual purpose, the picture above doesn't show it.



There is an inner arch wall, (dark) and an outer one. It's not a trick of the camera.  The thickness of  the walls allow for two substantial recesses either side of the arches. These are being used by some fishermen as store places for low value kit they do not want to constantly cart back and forth. This is an informal harbour mostly used for leisure by local people.  Expensive equipment would be stored more securely elsewhere. If you look through the arch across to the far side of the harbour, you'll see a guy putting a red buoy into the boot of his car, which would have been attached to creels. His boat is out of view.

This year, this area was one of those chosen to release bees into in an attempt to boost the bee stocks in the U.K.  I saw a lot of busy buzzing bees out and about. Let's hope it is a successful enterprise.  This one obviously likes the Scottish Thistle.


You can espy one delicate gossamer bee wing
....And there was plenty blooming thistle flower for a bee to enjoy.


We left this natural wild place to cut through the ruins of the cottages.  In the grass  was this; how long could it have been there?




Footloose
It looked as if it had stepped and stopped in its track.....  We left the sandal where it was wondering if anyone would retrieve it. Hubby commented "soul-less". 



Returning via the harbour I was struck by this little cheeky touch of  capstan/bollard artistry. Lavender, it seems, will grow in any conditions, anywhere!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

A most enjoyable post, and terrific photos. It looks, and sounds,like you had a good day.
The vertical stonework in the top of the last picture caught my eye as being unusual compared to the lower horizontal wall.
Flighty xx

ZACL said...

Thank you for your appreciation of my photos. You make an astute observation about the harbour wall, Mr F. It's what is known as a Bremner Harbour. See the following link.

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jeOMfpYMOtYC&pg=PA73&lpg=PA73&dq=bremner+harbour+walls&source=bl&ots=aD7BOVYf4i&sig=oZDGfKHs9PuqxDlzSvV-ovefaHM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=FQHtU-uOFpCy7AaJsIGgDw&ved=0CD8Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=bremner%20harbour%20walls&f=false

I would not be surprised if the same construction could be made to work in some of the flood areas we saw through the last Winter. Or, maybe that thought is too fanciful...

Anonymous said...

It looks a super place for a ramble - wild grass and flowers, bees and the sea. What more could anyone want? Great photos.

ZACL said...

Hi GillyK,

I suppose a ramble would work, we ambled. The activity and scenery got me thinking the same as you.

Glad you enjoyed the pictures.

Snowbird said...

What a lovely post, you do have some sweet places to walk in. I always find something a little haunting and sad about deserted cottages, we see them in Formby woods by the beach, it gets you wondering as to who lived in them. I hope the bees go forth and multiply, their numbers seem to drop each year. They will love the thistle.xxx

ZACL said...

Hi Snowbird,

Thank you for your comments. As mentioned, the last occupants of one of the cottages left in recent times. Once mum died, her son moved out onto other things. We wandered the through the empty property some months later, we gazed at wallpaper of time past, a chimney breast that was intact, as was the rest of the house. After that it was marked up as unsafe to enter. Truly, with neglect, it had deteriorated quickly.

It is known who lived in those houses when the estate was occupied and what the tenants' work and functions were. There is a nearby heritage centre, which is very well run where there are people who cannot only show pictorial history of life on the estate, some also remember it from their youth. It makes it less of a loss.

Like you, when I see ruins elsewhere, I too think about what kind of lives may have been lived and who lived them.