A month of falling leaves, sudden sunshine after drenching, even flooding rain, and visits to look at trees and to spread the word about my new book, ‘Grass’, a companion volume to ‘Flora’, a book about the flowers in our hay meadows.
On the first day of November we drove to Leek, a town on the top of a hill, sitting in the middle of the Staffordshire Moorlands. The unspoilt town centre offers a covered market where we bought the biggest eggs we have ever seen, a range of craft based shops, including the Floxlowe Arts Centre, historical and artistic displays in the library and, plenty of places for coffee and cake. The influences of the Arts and Crafts Movement and William Morris are evident in the town, and we particularly liked the Arts and Crafts Gate to one of the buildings saved by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, and the friezes on the outside of the Technical College.
We were greeted warmly at The Picture Book shop, a treasure house on two floors, with a particular interest in books about the local countryside and nature. Sarah, the owner, agreed to stock ‘Flora’, ‘Grass’ and the Lockdown Diaries.
On 5th November we drove to Tetbury in Gloucestershire in slanting sunshine, with wet fields full of green shoots of corn, hedges mixing gold and green as the leaves begin to turn, and whipped cream piles of clouds heaped on the horizon. Blue skies greeted us after a night in Tetbury, and we drove down leafy lanes to Westonbirt Arboretum and spent the whole day walking among crimson acers, yellow-leaved birches and golden beeches turning ever more coppery brown. A highlight of our day long visit was the treetop walk recently established and taking you high and safely into the crowns of some of the biggest trees.
It was almost evening when we left this place of tranquility - a day of breathing in the oxygen breathed out by these historical giants. Later, in a dark, wet field full of waving sweet corn, we watched in vain for a sighting of the Northern Lights, accompanied by a croaking, shrieking pheasant and a barn owl calling as it flew above the Bonfire Night.
fireworks.
Next day we drove south over the grassy slopes of Salisbury Plain, where rows of golden beeches
glow in the valleys and army manoeuvres surprised us as tanks appeared at unexpected junctions. Salisbury is a busy and big city where we visited the friendly Plantlife (website) offices to leave copies of Flora and Grass for possible inclusion in their magazine. Leaving the city after a quick look at the cathedral we began a meandering return journey home, opting for the sunlit back roads through Marlborough, Highworth and Lechlade, and the villages between all thatched and golden stone. Despite towering clouds on every horizon, the sun continued to shine in a blue sky, highlighting every golden tree and berried garden bush. Gradually lowering, the sun eventually disappeared in a golden glory behind the western hills as we watched from a lay-by, leaving us to complete our journey through the gloaming tinged with gold, up the motorways and home to a dark house.
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