Date Day: Taunton

A very simple Friday morning satisfied the need for grown up time this month.  We took a trip to Taunton - a lovely market town within half an hour of us.

We stopped for coffee in a gorgeous old building - a Tudor Tavern - with wonderfully textured beams dating back to 1578 now leased by Caffe Nero!

It was dark inside and it was so cosy.  We sat and talked about lots of changes going on in our home - the job change (started 2 weeks ago) my medication adjustments/ condition, family, money...  It felt good to reconnect and reassure each other that despite all the ongoing changes there are still some comforting constants in our little world.

We only walked a short distance through the main streets as I wasn't on good form physically but as we walked I found it most interesting to look towards the tops of the buildings.  It struck me that here the building facades literally demonstrate the architectural trends passing over time.

We were walking down the main high street lined with modern shopping fronts with different building facades of varying architectural styles above.  One street literally ended with a beautiful church with such intricate stone work.  

When we got home I found out that this was St Mary Magdalene Church and that:

"The sandstone church of St Mary Magdalene in Taunton was completed in 1508. The 163 feet (50 m) tall tower is considered the finest example of a Somerset tower and one of the 'noblest' parish towers in England. 

During construction of the tower a pulley was used to lift the stone with a donkey pulling the rope. It is said that on completion the donkey was hoisted to the top to admire the view it had helped create!"

And what else should we find down another side alley but a castle...

 ...with its very own portcullis?!

Again, on our return home I looked it up and wikipedia states:

"It has origins in the Anglo Saxon period and was later the site of a priory. The Normans then built a stone structured castle, which belonged to the Bishops of Winchester." 

I can't quite believe that I have visited the town twice before and never noticed this huge castle.  I do love that about my blogging journey - in taking more frequent photographs I look more carefully, up alleys or towards the skies.  We will definitely go back with the children and look around the castle - it houses a museum now which should also be fascinating to peruse when we have more time.

Neither of us grew up in this area and our original homes / family live over 2 hours away in separate directions.  Whilst we know our home counties well we are still exploring Somerset.  We made a pledge at the beginning of the year to spend more time exploring the county and finding our new favourite places rather than spending most of our time visiting our 'old' homes.  Whilst Cornwall will always feel like home to me, I'm enjoying the process of making this county feel like home for our family; developing a fondness for the surrounding landscapes and exploring more widely this beautiful part of the world.

J9 x

Date Day: Clifton

On Wednesday - after the school run, the Hubby and I managed to 'escape' for some quality time together.  Time to just catch up and chat over a casual coffee outside our normal four walls.  It was a much needed breather considering the speed of change and his crazy workload at present.

Once the children were safely deposited at school we decided to head towards Bristol into Clifton Village via the stunning Clifton Suspension Bridge.  The weather was hideous - it has rained every day since I posted about the Somerset floods here and the situation is set to get worse as two more storms hit the south coast of England this weekend.

First port of call was the Boston Tea Room - a lovely coffee shop with an eclectic vintage / industrial style decor.  A place to warm up while the storm raged outside.  As the winds blew, I savoured the textures of the wooden surfaces...

...and supped a lovely creamy cappuccino...

...whilst watching the rain pour down outside and trickle down the windows.

We really couldn't stay out in the weather for long - to put it in context the wind was so bad that the Clifton Bridge was closed after we'd used it in one direction - the first occasion it has been closed in 150 years.  The attached video actually shows the huge suspension bridge moving in the wind!

Whilst in the village we popped into a few independent shops selling artisan makes and tempting homeware - we also window shopped in the glorious Victorian Arcade which was visually stunning.

 A quirky gorilla hung from the end of the ceiling arch which made me smile - despite the age of the original building the space really did suit him.

Prices in the 'homey' boutique shops were beyond our budget but it was very enjoyable to look.  I was inspired by colour combinations in different pieces of art that were displayed and found my creative senses were sparked by the shapes and textures on show.  I'd lost some motivation recently on the crafty front and this visit has revitalised my creative mind.  Plus I struck lucky in a charity shop - a Marks & Spencer fairisle style jumper for a bargainous £3!  The historical passage of time demonstrated in the architecture of this area is very inspiring too but I especially loved the frontage of this building - grey and red - who knew?!

And opposite that building was the most stunning vintage ambulance.  OOooh. Such loveliness!

Despite the weather, it was nice to get some grown up time together - we've not managed it in a while and it was good to prioritise us over the [never-ending] list of jobs!  We celebrate Valentine's as a family day - to celebrate LoVE generally so it was also good to mark Us as a couple too.  We reaffirmed our wish to spend a date day together every month and I am already looking forward to the next.

I will announce the winner of my GYB giveaway in the next few days.  Little Man is off school with a sick bug and the coming week is Half Term here in England so I will undoubtedly have even less time online than normal but I shall endeavour to catch up with Blogland when I can!

Hoping you are feeling some LoVE in your part of the world,
J9 x