Isle of Wight Holiday Diary #3 - Farringford & Tennyson Down

Hi there everyone 😀

We are back on the very lovely Isle of Wight with clear blue skies and glorious sunshine for today's post. We were discovering that there was certainly more to this part of the Island than we'd expected and managed to spend another two full days exploring more 'off the beaten track' spots ... all of which were new to us ...

Day 5 - Wednesday

We decided to head back to Freshwater, as we'd stumbled across 'Farringford' when looking at things to see and do on the island. We'd been and had a quick look at where it was when visiting Freshwater the previous day and thought it looked like it would be definitely worth a proper look.

Farringford was the main home of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the great Poet Laureate. It is now open to the public as a historic home. To visit the house you need to book a tour and we did consider this, but they were fully booked for when we wanted to visit. To be fair ... from looking at the property's website it was the gardens that we were more interested in anyway and at just £3.50 a head for a garden visit, we felt it was definitely worth a look.

The main attraction is the walled kitchen garden and we entered via the gate in the wall, having no inkling what to expect.

Once inside and tickets bought at the little wooden reception hut we couldn't wait to start exploring ...

It really was a charming walled garden. In spite of the lateness of the season there was still a fair amount of colour and lots of interest to see including home grown produce for sale ...

... the prettiest thatched cottage ...

... perennial borders bursting with colour ...

... the most amazing cup and saucer vine ... 

... and some seriously stunning dahlias ...

Moving very slowly around the outer path of the garden ... trying to take everything in ... we were both really taken with the archway covered in all kinds of squash ...

There were some pretty spectacular specimens, all of which I found strangely beautiful ...

There were some pretty decent pumpkins growing on the ground too ...

... and plenty of very healthy looking chard ...

There was a really useful wooden shelving display showing what was currently in flower ... all very nicely labelled ...

We bumped into one of the gardeners who pretty much apologised that there wasn't much to see ... he needn't have worried we were loving it anyway ... though I can imagine that at the height of summer it would be even more beautiful.

We were now pretty much at the back of the walled garden and decided to carry on through to have a look at the house and the rest of the estate, saving the rest of the walled garden for on our way back.

The house sits at the top of the hill and was a pretty impressive sight ...

We walked round the extent of the grounds ... it was a decent walk, but not too far ... which took us back down towards the road, along the bottom and then back up towards the house.

We were happy to watch the locals having lunch ... as they were well fenced in ...

Back at the top I had a wander across the front of the house, looking for a good view ...

... and whilst it was a great view of the house, my timing was not good as a tour party were just coming out and seemed in no rush at all to move on ...

In the end I gave up hoping for a 'person' free shot and headed back to find Martin resting his legs on a very conveniently placed bench in the shade.

From here we searched out Tennyson's Bridge, the original of which was built in 1860. It crosses the lane that separates the main garden from 'The Wilderness' and was where Tennyson used to go when he needed a bit of peace and quiet ...
It was then but a short wonder through the woodland to the back of the house where ... finally I managed to capture a visitor free shot ...
From here we headed back round the front of the house to the top of the walled garden ...
... ... where we explored the other half of the garden as we made our way back to the exit ...

It was such a glorious day that we weren't ready to head for home just yet and decided to drive a bit further up the coast to see if we thought we could manage the walk up to the Tennyson Monument on the top of Tennyson Down.

We got lucky and managed to find a space in the tiny National Trust car park at the end of a single track lane and decided to investigate further.

Just outside of the car park is an information board showing two ways for walking to the monument. One pretty much just goes straight up to the top of the Down from the car park and this looked a bit daunting.

We opted for a longer but what looked like would be the gentler option of heading out towards The Needles and then taking a bit of a dogleg back. It started out pretty well, with a nice gentle slope ...

There were some really fantastic views across The Solent to Hurst Castle ...
The path got just a little steeper as we approached the point where we would be heading across to the coast before 'dog legging' back and up to the monument ...

Just at the top of the rise, by the signal beacon, we found the scant remains of the original monument installed following the poet's death in 1892 ...

Rather than taking the footpath directly to the new monument we decided to head for the coastal path first, to see what kind of view we would find ...

Once we hit the coastal path we were both a bit disappointed to find that we couldn't see The Needles looking across towards Alum Bay, but it was a pretty decent view all the same ...

What we could see ... in the opposite direction ... was that we did still have a bit of a slog if we wanted to make it up to the monument ... honestly, you can see it right on the top of the hill ...

We were both pretty proud of ourselves when we finally reached the top ...

It really was a beautiful spot ... with plenty of very welcome benches for resting weary legs.

As well as enjoying a good walk and getting to see an interesting monument, we were on a bit of a Geocaching quest and after a bit of pondering, we managed to find all of the information that we were looking for ...
... before building up to our walk back to the car park ... via the steeper route this time ...

We took it steady down through the woodland and were soon back where we started ...

What a day! We'd really enjoyed visiting Farringford and were so pleased that we'd made the effort to walk to the monument.

There was only one thing for it ... back to Compton Bay for another picnic lunch ...

A perfect way to end a perfect day out.

We will be back in West Wight exploring the very pretty little village of Brighstone in my next post ... There is far more more to this part of the island that initially meets the eye ... we were loving taking it just that little bit slow and spending time 'off the beaten track' 😀

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Joy in the Everyday Ordinary - November, 1-10

Hi there everyone 😀

We seem to be crazy busy over here at the moment ... hence the late post. I really can't remember the last time I missed my regular Monday slot.

It just seems to have gone a bit bonkers on the crafting side and I have had a fair flurry of Christmas orders over this last week, which I have to say I am very excited about and grateful for. We are working hard to try and make sure we get everything done and posted off before we go away at the end of the week ... as well as trying to get Winter craft fair ready 😀

We have both spent both today and yesterday sat at the dining room table ... Martin on the die cutter and me on the sewing machine, making up Christmas gift tags and other bits and pieces and tomorrow is another beeswax wrap making day.

It will then be time to start getting ready for our week away ... we are off to Derbyshire and are hoping that we will be able to get out and about, after all the rain that they've had ... I think wellies will definitely be on the packing list ... but I can think about that later ... for now here is the start of our November ...

Day 1 - My favourite starter in my favourite Indian with some of my favourite people 💜

Day 2 - Aldi impulse buy ... fits in perfectly on the kitchen window sill though

Day 3 - Christmas afternoon tea gift (for last Christmas) for good friends at home with the bestest home made ginger cake ever and my new piping nozzle has turned me into a professional cake decorator ... I was very proud and more than a little surprised 😁

Day 4 - Beautiful autumn flowers from our afternoon tea guests

Day 5 - After leaving in January 2014, finally ... I guess it's kind of payback time 😀

Day 6 - It was definitely a craft day

Day 7 - A trip on the train for a day out in Cheltenham Spa for a lovely day meeting up with an old friend ... couldn't resist this fabric purchase on the way back to the car ... which did nearly make me miss my train, but definitely worth it.

Day 8 - Friday and a day full of running errands ... but first breakfast 😋

Day 9 - Saturday and a very crafty afternoon.

Day 10 - My favourite little monkey's 3rd birthday party 🎂🎂🎂

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Autumn - A great time for Crafting

Hi there everyone 😀

In the great scheme of things I'm fairly new to Facebook, only finally taking the plunge and joining back in 2014. I'd really hung back from joining, finding it hard to understand the appeal and, for some reason, it scared me just a little bit. Did I really want the world to be able to look into and comment on my life?

The driver for me finally signing up was my hair dresser of the time. I'd shown her the stuff I was making in the earliest days of Hand Made at Number 27 and she asked me how she could buy from me. She bought this owl fabric tooth fairy pillow from me, whilst I was in the salon, and was actually the first person to buy something I'd made that wasn't a friend or a member of the family ...

She was just so encouraging ... At the time I was trying to sell on Etsy but hadn't had any interest at all. She said I just had to get on Facebook ... it was where all the mums she knew were and where they looked for the kind of hand made stuff that I was making.

So I bit the bullet and created a Facebook account and set up my Hand Made at Number 27 page. It was so exciting seeing my friends following my page and even more so when people started liking it who I didn't even know.

I'm not looking to make a load of money from making stuff, but I do love crafting and needed an outlet for the end result. My aim really was for it to pay for itself, which it is doing. I've also had lots of really lovely feedback from people who have bought from me and that is really motivating.

Setting up the Facebook page was definitely the right way to go for me and I get a fair amount of interest on the majority of things that I post and I now have just over 300 followers, which I'm really happy with. It allows me to carry on making stuff, making enough sales to cover my costs, without lots of stress of having to make things in volume to short deadlines.

So now I'd best get to the point of this post ... Autumn being a good time for crafting ...

Well, when I joined Facebook I also signed up to Timehop, which provides memories over a period of time and this was what came up one day this week ...
This was last year and I was going hell for leather making up all kinds of things for Christmas craft fairs. Beeswax wraps and reusable face cleansing pads have both done really well over the last year and were made as a result of me trying to reduce my use of single use things like cling film and cotton wool pads ... it seems that there are lots of other people trying this too.

This next memory was from 2017 when I had a go at hand making some of my Christmas gifts ...
I crocheted this tea cosy for my good friend Lesley and it's the one and only one that I have, or intend to, make ... it was definitely a labour of love.

In 2016 I made a fair few of these paper cut frames ...
This next picture is from 2015 ...
I remember taking these Christmas decoration hearts away with me to Thorpe in The Peak District on our week's holiday, where I added bows and ribbons ...
The photo for 2014 takes me back to one of my very first makes ...

A stretchy glass beaded bracelet, made for my youngest God Daughter for Christmas ... in fact everyone I knew was given these for Christmas that year.

It's funny looking back at both the quality of the photographs and the quality of what I was making back then. When it comes to bracelets I moved away from the glass beads as they were painted and after time the colour rubbed off on some of them. I also found a better way of hanging the charms and I definitely upped my game on the photograph side ...

So, has Autumn been a good time for crafting this year too? Of course it has. There's no better way to fill a damp and miserable afternoon than by sitting at the dining room table, surrounding by all kinds of bits and pieces and turning them into something useful or beautiful ... or both ...

I've had a go at marking cards with fabric and free motion machine embroidery ...
More cards with words of positive affirmation ...
Christmas decorations ...
Plenty of beeswax wraps ...
... and reusable face wipes ...
... and as tradition would have it ... I will be aiming to have another Christmas gift tag making session whilst we are away later this month ... not sure we will make this many this year though ...
So there you go ... Autumn ... it really is a great time for crafting, so if you're feeling at a loose end, a bit lower than normal or just generally fed up with the dull and dreary weather ...  have a go at creating something. Doesn't have to be anything too taxing ... bake a cake, make a new cushion cover, have a go at making some cards ... anything. Make it for yourself or make it as a gift. Make it from scratch or make it from a kit. In my view there is nothing as rewarding as standing back and looking at something that you created yourself. Go on ... give it a go 😀

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Joy in the Everyday Ordinary - October, 21-31

Hi there everyone 😀

Seriously ... where did October go? It really seemed to pass in the blinking of an eye

The last 10 days pretty much gave us everything bar snow from a weather point of view ... we've had days of solid rain, which has meant we've managed to get cracking on some indoor jobs that have been hanging around ... clear blue skies and sunshine ... and we've now had our first frost ... Winter must be on the way ... and I am sooooooo not ready for it.

Looking back ... as well as being pretty productive ... we did manage to get out and about a bit too ... though one outing did result in a bit of an 'incident' with the car, which is currently away awaiting some repairs as a result of an insurance claim. I have to say I have been incredibly impressed with Direct Line so far. I've only had to make one phone call and they've done everything ... arranged for the car to be picked up ... arranged for the car hire ... kept us very well informed. Fingers crossed that it comes back when expected and looks fabulous ... but so far, so good.

November has started off with a really jam packed weekend of catch ups, baking and crafting and the rest of the month is looking very busy, with plenty of birthdays, a couple of Christmas craft fairs and a week away in The Peak District all on the calendar, so there will be plenty to keep you posted on but ... for now, here is the end of our October ...

Day 21 - The soup maker is really earning its keep at the moment ... today it was a scrummy tomato with orzo 💓

Day 22 - It may seem a bit odd but I can't tell you how happy this sight makes me. Pot saucers all scrubbed and clean and ready to put away until the spring ... it makes me even happier that it wasn't me that did them 😀

Day 23 - Today was a beautiful Autumn day and we spent it exploring Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens and taking in afternoon tea. The sky was crisp and clear and I took lots of photos and this is definitely one of my favourites.

Day 24 - Today was spent with us both in the kitchen on a production line of beeswax wrap making in readiness for Christmas craft fairs. We did really well and made up a mass of wraps to keep us going.

Day 25 - It was out for brunch, shopping and errands for us today, including calling in at mum and dad's, where I just had to take a photo of her fungi, which seem to be all over the place this year. This one is a proper fairy toadstool 🍄🍄🍄

Day 26 - Saturday and it rained pretty much the whole day. We were very productive and cooked up apples and blueberries for the freezer, packaged up beeswax wraps, made a start on a Scrabble frame order and went for our first real visit to my God daughter, Rachel and her Fiance Tom's for a home cooked Indian feast, which was just fabulous.

Day 27 - It was another wet and miserable day and we spent it cleaning out the kitchen cupboards, before settling down to watch the Halloween Strictly on catch up ... I can't think of a better way of spending a wet afternoon.

Day 28 - The grass had its last cut of the season and I wrote the first of many Isle of Wight Holiday Diary posts and this dropped on the mat. It's always a treat when the new calendar arrives, filled with photo memories of our last year.

Day 29 - Our first proper frost and how pretty do these succulents look ❅❅❅

Day 30 - It was Wednesday so after a few chores and a bit of crafting I had a wander round to Jackie's where we did the usual and sat curled up on the sofa putting the world to rights for a good couple of hours.

Day 31 - Just look how strong this love in a mist is looking ... planted with seeds from mum's garden. Planted in a circle, as per Monty's advice, so it's easy to tell the seeds from the weeds ... clearly it works well.

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