# few spring pics I took today



## hollydolly (Mar 23, 2020)

...in and around my neighbourhood. 

Took the car because I had to go to the pharmacy , first time I've been able to get out for a week..,. I visited the ancient  village church first and had a walk around the tiny grounds just having a little chat with the almighty...no-one there. so no problem with social distancing.. , and then drove off into a very deserted town centre  to get my things...

  I stopped off and took some pictures of my neighbours' land on the way ,  we live semi-rurally so no-one much around..

  although still very much winter in that the trees are bare of very much , all the daffs are out in people's private  gardens.. (pity you can't see many in my pics but take my word for it or look to the left of this picture and you'll see them on the left of the Canada Geese ...)  



















the road from my lane through to the woods..and farms..., by summer they are a complete canopy..


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## hollydolly (Mar 23, 2020)

The Viaduct... which carries overline trains North and south of the country and directly into London in less than 1/2 hour... 


On the grass to the left and right are grazing horses..





 Captured the train going over , from the other side of the viaduct... (actually 2 trains going in opposite directions )







...and a short time  later..another on it's own heading north...


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## IrisSenior (Mar 23, 2020)

I would like to live where you live hollydolly or at least visit. Beautiful pics.


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## hollydolly (Mar 23, 2020)

I'll save the rest for another day....  ☀


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## Ruthanne (Mar 23, 2020)

Those are gorgeous photos HD.  Thank you for posting them!


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## Ruth n Jersey (Mar 23, 2020)

Absolutely beautiful Holly. Is the viaduct very old? Kind of destroys the scenery but I guess it was necessary. We have many places like that also.
I learned a new word today. I never hard of a viaduct.


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## hollydolly (Mar 23, 2020)

IrisSenior said:


> I would like to live where you live hollydolly or at least visit. Beautiful pics.


 well I'm sure you'd love it iris, thank you so much for  enjoying them, ...and thank you Ruthanne , you're very welcome  I love to take them as you know ..


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## hollydolly (Mar 23, 2020)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> Absolutely beautiful Holly. Is the viaduct very old? Kind of destroys the scenery but I guess it was necessary. We have many places like that also.
> I learned a new word today. I never hard of a viaduct.


 yes Ruth opened in 1850 so Victorian  and very much in use today  , the village train station is just across the road and up the hill from where I took the photo...  It's the only one of it's kind in this part of England, many more in other parts of the UK and Northern England..


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## Pinky (Mar 23, 2020)

I love old train stations .. have you taken any photos of your village train station? You are fortunate to have such old landmarks where you live.


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## hollydolly (Mar 24, 2020)

Pinky said:


> I love old train stations .. have you taken any photos of your village train station? You are fortunate to have such old landmarks where you live.


  I didn't take any yesterday PInky... we have several train stations here, within a few miles of each other, not  beautiful and colonial looking, but small anyway  and not very pretty . I have photos of them somewhere on my computer  I've taken over the years tho'... ...
Almost everything (aside from towns which were built after the war ) is old in the UK...  everything around here stems from around the 11th century..although not the train stations..


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## Gary O' (Mar 24, 2020)

Always love a treed country lane
......and a small stream

very calming

Nicely done, HD

nicely done


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## Em in Ohio (Mar 24, 2020)

Holly - any chance of getting pictures of the ancient church?  No matter how small, these are one of my 'things.'  I like to create architecture in 3D.  (The lighthouse in my icon is a 3D model that I built.)   Your photos are very inspirational and I need that now.


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## Lee (Mar 24, 2020)

Holly, so that's what green grass looks like, needed a reminder as ours is still mostly winter brown here, but it's coming along. We are a few weeks behind you.

You do live in a beautiful country, wish I lived there but on my bucket list to visit. I do have a relative there living in London who keeps saying the door is open.


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## hollydolly (Mar 24, 2020)

C'mon over Lee///c'mon over...


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## hollydolly (Mar 24, 2020)

Empty said:


> Holly - any chance of getting pictures of the ancient church?  No matter how small, these are one of my 'things.'  I like to create architecture in 3D.  (The lighthouse in my icon is a 3D model that I built.)   Your photos are very inspirational and I need that now.


yes of course...they're nothing special... but if they're of any hep to you , you're welcome..

I'll see what I can find in my photos for you, because we have a lot of very old churches here, and yesterday I didn't take a picture specifically.. of the tiny  local village church , just the grounds and one side of the church ,  as I usually do at different times of the year..but here's what I took yesterday if it's any help.....( and I'll look at pictures I've taken of other churches in the area and the other villages for you.. when I get more time today ..

In most of our village churchyard cemeteries the majority of the gravestones are several hundred years old.....and still some are legible.. many tho' at 500 years old are illegible, and barely standing.. 

Here are some pics I took yesterday... hope they are of use to you


this church was built in the 5th century AD by the saxons , and the original walls are still standing around the grounds... it was restored in the 11th century after the Norman conquest  and then again in the 17th century, and the last restoration was 1903 and many parts of the interior and exterior are still original

The grave and  gravestone forefront of the picture is over 500 years old...  as are those behind it











The path leads down through huge swathes of farmland.. and the creek ....  I was standing with my back to the farmland to take this picture...


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## Packerjohn (Mar 24, 2020)

Ah!  Lovely photos to be sure.  Really wish I could visit.  All these travel restrictions have us chained to our homes.  Thanks for posting.  We still have snow in the middle of Canada.


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## hollydolly (Mar 24, 2020)

Packerjohn said:


> Ah!  Lovely photos to be sure.  Really wish I could visit.  All these travel restrictions have us chained to our homes.  Thanks for posting.  We still have snow in the middle of Canada.


 yes  I know all the restrictions that means  no-one ( well  most people ) can't travel. Shocked to see Heathrow airport still allowing people into the country yesterday, and no safe distancing in practice while people waited up to an hour for the ir baggage, and no testing..... however, if we can all enjoy even our local areas well away from other people, just for one time a day for exercise, it at least lifts our spirits.. and helps with the cabin fever. Yesterday was my first day out for 7 days after being so poorly, and really it just lifted my spirits immeasurably..


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## Em in Ohio (Mar 24, 2020)

hollydolly said:


> yes of course...they're nothing special... but if they're of any hep to you , you're welcome..
> 
> I'll see what I can find in my photos for you, because we have a lot of very old churches here, and yesterday I didn't take a picture specifically.. of the tiny  local village church , just the grounds and one side of the church ,  as I usually do at different times of the year..but here's what I took yesterday if it's any help.....( and I'll look at pictures I've taken of other churches in the area and the other villages for you.. when I get more time today ..
> 
> ...


Thanks!  I did get to visit Belgium and Italy when my daughter was stationed there.  Unfortunately, all my pictures were lost in a computer crash.  They were very low-res anyway.  The trouble with living in the U.S. is that it is a young country with a bad habit of tearing things down.  In your country, it is evident that they value history and work to preserve it.  

I have visited nearby old cemeteries.  However, I have never seen one that had a standing church yard where the members were interred close to 'home'.   Now, I wonder if there were any such places here - a research project for another day.  Please keep documenting these old structures - one never knows when things may vanish - and I think a visual record is SO important, so valuable.  And your images are wonderful.  Again, many thanks.  I never get tired of looking.


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## Citygirl (Mar 24, 2020)

*What peaceful looking photos Holly. Thanks so much for sharing. I could sit all afternoon by that water. Very relaxing.Also glad you felt good enough to get out & about. *


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## toffee (Mar 24, 2020)

holly stop it hhahahah I lived just pass the viaduct --and I miss my home boo hoo..but great pics of home thanx


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## hollydolly (Mar 24, 2020)

toffee said:


> holly stop it hhahahah I lived just pass the viaduct --and I miss my home boo hoo..but great pics of home thanx


 hahaha..I was waiting for you to say that Toffee...  .. I keep telling you come on home chikadee..


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## hollydolly (Mar 24, 2020)

Citygirl said:


> *What peaceful looking photos Holly. Thanks so much for sharing. I could sit all afternoon by that water. Very relaxing.Also glad you felt good enough to get out & about. *


 I was over the moon to get out and bout CG, it felt like the longest 7 days of my life tbh..I didn't go far and I wasn't out for long, and I'm feeling it today, but it boosted my mood no end to get out in the sun and take my beloved photos ... .


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## SeaBreeze (Mar 24, 2020)

Love your photos Holly, beautiful....feel like I'm there!


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## Catlady (Mar 24, 2020)

You take beautiful photos, Dolly, very sharp and colorful and well posed.  I loved the first photo on post #1, I could sit there and just be in heaven.  Love brooks more than any body of water.  And the second pic in post #2 is also beautiful, love all those arches.


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## hollydolly (Mar 25, 2020)

Thanks SB.. and catlady  ..pleased you enjoyed them..


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## hollydolly (Mar 25, 2020)

Few more I took today ..and a couple of old  village churches on the other side of where I live and my neighbours cattle enjoying the warmth of the sun...


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## hollydolly (Mar 25, 2020)




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## hollydolly (Mar 25, 2020)

12th century tiny  church, still very much in use today... and many  ancient gravestones.. this was one of the few which was still readable.. from almost 200 years ago..






and this one from around 175o's


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## hollydolly (Mar 25, 2020)

Keeping my distance from the world.......


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## Pinky (Mar 25, 2020)

I like reading old gravestones. It's amazing the words are still on those ancient stones in your photos. There's something about cows that I love .. maybe it's their general demeanour - laid back. They can be very affectionate too.


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## charry (Mar 25, 2020)

My local walk, pushing hubby in his wheelchair.........


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## hollydolly (Mar 25, 2020)

Pinky said:


> I like reading old gravestones. It's amazing the words are still on those ancient stones in your photos. There's something about cows that I love .. maybe it's their general demeanour - laid back. They can be very affectionate too.


 yes those cows were quite young, and they definitely are very friendly.. you're right Pinks... 

 Here's a little clearer gravestone  picture...


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## Ruth n Jersey (Mar 25, 2020)

Holly you live in such a beautiful area. I bet those clumps of Daffodils are ages old. I have a cousin who loved to do tombstone rubbings. He would spend hours in cemeteries and church yards gently rubbing the inscriptions onto paper. He had a whole book of them. .He would have loved to have access to the ones in your photos.


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## hollydolly (Mar 26, 2020)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> Holly you live in such a beautiful area. I bet those clumps of Daffodils are ages old. I have a cousin who loved to do tombstone rubbings. He would spend hours in cemeteries and church yards gently rubbing the inscriptions onto paper. He had a whole book of them. .He would have loved to have access to the ones in your photos.


 Thanks Ruth... yes we're lucky to live in such a lovely area in the south  East of England .. . Yes indeed we're a brass rubbing paradise here we  have so many ancient churches and roman sites...Big churches , and tiny village churches .. I have barely even touched the surface of ancient sites, much less even scratched it from our area..... we have ancient Roman baths nearby  as well, he would have loved to visit them too I'm sure ...


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