Coaley Peak and Nympsfield Long Barrow

A couple of weeks ago, we took a trip to Coaley Peak and Nympsfield Long Barrow.

It was a bit misty but the views were still spectacular.

From the peak, there are views oven the Severn Vale and Forest of Dean.

Apparently the peak used to be a seasonal home for a community of new age travellers until they were evicted in 2002 to make way for more grassland. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaley_Peak)

To help manage the grassland, there are a small herd of Belted Galloway cattle.

We followed a footpath that we hoped would lead to Hetty Pegler's Tump, another neolithic burial mound nearby.

We met with a road and decided to turn back as we thought we might be on a wild goose chase! I think if we had carried on we probably would have found the Tump but we needed to look on a map!

Having turned back, we soon found Nympsfield Long Barrow, the other burial mound we had come to visit.

You can only see what remains on the surface of the barrow which dates back to 2800 BCE.

The barrow has been excavated several times. Human remains have been found along with evidence of fires, animal bones, pottery and an arrowhead.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nympsfield_Long_Barrow)

When we had finished our walk, we went to the Rose and Crown at Nympsfield for a delicious pub lunch!

Thanks for visiting!

Maggie xx

Beautiful Horses (and Donkey) on the Common

When we went for our walk on Rodborough Common on Monday, we saw these beautiful horses.

They are free-roaming and are usually seen on Minchinhampton Common.

The small herd must have decided they'd like a change of scene and had made they way across to Rodborough Common.

There's always a donkey with them too.

Thanks for popping by!

Maggie xx

A Crocheted Hat Keeps the Cold Out

It was a very cold day up on the Common when I asked Chris to take some photos of my new crocheted hat.

I had a 100g ball of gorgeous variegated turquoise yarn...

...that had been in my yarn stash for way too long!

I followed a fantastic pattern by Hopeful Honey for a French Pompom beret. You can find the pattern here. I hadn't ever crocheted a rib pattern before and it was interesting to see it grow so differently to a knitted rib i.e. horizontally instead of vertically.

 I didn't have enough yarn left to make the pompom so I made one mixing up some other yarns...I think it looks fine.

The main thing is that it helps keep me warm on those walks up on the Common. The wind doesn't half blow up there!

Thanks for visiting!

Maggie xx

Handmade Retro Travel Wallet

Hi there,

I wanted to show you my travel wallet that I've just completed....

My existing travel wallet just wasn't big enough to hold all our documents. I saw this super YouTube tutorial by Debbie Shore and adapted it to make a bigger wallet to hold everything.

I used this wonderfully retro 1970s cord fabric that I had discovered in a charity shop. It had been sitting in my stash for a few years. There was only a small piece but it was just the right amount for my wallet.

I used another vintage fabric to line and bind my wallet....

It's a pretty green floral fabric which is possibly an old Laura Ashley design.....

A fabulous old button from my button box!

Now I have plenty of room for our passports....four in all including two pets! They all fit perfectly into the zippered pocket.

Behind the zippered pocket, there's another pocket for paperwork such as vaccination and insurance certificates....

Somewhere to slip your cards.....I will use this for our ferry boarding cards which are the same size as a credit card...

....and another pocket on the other side for our ferry tickets.....

So now everything's handy and in one place, I'm all ready for our next trip!

Thanks for popping by!

Maggie xx