Thursday 17 May 2012

A walk to the top of Pinhoe, Exeter.






I had a walk the other day which began early in the morning – I was up with the lark.  Well, the fox, any way…


 This railway line is quite a warm place to sit.


When I itches, I scratches.

 
The Hawthorn blossom – also known as May - is out. 


A quiet corner between Beacon Heath and Pinhoe.



The letter box dates from the era of Edward VII.



Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. He was the first British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which was renamed the House of Windsor by his son, George V.  Before his accession to the throne, he served as heir apparent and held the title of Prince of Wales for longer than any of his predecessors. During the long reign of his mother, Queen Victoria, he was largely excluded from political power and came to personify the fashionable, leisured elite.



The Edwardian era, which covered Edward's reign and was named after him, coincided with the start of a new century and heralded significant changes in technology and society, including powered flight and the rise of socialism. He fostered good relations between Great Britain and other European countries, especially France, for which he was popularly called "Peacemaker", but his efforts were unable to prevent the outbreak of World War I in 1914.

 It’s a good job I was warned to wear wellies for this walk.


Some Spanish Bluebells.


And English Bluebells.


And Wild Garlic.


 Through the kissing gate.


A kissing gate is a type of gate which allows people to pass through, but not livestock.  The normal construction is usually a half-round or V-shaped enclosure with a hinged gate trapped between its arms. When the gate is parked at either side of the enclosure, there is no gap to pass through. However, the gate can be pushed to give access to the small enclosure, then moved in the opposite direction to close the first opening and allow exit from the enclosure to the other side.  The gate itself is usually self-closing, to the side away from the land where animals are kept.  If livestock does need to pass that way it usually does so by means of an adjacent conventional gate.

Sadly, according to the Goddess Wiki the etymology of the name is that the gate merely "kisses" (touches) the enclosure either side, rather than needing to be securely latched.  And I always thought you were supposed to kiss over it.  That's what I've always told female companions on my walks!

Some beautiful ferns.


A field of buttercups.


Nearly at the top of the hill.  Looking over Exeter and the River Exe to Haldon Belvedere.


 Just one more kissing gate.



Clover. I was up so early this morning there is still dew on the grass despite the last hour or more of sunshine.


And at the summit is the church.  A heavenly spot on a heavenly day.  


 I shall show more photos of this church – St Michael and All Angels, Pinhoe - in a future post.  

14 comments:

  1. How wonderful! Thank you for taking us on this walk with you! The fox, the letterbox, the kissing gate, the Spanish Bluebells, and the field of buttercups! Each time I though "this is my favorite photo" another and then another impressed me more than the one before!

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  2. what a beautiful walk you had! thanks for taking us along
    the Spanish bluebells are sweet looking flowers
    loved learning about the kissing gate; I would have used your line too; loved kisses from my honey!

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  3. That's a walk I'd enjoy CJ. The bluebells and wild garlic are amongst my favourite flowers.

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  4. A truly wonderful way of spending a morning! Thank you for sharing the beautiful pictures with us. Love the fox, and looking at him (or her?) makes me wonder how anyone can kill them, really. As for the kissing gate - I always thought that, too :-D

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  5. Oh, I forgot to mention that, not long ago, I learned that there is an official term "kissing buttons". It describes the row of three to five (rarely more) buttons sewn to the cuff of a men's suit jacket, in a manner that they just about touch, i.e. kiss, each other. A clerk at a gentlemen's outfitter explained that to me when I was there to help RJ choose business suits for the warmer months.

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  6. Thank you. I had a lazy lie-in morning today, with rain outside - now I got a walk anyway ;) What a treat to come across a fox and all. I love how you still have got old letterboxes like that in use.

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  7. Thank you,áll ,glad you enjoyed the walk.

    Kissing buttons, I had never heard that before but shall always remember it, thanks Librarian.

    Dawn Treader, we have lots of Victorian ones still in use as well though some have had to have their holes enlarged to take larger post than they were originally designed for.

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  8. How delightful to have this walk to begin my day. Thank you for taking us along.

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  9. What fun! Learned two new facts today: about the kissing gate (darn, I like your explanation better, Scriptor!) and the kissing buttons. I've always wondered about the buttons -- since they don't actually button anything.

    Have agreat day and hope you have many more sunshiney mornings for pleasant walks before you return to the Wirral.

    Love, Carol

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  10. Lovely walk, thanks!
    That photo of the clover flower with the dewy grass behind it, my favorite.
    "Horton Hears A Who" is one of my favorite children's books and it involves a pink clover flower...your photo reminds me of it. Thank you!
    Look forward to more photos of the church.

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  11. I feel refreshed just reading your post. As always, your photos are beautiful.

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  12. Been back to catch up with the blogs I've missed. There was a kissing gate near where my grandmother lived in Hertfordshire. That photo of the clover is absolutely stunning. Such an insignificant flower made to look like a queen.

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  13. Nice post!

    I've never seen a kissing gate before. Probably the closest thing to it that we've got in The Colonies is a livestock gate. The livestock gate is designed so that you can unlatch, open and close it from horseback without dismounting.

    We've got a family of foxes around our home. My neighbor feeds the fox dog food, and on the rare occasion that he forgets to put food out the fox will come up on his porch and look in the window at him, waiting for his dinner.

    Late last summer we had a little three legged raccoon that needed a hand out. Mom would put out cat food for him, and he got so that he'd wait patiently in the woods next to the house for his dinner, then run right out as soon as Mom started pouring the pellets into the dish. He vanished in late fall, but has since reappeared near our neighbor's home, raiding the bird feeders and looking for hand outs. I'm glad he survived okay.

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  14. Love the flowers, gates and church.

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