Wolverhampton - Episode 1

Saturday 10 August

Well it is now 10 days into our trip and the start of a new leg. We spent the morning at May Cottage. While I updated the blog, Elaine went for a walk to find a chemist. At 11am Sue took us for another tour of Bowness to see bits we had not seen before dropping us at the station in plenty of time for our train to Wolverhampton.

 

It was a pleasant and quick journey although there was not enough room for our luggage and we'd been booked in non-adjoining seats. Jane was at the station to meet us and we drove back to Ned's where we would base ourselves for the week while Ned and Terri are away on a cruise. Jane had been shopping for supplies for breakfast and snacks that included a variety of gluten free foods for Elaine, hooray! Kate and John were already at Ned's making sure all was shipshape and gave us the key and light initiation.

 

We all then went to Wightwick Manor (pron. Wittick) which was built around 1890 in the Old English style and had a link to William Morris. His work is showcased beautifully in the soft furnishings, curtains and wallpapers all through the house. The house itself is magnificent. We only had time for the interior so will do the garden another day if we have time.

L-R Kate, John, Jane, Elaine

Kate and John hosted us for dinner, a delicious Brazilian Chorizo and Black Bean stew with dunking bread. We then sat and looked at some of their photos of Orkney and our photos from our trip so far on their big screen TV.

Jane drove us home and after delivering us some coffee for breakfast left us with strict instructions to be ready by 8:30am tomorrow for our visit to the quilt show.

 

Sunday 11 August

After a sound sleep (interrupted at midnight by some sort of alarm in the house) and breakfast on our own, Jane collected us for our day at the Birmingham Quilt Festival. We drove to Wolverhampton station where we caught the train to NEC near Birmingham Airport. It was about a 45 minute journey.

 

Between wandering the isles of displays and stalls we met to have snacks together. Jane had packed a lovely lunch for us all with special consideration for gluten free options. The quilt show was certainly big and gave us all lots of ideas and inspiration. I was able to buy the small cutting board I wanted for travelling and a bit of fabric for the next step in my Japanese quilt. I can now continue with my project when I have some quilting time during our travels. By 3pm we were absolutely exhausted and headed for home again.

 

First we did a load of washing at Jane's and while that was running we had a show and tell of the quilts that Jane had at the flat (she has more at the cottage which we will see next weekend).

Jane showing us one of her quilts.

After hanging out the washing we walked around to Bron and Denis's for dinner where we were soon joined by Julia. Bron had prepared a delicious lamb roast with all the trimmings and a gluten free cherry cake with yoghurt for dessert. Once dinner was cleared away we sat around discussing our itinerary for the rest of our stay. This has all been planned in fine detail by Bron with leaflets for both of us about each stop in our guided tour. Precision will be needed in all our timing and it is going to be loads of fun even if only half of it happens. As we were leaving Bron presented Elaine with a hamper of assorted gluten free foods so she will be well and truly catered for during our stay and possibly as we move on to our other visits. At least we now know that gluten free alternatives are available. Back home to settle in before collapsing into our comfy beds.

 

Monday 12 August

Bron picked us up and Jane walked around to join us on our tour today. We headed west out of Wolverhampton and through Bridgenorth then on to Much Wenlock.

The Guildhall, Much Wenlock

Inside the Guildhall

Another beautiful old building in Much Wenlock

This is a beautiful town with many old buildings. Bron decided to follow the Olympic Trail as Much Wenlock was apparently the site of the first modern olympic movement. On the way around she read us the olympic themed commentary but we saw lots of the town in the process. It seemed that every second step provided another photo opportunity. We ended our walk back in the market square and had morning tea in a lovely cafe with old style décor to suit the town. One most impressive building was the Guildhall (1540) which we all went into. It had fabulously carved wood panelling and solid old furniture.

 

Back into the car for a fairly short drive to the Ironbridge. There we had a picnic lunch by the Severn River. We walked across the Ironbridge (the first iron bridge in the world – 1779 – and designed by Abraham Darby) and had a look at the displays in the Toll House. The Severn River is really flowing fast at the moment and the ducks were having to work very hard to swim across.
 

Elaine, Bron and Jane

Back to the car and across the Severn R. to the Jackfield Tile Museum. This was a magnificent stop with a huge display of decorative and utilitarian tiles that had been made there for use in public buildings and homes for hundreds of years. The colours, patterns and designs were fabulous.

 

On again to a stop near the Tar Tunnel near Coalport where we had our first close encounter with a canal. There was a Hay Inclined Plane that brought goods or perhaps even boats from one high canal down to the other. We walked along the lower canal for a short way before going back to the car just as it started raining.

 

Then we headed south to Claverley to see a magnificent old church – All Saints. This was made from the local red sandstone and had some very old wall paintings in the nave dated at c. 1220. There is a fabulous hollow Yew tree in the grounds said to be over 2500 years old. We chatted to the gardener who said he often found very old human bones when tending his gardens. There are two fonts, a Saxon one from elsewhere and an early Norman font.

 

After such a magnificent day we headed home to a cuppa at Ned's then dinner at Kate and John's provided by Jane.