A walk amongst the stones: 2025

Friday, 28 November 2025

St Mary, North Marden

I visited St Mary’s on day three of a four-day Pilgrimage back in February of this year. I was following the newly described “Mary’s Crescent” pilgrimage curated by Dr Tim Goulder (2023).

I had seen the book by chance in the local authors section of One Tree Books in Petersfield, whilst shopping in the lead up to the previous Christmas. Having talked for many years about completing a pilgrimage route but holding off due to concerns about the walking health of my right knee, this pilgrimage seemed ideal for a first timer.

Relatively short days walking through a familiar landscape.
I was never more than a short drive (rescue) from home if my knee did fail me.
I could be resupplied on route, so did not need to carry so much food and clothing.
Exploring aspects of my home turf which I had never previously enjoyed.
A quiet time of year, so expecting little company along the way, giving me time to enjoy the route in solitude, and quiet reflection.
Ending the Pilgrimage at Chichester Cathedral.

The pilgrimage is described starting at St Mary, Porchester Castle, and ending at Chichester Cathedral – the walk forming an arc which heads north over Portsdown Hill along the Meon Valley to Droxford before heading east following the South Downs Way to Buriton, then on to South Harting, North Marden, Singleton, ending at Chichester Cathedral four days later.

As my affection for Chichester Cathedral noted elsewhere in this Blog, is given. I will not repeat myself here. However, it is safe to add that walking the final stretch of the pilgrimage on day four from St Mary, East Levant through farmland, the outer limits of the city, then North Street turning onto West Street and then seeing the statue of St Richard beckoning – was a rush. (That I bumped into a work colleague and his partner on North Street and failed to string a coherent sentence together testament to the profound and overwhelming feeling of quiet and well-being invoked by my solo peregrination).

I reached North Marden around lunchtime. I had walked south off of the South Downs Way, past an estate I had not heard of, then down through a hedge of mature Hazel (Corylus avellana) it’s base already showing signs of spring flowers. Then crossing the B2141 followed a farm track, and entered the church yard of this singular building.

Comprising of a single cell with both nave and apse combined, the church’s foundation dated to the 12th Century though modified throughout and up to and including the modern roof and bell-cote, with one bell dating from 1829.

The leaflet found within “Notes on EAST and NORTH MARDEN and their CHURCHES” picks out the variously aged, architectural features, adding meat to the bones of the church’s description within the pilgrimage guidebook.

It is a beautiful and serene space, and on first stepping through the door whereupon my mind was silenced, and I sat for a long time in quiet meditation before exploring the finer details of the churches as described in the literature to hand.

signs of Spring

St Mary North Marden February 13th 2025

Chichester Cathedral - St Richard on St Valentine's Day

Reading:

Goulder, T. (2023) Mary's Crescent Countryside Books Newbury

McLaren, P. (undated) Notes on EAST and NORTH MARDEN and their CHURCHES Midhurst and Petworth Printers

Saturday, 8 November 2025

Avebury

The National Trust car park, was completely full when we arrived early afternoon, so we returned to the A4 and parked in the Ridgeway car park, opposite The Sanctuary, and walked through the sacred landscape to the henge, passing Small Barrows and Six Round Barrows before joining West Kennet Avenue at the B4003. After a pint or two of cider at The Red Lion we returned to the car, along the reverse of the route.

B4003 looking towards The Sanctuary

B4003 looking towards Avebury

an old friend

Saturday, 25 October 2025

Chichester Cathedral - Illuminations

Sunday, 5 October 2025

Shetland Wool Week .. pt 8 .. end of the tour ..

Yesterday we transferred from our cottage to the The Scalloway Hotel, stopping first for some “Shetland Wool Week” retail therapy at "The Maker's Market". A. bought some loose yarn from the Silly Sheep Fibre Company to spin at home, whilst I bought a Shetland Tweed clad Hip Flask by SHetland by Sheila Hankin.

The Scalloway Hotel was comfortable for the one-night stay, but we are disappointed overall with the quality of the food which was mediocre by the standards of the promised menu. I opened my holiday read for only the second time on the trip and sat in the bar sipping on Lerwick Brewery’s finest and try and ignore the very sweary locals who are watching sport on TV.

There are some interesting sculptures on the harbour-side adjacent to the hotel – and on a rainy day we do not venture out much further than this (and with the Castle being closed). A. receives notice that we are able to take the car on the same boat as we were travelling on, this is welcomed as it removes one level of complication from our return journey. On the downside we were unable to be allocated a cabin for the overnight trip, but there will be many others like this too, whose departure has been unavoidably delayed - a small price for island touring.

This morning, the weather grey and wet again, we drive slowly through Tingwall (Þingvǫllr) stopping briefly to view the Mediaeval Kirk and its historic gravestones from its entrance - the building itself being closed to public access for safety reasons.

En route we had passed the Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica) twitch comprising of a handful of men with large cameras looking glum in the rain, whilst the Thrush failed to show. Later, we were told by an eye-witness that the ‘toggers impatience had resulted in the bird being deliberately flushed several times to secure photographs - acts of which neither we nor the teller condoned (leave the bird in peace and wait!). I was glad that we had made not stopped to twitch this rarity, as we would not want to be associated with such poor field skills.

Prior to embarkation we (and many others) sit in a liminal state for some hours at the Mareel, having discovered that the rest of Lerwick is pretty much closed on a Sunday.

On board we face the overnight crossing with the prospect of trying to sleep in either the lounge or dining areas. However, we are comforted to know that tomorrow all we need to do is to drive home; and with an extra day already built into our leave, for such delays, if it is too much we can book another overnight en route.

Friday, 3 October 2025

Shetland Wool Week .. pt. 7 .. Old Scatness Broch, Laxdale Yarn and Clickimin Broch ..

Very aware that the oncoming Storm Amy may upset our plans going forward, we set out on our Shetland Wool Week trip and pick up the coach for the guided tour at the museum, whilst wondering what the weekend ahead has in store for us?

En route A. receives an email from NorthLink Ferries confirming that our Saturday sailing to the mainland has been cancelled, and advising us that alternative arrangements will follow. A. immediately books us into The Scalloway Hotel for Saturday night. Thirty minutes later A. receives a phone call from NorthLink to confirm that we have been booked onto the 16:30 crossing on Sunday 5th; and that the car will be traveling separately so we need to drop it at the freight ferry terminal by mid-day Sunday. With our departure sorted we can relax for the day knowing that we have an escape plan.

Our first stop on the tour is Old Scatness Broch where we are given a guided tour by Val Turner, Shetland’s Lead Archaeologist – and author of Historic Scotland’s Ancient Shetland (1998) which I have referenced several times before elsewhere in this blog.

I should have taken notes throughout the tour, as we hear a richness of detail beyond the cold text of the guidebooks, from an engaging expert who had been completely involved with the archaeological investigation of the site. I am a bit of a fanboy and probably ask to many questions in the hope of impressing?

After the Broch tour we visit Laxdale Yarn a croft with a herd of Ca. 800 sheep. The croft supplied the yarn for my “Shetland Wool Week” Fair Isle hat, which A. had knitted for me in time for the festival.

We are introduced to some of the flock and shown the differences in the natural wool colour which all have different names (again taking some notes here might have been helpful).

A sheep-shearing demonstration is then given, with one of the stragglers that had escaped the July shearing, being shorn in front of us. Even with mechanical shears it is clear that this is a physical workout for both sheep and shearer alike – the tangled wool mass of the straggler taking over twice as long to shear as it would have done in the summer.

The fleece is then processed – the waste wool being removed and the remainder prepared for sale or competition alike. The Crofter tells us about the social history and economics of sheep farming and crofting on the islands – where even at an economy of scale this industry only survives due to government supplements.

After being dropped back in Lerwick we retire to the The Peerie Shop Cafe for a late lunch. I opt for the Scotch Pie which is made with mutton from The Silly Sheep Fibre Company A simple act of nutrition which for me aptly squares the circle of our journey through Shetland Wool Week (it tastes great too).

This afternoon we explore Clickimin Broch before retreating to the cottage ahead of Storm Amy. We had spent time here before in 2016 but this earlier visit, along with several other Shetland archaeological highlights failed to make it into the Blog that year due to time constraints.

The grassland leading to the Broch yields a new fungi species for us: Butter Waxcap (Hygrocybe ceracea) with a couple of specimens observed.

In celebration of the last day of our official Shetland Wool Week tour I crack open the UHA'25 IPA from Lerwick Brewery.

Thursday, 2 October 2025

Shetland Wool Week .. pt 6 .. Lerwick Brewery tour, Jamieson and Smith

We started the day with a full Scottish breakfast at Pete's Cafe including saucermeat, and the iconic Stornoway Black Pudding Thus fortified we took a brief detour to Jimmy Perez' house on the harbourside - before visiting Jamieson and Smith for some Shetland Wool Week retail therapy.

A. bought a new knitting project, and a lovely Shetland Tweed blanket made by Skye weavers using Shetland Wool.

After dropping our purchases back at the cottage, we waited in vain for a bus to Lerwick Brewery which failed to appear. Instead, we walked the 2 miles to the brewery passing on our way Jamieson and Smith.

Ryan, the assistant brewer led the tour of the brewery, which ended with a small tasting platter comprising of Tushkar Oatmeal Stout, 60^ONorth, and Lerwick IPA.

Stocking up on off-sales I also purchased the second to last can of UHA ’25 IPA which was brewed exclusively for this year’s Up Helly Aa in collaboration with the head Jarl.

On our way back into town, emboldened by a glass or two of Lerwick’s finest, I asked an operative if we could have a cheeky look in the wool store and sorting bay at Jamieson and Smith, without hesitation we were given a brief tour of the workings.

80% of Shetland Wool passes through this brokerage, from which it is processed, graded, and shipped to Yorkshire for cleaning and spinning into yarn. The air was thick with the taste of lanolin. Our tour guide seemed familiar, but I was too shy to ask if we had met her previously on our trip to Fair Isle some years back.

Wednesday, 1 October 2025

Shetland Wool Week .. pt 5 .. Yell, Tablet Weaving, and Salt House

This morning, I dropped A and a fellow “wool weeker” at North Noss Public Hall on Yell – before heading out for a rain blasted day attempting to explore some of Yell’s archaeological remains. I stopped first at Old Haa Museum enjoyed the exhibits and nursed coffee and cake as the rain lashed in from the north east.

Following the gist of tours laid out in Fojut, N. (1993) [see reference in posts below], I punctuated my journey at the road heads for several brochs on the east side of the island. At the first stop the rain was so heavy I declined to leave the car. At the second and third stop I did not feel at all welcome as a tourist. Several strategically placed fences (all at deer fence height) and hugging the road so tightly they prevented me from both parking and accessing the second site without a long walk in from elsewhere in the rain. At the third stop the road ended at a croft and several sheep folds.

Here, there was room to park without obstruction, but I would have felt uncomfortable walking through the small folds. My discomfort was heightened when a Hi Lux pulled in and the driver so obviously letting me know he was “checking me out” before turning around and driving straight back up the road. Bollocks to that, I was clearly unwelcome, the vibe being so uncomfortable I could almost hear the banjos playing on the bitter wind.

I plugged Brechon Sands into the sat-nav and headed north and west. Parking at the road head, the local crofter welcomed me with a cheery hello and relieved I set out on the short walk to the beach.

The archaeological remains in the dunes were extensive, cluttered, and apparently comprising of Viking, Pictish, prehistoric, and more modern remains. The remains completely defied my amateur attempts at distinguishing anything about them other than the more obvious stone clearances of the field systems.

Returning to North Noss I was pleased to see that A and her colleague had had a rather more productive and enjoyable day crafting.

We caught up on each other’s day over a pint or two at The Noost, before heading to Mareel for the excellent Salt House It is a cracking end to the day.

Salt House