http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/abbeys/cleeve%20abbey.htm
SUMMERTIME
…and the living is easy.
Yesterday was another beautiful day so we decided to leave Tiger Woods at al to cope with The Open Golf Competition without us and went out to lunch at the White Horse in the tranquil Washford Valley on the borders of Somerset and Devon.
In spite of the heat, being true Brits, we had roast beef and Yorkshire pudding with all the trimmings. As I had lots of soft fruit at home we eschewed the calorific puddings and spent time watching two boys fishing in the stream by the pub. They caught a few little ones and put them back. True fishermen they told us of a really large one they had caught earlier, upstream. Suitably impressed we continued along the road to Cleeve Abbey.
Cleeve Abbey (also known as Vallis Florida) was founded towards the end of the 12th century and is the only Cistercian Abbey in Somerset. It was never a populous monastery and at the time of the Dissolution it had (apart from lay brothers) only 12 monks – ‘priests of honest life, who kept good hospitality’.
Eventually the estate was sold to the Lutterells of Dunster in 1949 – (coincidentally the same year my blog is at). Now it is in the care of the Department of the Environment. It is a very peaceful place; you can see the Monk’s Dormitory, the Refectory where the roof is embossed with angels and the Chapter House. There is a tea-room and a shop where I bought birthday presents for three ’girl’ friends.
Dessertless - I succumbed to a chocolate ice cream cone encased in thick cardboard which, by the time I got it open was runny and christened my top. This delighted MTL as one of his mantras is ‘never eat chocolate in the cinema or in a car.’ Drat!
Back home we were in time to see Tiger’s triumph and his moving tribute to his father who died eleven weeks ago. A perfect day until the long awaited ‘Lost in Translation’ film – promised on a new channel in the evening failed to materialise. But that’s life – so I did a post instead.
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15 comments:
Lost in Translation is supurb. Yer'll enjoy when yer see it. Been to Cleeve Abbey. Bought ice cream and dripped it on my t-shirt. Must always happen there...
You're writing about a part of Somerset which is my heartland - lived there for a while - lost it mostly with the breakup of my marriage, but still visit sometimes. Cleeve Abbey? - oh yes - as for the hills behind....
Nice photos. Sounds like a fun Sunday.
Cheers.
4d: no I think it because you and I are both messy Lancastrians.
granny p: lovely to see you granny. It surely is a small world. We have only been here 21 years but can't think of anywhere we'd rather live.
Randall: hope you are not having to work on your Sunday.
Jack: the thought did occur to me but by the time I stopped thinking my plate was empty.
Good for you. No wasting time on golf when everybody knows Tiger never loses when he's leading a major. Boooorrrrriiiiinnnng.
Hoss: that's what we thought. Been reading about Bald Knob Oregon. Do you know it? My ignorance is limitless!
I for one am glad your movie wasn't on!
That's sweet of you Judy.
Is that the new Film Four freebie? I was on up here, I caught it. It's OK, very slow though. Sofia Coppala wrote and directed it.
MTL is right about ice cream, nothing more embarassing than emerging from the cinema with a chocolate crotch lol!
Welcome apprentice; yes the very same. We get the other freeview programmes so I don't know why we can't get film four. It would be an assset as my video recorder isn't working - neither is a new DVD player. Mind you we are pretty useless technically. And bone idle!
I saw lost in Translation on Film Four, or maybe I just imagined I did.
Chocolate crotch when the lights go up is to best avoided MTL is right.
I used to think that Yorkshire pudding was made with bread...I still don't know what it is...
GG: as I'm Lancastrian, Yorkshire pudding is not my forte - but i like it!
For some reason I thought ALL of England made Yorkshire pudding :-o
GG: we all try to but Yorkshire folk would tell you that only they can.
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