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I am a quilter living in Woodbridge, Suffolk who has made quilts since I was a teenager. I also ring bells! Both are great British traditions....I will try to feature some of my antique Welsh and Durham quilts, the quilts I make myself, my quilting activities and also some of my bellringing achievements. Plus as many photos as I can manage. NB: Double click on the photos to see greater detail, then use back button to return to the main page.













Sunday 8 April 2012

Devil's Dyke and Anglesea Abbey

Last weekend we went to visit Mike's family in Royston. First, we went for a walk at a place I had seen the previous week when I had gone to the quilt study day at Swaffam Prior - the Devil's Dyke. This is a huge Anglo Saxon earthwork which is now a protected monument. Despite the fact that it is now cut through by several roads, it runs for several miles and has a footpath running along the top of it. What an effort it must have been to build - apparently it controlled trade and traffic along the Roman road, the Icknield Way, which runs nearby.


The weather was very warm and we took a short walk along a stretch near Swaffam Prior. A local tale says that the Devil came uninvited to a wedding - after being chased away by the villagers from the church, he created the dyke with a great sweep of his firey tail!


Parts of the dyke have been restored and you can clearly see how a ditch was dug and the spoil used to create the dyke.



After lunch with Mike's family, we returned to another landmark nearby, Anglesea Abbey, a stately home now owned by the National Trust.



Anglesea Abbey is famed for its snowdrop display - these were more-or-less finished except for a few late varieties.



But there were still some excellent displays, including beds of sallows with various coloured bark....



The most stunning area was this grove of silver birches - I'm told it is a fantastic sight in autumn with the falling golden leaves.

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